“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 ...
Class! John Pizzarelli’s Sinatra tribute at Valley Performing Arts Center
Dec
13
2015
I missed vaudeville. But I am making up for that loss by enjoying the rich artistic performance combos that Thor Steingraber is staging — he’s been inviting multifarious artists to share the stage of the sublimely intimate Valley Performing Arts Center where he is executive director. Anyone lucky enough to toast Frank Sinatra on the ...
MoMA announces ‘All That Jack (Cole)’ films 2
It’s historic. Never before has the brilliant Hollywood choreographer’s cinema output been compiled in a single, curated exhibition. The rare opportunity to grasp and assess the entirety of Cole’s talent and influence is in store for New York audiences from January 20 through February 4, 2016. Over the course of two weeks, 18 films (most ...
Classical Underground in holiday mood
Dec
9
2015
Classical Underground, the highly personal and pleasantly renegade performance series housed in an loft in the industrial heartland of Los Angeles, has a cozy evening of chamber music on tap Monday night. Sakura, an ensemble of five cellists — Jonathan Dormand, Michael Kaufman, Yoshika Masuda, Peter Myers, and Sarah Rommell — attributes its name to ...
‘Hopscotch’ing through the Bradbury Building
Photographic memories of “Hopscotch,” a rolling (literally, in cars), city-wide site-specific opera performance that in one of its home bases — the regal Bradbury Building of downtown Los Angeles — dancers scampered ’round audience, even in a wrought-iron caged elevator. Intermingling in the photo with crew from The Industry are the dancers of Ate9 Dance ...
Infectious holiday fun: “Salsa Navidad” at VPAC
Oscar Hernandez came of age in the burgeoning New York Latin music scene of the 1970s and ‘80s, when the Fania label recorded many of the greats canonized today: Willie Colón, Bobby Valentín, Pete Rodriquez, Johnny Pacheco, Cheo Feliciano, Larry Harlow, Hector Lavóe, Ray Barretto, Luis ‘Perico’ Ortíz, and Papo Lucca among others. It was ...
Eerie time-and-space travel by photographer George LeGrady 2
Nov
30
2015
This intriguing work based upon nostalgic family snapshots from the ’30s and ’40s allows photographer George LeGrady to activate his personal past by use of a lenticular imaging process. It essentially culls a kinetic experience from static photographic imagery, activated by the viewer’s vantage point. Known for ambitious interactive installations, photography and data visualization projects, ...
Jack Cole’s “Down to Earth” recast as Kenny Ortega’s “Xanadu”
I like this freewheeling, highly cinematic dance number for nine women, “I’m Alive,” choreographed by Kenny Ortega for Xanadu (1980). Its hyper-realism, fresh swapping of perspective, and other charming trickery prove what the camera can do with dance that’s not possible on stage. Smooth editing and special effects enhance the number. “I’m Alive” and the ...