Natasha & her men 1

Dance
Natalia Makarova, the divine, visiting Costa Mesa, California, from New York City, saunters backstage at “Kings of the Dance,” and announces “Well, I want to meet the Kings of the Dance.”  The great exiled Russian ballerina faces off with five of the top guys in global ballet world. Marcelo Gomes immediately retorts “Well, you’re the ...

Natalia Makarova visits California 2

Dance
The glorious prima ballerina, Natalia Makarova, middle, captured in a charming photo taken at Segerstrom Center for the Arts, Costa Mesa, California, in October 2011. On her either side, Gaiane Danilian, of Ardani Artists, and Ivan Vasilev of the Bolshoi Ballet. The occasion was the latest chapter of “Kings of the Dance.” photo courtesy ardani ...

Dancers we love …Tanaquil LeClercq 1

Dance
Tanaquil LeClercq, American ballerina (1929 – 2000). Watching the “American Masters” docu on Jerome Robbins and learning of the close friendship and artistic relationship between Robbins and LeClercq … then finding this Irving Penn study of the New York City Ballet ballerina, who was a great natural beauty.

Hollywood’s dance super-agent, Julie McDonald, to be honored 3

Dance · Film
Julie McDonald, on the right, hanging out with a cool kitty, Toni Basil, and a cool cat, Kenny Ortega, both stellar clients of her body shop. That would be McDonald Selznick Associates, the premier talent representation agency for dancers and choreographers in television, commercials, music videos and film. Julie and her partner, Tony Selznick, created ...

Diavolo’s skateboard escapade, part of Pacific Standard Time

Dance
Diavolo Dance Theater, the Los Angeles based dance company led by artistic director Jacques Heim, will have a residency with Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at the Music Center as part of the 2011-2012 season, to create “Transit Space,” a new work inspired by skateboard culture — a sport and an art form invented in Southern ...

Nacho Duato rehearses his new Sleeping Beauty in Petersburg

Dance
It’s hard to not be smitten by the deeply artistic looks of the Spanish choreographer, Nacho Duato, who headed up Spain’s Compania Nacional de Danza for 20 years before making the radical move of joining a Russian company, the Mikhailovsky Ballet. Duato is the second foreign choreographer to run a major Russian company—the Frenchman Marius ...

Goldsborough to mine gold for Miami City Ballet

Architecture & Design · Dance
Pictured, on the right, above, is Nick Goldsborough, a treasured member of the Los Angeles dance community. The photo was taken on the opening night of “Windows,” a wonderful one-act play about the world of Bill Gates, which Nick produced. Nick is a gentleman whose mother instilled in him the love of ballet, and whose ...

Stitching Marilyn Monroe together . . .

Dance · Film
From “Let’s Make Love” (1960), a somewhat entertaining movie, if a bit of a mess. Bing Crosby and Gene Kelly put in good cameos, and Yves Montand, who is wonderful, escapes the Monroe challenge unscathed. In the photo below, tucked behind La Marilyn, the ubiquitous Jack Cole, on alert. Director George Cukor used the choreographer ...

Jack Cole danced in Pittsburgh 1

Dance · Music · Theater
Rummaging around the Internet, I found this priceless image of a program dating from the Nixon Theatre in my home town of Pittsburgh. [click image for detail] The Nixon Theatre was the top game in town — the place where circa 1971 I saw naked hippies writhe on stage in “Hair.” Not surprisingly, the hard-working ...

Edward Villella talks

Dance