REVIEW: Aaron Copland meets the 21st at New York City Ballet 1
Megan Fairchild, Roman Mejia, center. From left, Emilie Gerrity, Jonathan Fahoury, Daniel Applebaum, Isabella Lafreniere. photo: Erin Baiano There is so much that is invigorating and innovative about Copland Dance Episodes, Justin Peck‘s major new full-evening work for New York City Ballet in its world premiere on January 26. Yet it also connects with, and ...
REVIEW: Cécile McLorin Salvant’s singular jazz style, at Royce Hall
While she’s no stranger to Southern California audiences, vocalist Cécile McLorin Salvant’s show presented by CAP UCLA’s Royce Hall on January 26 reinforced her status as a one-of-a-kind singer. Through her idiosyncratic artistry, willingness to indulge the moment, and her genial manner, Salvant charmed and thrilled the near capacity of Royce’s floor. In the broader ...
REVIEW: Brandon Cronenberg’s ‘Infinity Pool’ … with a limit
Film directors for screens large and small are taking delight in skewering the 1% for everything they’ve bestowed on the rest of us during our dark and mostly unfunny times. Infinity Pool, written and directed by Brandon Cronenberg (Possessor, Antiviral), follows this trend — set by hugely successful comedy-dramas like those by Mark Mylod (The ...
A continuum of life, literature & film: ‘Living’ reviewed 1
photo: jamie d. ramsay What do you get when you combine British reserve and Japanese restraint with a dash of Russian pathos? A film experience that melds with our collective need for year-end contemplation, the exquisitely directed, acted, and written Living. The movie from Sony Pictures Classics opens in New York and Los Angeles on ...
Movie picks: by, for, and about grown women
The fascinating actress, Tilda Swinton, gives a pitch-perfect performance that traverses the wide-ranging emotions — tenderness, sadness, yearning, powerlessness, regret — of the mother-daughter relationship. The Eternal Daughter, the latest in a series of artistic collaborations between Swinton and director Joanna Hogg (prior forays, The Souvenir, Parts I & II), never jars as it moves ...
Notes on ‘Dance Reflections’ by Van Cleef & Arpels in Los Angeles
It was quite an evening. As part of an elite, invited audience hosted by France’s sui generis luxury jewelry purveyor, Van Cleef & Arpels, I attended a specially curated program delivered under the rubric of “Dance Reflections,” the retailer’s newish dance initiative. (It had a big rollout in London this past spring.) The evening took ...
A rose is a Jacqueline Bisset, in new movie ‘Loren and Rose’
It’s not Jacqueline Bisset. That’s the first thing you need to know. It seems to be; it’s tempting to think it is, but no. Even though we see Ms. Bisset at her most vulnerable and fierce, the new movie starring this enduring lady of the cinema is neither autobiographical nor a documentary. She’s playing a ...
Back to Jefferson High School for Central Avenue jazz, with MUSE/ique
They got their high school diplomas and hit the ground running. By living adjacent to the rich cultural offerings of Central Avenue in South Los Angeles in its heyday, the kids of Jefferson High School discovered the arts in the classroom and in the neighborhood. They made careers, big ones. A recent thrilling Sunday-afternoon showcase ...