From “Fame” to “Freeze Frame,” Debbie Allen ties dance to real world
Dance critic Gillian Anne Renault anticipates Debbie Allen’s “Freeze Frame” at The Wallis. I first fell in love with three-time Emmy Award-winner Debbie Allen when she choreographed and acted in the 1980s escapist TV series “Fame.” Now, decades later, after a wide-ranging career, she’s taking on big, serious issues far removed from the rarefied atmosphere ...
Barrie Chase meets Fred Astaire once again
Hollywood dancer/actress Barrie Chase, in New York for appearances at “All That Jack (Cole),” the historic film-retrospective now on offer at The Museum of Modern Art, burst into a spontaneous expression of physical joy at the sight of the Fred Astaire caricature in Ed Sorel’s mural at The Monkey Bar on East 54th Street. Barrie, ...
L.A. Dance Project to dance in L.A.
Some are still in a huff about Benjamin Millepied’s decision, in 2014, to leave Los Angeles and L.A. Dance Project, the much-hyped dance collective he co-founded less than two years earlier. But how could he not accept the offer to be dance director of the Paris Opera Ballet, one of the world’s oldest and most ...
Barrie Chase: a beautiful doll who danced for Jack Cole
She’s a dancer’s dancer, a real stunner. The ballet-trained Barrie Chase was the leggiest creature since Cyd Charisse to hit the Hollywood gypsy-dance circuit when she got a gig as a chorus dancer in Vincent Minnelli‘s KISMET (1955). The choreographer? The great Jack Cole whom The Museum of Modern Art is honoring in All That ...
Connoisseur’s choice: Saturday January 23 @ MoMA
1:00 pm. Introduced by Barrie Chase, Les Girls. 1957. USA. Directed by George Cukor. Screenplay by John Patrick. Music by Cole Porter. Dances by Jack Cole, Gene Kelly. With Kelly, Mitzi Gaynor, Kay Kendall, Taina Elg. 114 min. Backed by an MGM budget, Cole contributes dances of Cukor-esque sophistication. The multifarious “Les Girls” number accommodates ...
MoMA curator Roy gives context to Cole retrospective
Why should The Museum of Modern Art undertake a comprehensive retrospective of the works of a film choreographer? MoMA Chief Film Curator Rajendra Roy shares his well-articulated thesis behind the museum’s upcoming Jack Cole retrospective with writer Hilary Lewis of The Hollywood Reporter. Explains Roy: In late January … we’re honoring Jack Cole, who was ...
Jack Cole, Jerry Robbins put dancing sailors into the zeitgeist, 1944-5
The war was just over — September 2, 1945. The streets of the nation, especially the big cities like New York and Los Angeles, had been teeming with military men. So it’s not that unusual that choreographers were putting these figures into their dances. And yet, it’s odd, isn’t it, that a trio of sailors ...
“All That Jack” talk a key element of Cole retrospective 2
It is exciting to share ideas, feelings and observations with a savvy audience about a master of cinematic dance. That’s Jack Cole, whom I have been researching, writing and giving talks about for eight years. Where better place to pay tribute to this influential, mid-century American artist than The Museum of Modern Art? And that ...
Not just talkin’ tap, dancing it too @ ALOUD
A wonderful learn-and-have-fun program heading our way after the New Year, as Central Library’s cozy Mark Taper Auditorium will host a special book talk sprung to life. New York Times dance critic Brian Seibert will converse with his Los Angeles cohort, Sasha Anawalt, about his new book, “What the Eye Hears, A History of American ...
Costumes! Vivid colors bump up Cirque KURIOS charm
Stunning costumes, in gorgeous hues, contribute only one of many memorable production elements of Cirque du Soleil’s KURIOS – Cabinet of Curiosities, written and directed by Michel Laprise. A terrific holiday outing for the family, the two-act show is now on view in the old-tyme Grand Chapiteau erected in the big old parking lot of ...