Time to reassess Lewitzky? 1
Jul
1
2019
photo: frances chee That was my takeaway after viewing Luminario Ballet‘s wonderful performance, Sunday June 23 at the Skirball Cultural Center, of two absorbing works by choreographer Bella Lewitzky. Pictured are excerpts from “Inscape” (1976). The work is driven by its marvelous costumes — stretch “duotards” designed by Rudi Gernreich, who, prior to his vivacious ...
It’s a pah-tay! Rennie Harris FUNKEDIFIED @ the Ford 2
Jun
23
2019
fabulous photo by Julieta Cervantes for the New York Times shows Joshua Culbreath and Puremovement in “Funkedified” Let’s face it. The John Anson Ford Amphitheatre is the best place in town to get up get down get funky get loose. That’s because … hey, you’re outdoors! You’re not boxed in by walls. You’re not cramped ...
Fred & Ginger (& Mark) do ‘The Continental’ 1
mark sandrich, fred astaire do the continental, but not cheek to cheekphoto: MARC WANAMAKER/BISON ARCHIVES The wonderful shot of director Mark Sandrich and Fred Astaire palling around at RKO Studios comes courtesy of artsmeme friend Marc Wanamaker. Thank you, Marc! The director and dancer are collaborating on a crazy-long, Art Deco-drenched, epic dance sequence for ...
Jonah Bokaer brings dance beauty & meaning to Musee d’Orsay
This piece of choreography by Jonah Bokaer, who grew up speaking French in Tunisia, merits your time; it is simply beautiful. It was curated by Donatien Grau, Head of Contemporary Programs at the Musée d’Orsay in Paris for the Musee’s “Un Ouevre, Un Regard” series. Bokaer’s vivification of Louis Ernest Barrias’ sculpture, “Nubians,” is emblematic of ...
Love for Yvonne & a bright future for Westside Ballet 1
Jun
12
2019
It was an evening of beaming smiles, prodigious effort, community love, and some real artistry last Saturday at the Broad Stage, as the Westside Ballet staged a impressive Gala fundraising event. Visiting “etoiles,” stars from companies as esteemed as New York City Ballet, Smuin Ballet, The Joffrey, and Miami City Ballet, studded the program, bringing ...
Dance finale, dance party & dance season to come, all @ CAP
Jun
1
2019
Oh the seasons, they come and they go. That’s easy enough for us mortals to say. But for a monster-scaled live-arts presenter like the Center for the Art of Performance at UCLA, it takes both brains and brawn to pull off a full season. You live it, breathe it, push it, pamper it, and promote ...
Gwen Verdon sighting: ‘Drink your prune juice!’ 2
There’s our girl: Gwen Verdon You’re a contract dancer at Twentieth Century-Fox, and you’re lazing around the studio with the guys, killing time. No assignment. All of a sudden into the rehearsal hall strides Jack Cole, hurriedly. He impatiently assembles a sage bit of dancing for you. Growling orders at Matt Mattox and Frank Radcliffe ...
Rudi Gernreich stunner: ‘The Swan’ for Lewitsky Dance in 1976
We’re just starting to dig into the rich content of “Fearless Fashion: Rudi Gernreich,” the exhibition now up and running at the Skirball Cultural Center, with its stimulating mix of design, gender, fine art, and social issues. All those elements came crashing together, in a sixties kind of way, in the work of the adventurous ...
‘So L.A.’ in a good way: Jacob Jonas The Company reviewed
‘to the dollar,’ chor by jacob jonas, photography matthew brush It’s hard to avoid politics these days. We tweet about it, march about it, get outraged about it. It’s in your face in every medium. Including dance. Jacob Jonas The Company’s (JJTC) brilliantly danced mixed bill at The Wallis on Friday included two politically-charged works: ...
‘Buy local’ defines 2019/20 dance season at The Wallis
May
2
2019
A big gang of arts journalists crossed the thin line to mount the stage of the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts Tuesday evening to toast a special occasion whose time has come. In his annual upcoming-season announcement, The Wallis’s artistic director Paul Crewes, shown in photo with the Beverly Hills theater’s CEO Rachel ...