Cecil B. DeMille’s “Madam Satan,” dance-dissected, March 15 5
Delighted to announce my talk, “Theodore Kosloff & Cecil B. DeMille Meet Madam Satan” concerning the notorious early talkie-musical, co-sponsored by the American Cinematheque and the Art Deco Society of Los Angeles. The “illustrated lecture” is slated for Saturday March 15, 2 pm, coupled with a screening of MADAM SATAN (MGM, 1930), at the Egyptian ...
Respect for Godard’s “Contempt”
Jan
14
2014
Laemmle Theatres and Rialto Pictures have teamed to present Rialto Pictures’ new 50th anniversary restoration of Jean-Luc Godard’s CONTEMPT (1963). The exclusive Los Angeles engagements begin Friday, January 17 at the Royal in West L.A. and Playhouse 7 in Pasadena. The director’s look at a crumbling marriage stars Brigitte Bardot, Michel Piccoli, Jack Palance, and, ...
Maxim Vengerov @ the Barbican 1
The cultural year begins slowly and gently in London. Matthew Bourne’s bare-chested swans in feathered breeches will be unsettling royal emotions at Sadlers Wells until the end of the month. The glossier pantos continued frolicking into the twelfth night and their venues still regrouping for heavier fare. So for me last week was classical music ...
An artist embraced: Carmen de Lavallade
The amazing, still gorgeous, always regal Carmen de Lavallade — born in New Orleans, raised in East Los Angeles — exemplifies an Empress of dance, the kind of royalty spawned in Vernon, California. Thursday night, De Lavallade returned to Los Angeles — where she and chum Alvin Ailey attended Thomas Jefferson High School, where she ...
Hayworth by Hurrell … just because
This stunning portrait of Rita Hayworth shot in 1942 by Hollywood glamour photographer George Hurrell is featured in Mark Vieira’s massive coffeetable book, “George Hurrell’s Hollywood: Glamour Portraits 1925 – 1992.” photo courtesy mark vieira
Carmen de Lavallade, in homecoming, celebrated in CAAM exhibit with Geoffrey Holder
So looking forward to viewing the California African American Museum’s latest exhibition, “A Memoir in Movement,” dedicated to the great dance/theater/visual arts couple Carmen de Lavallade and Geoffrey Holder, an exhibit comprising photographs, paintings, sculptures, and costume designs. De Lavallade, a Los Angeles native, is a living dance treasure whose legacy ports names like Lester ...
Oh, Diane … DVF @ LACMA
Jan
4
2014
We admire the internationally acclaimed fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg — and occasionally mozey around her chic Melrose Avenue boutique perusing the imaginative and beautifully made clothing. Von Furstenberg first entered the fashion world in 1972 with a suitcase full of jersey dresses. Two years later, she created the wrap dress, which came to symbolize power and ...
Hooray for Hurrell 1
We caught up recently with Mark Vieira, author of the newly published “George Hurrell’s Hollywood,” an image-filled tribute to the film industry’s lauded glamour photographer. When asked how Hurrell got his start in high-gloss movie-star portraiture, Mark explained, “Hurrell was an unknown commercial photographer in the artsy Westlake District of Los Angeles when he made ...
Meet Marc Platt, stage & screen dancer 2
Born ‘Marcel Emile Gaston Leplat’ in Pasadena, California, on December 2, 1913, Marc Platt’s passion (and training) for classic dance started at an early age. The son of concert artists, he began studying dance with Mary Ann Welles in Seattle, at age 12, when after watching her class he declared: “I could do that.” They let him ...
Koehler on Cinema: Best of 2013
1. Leviathan 2. A Touch of Sin 3. Inside Llewyn Davis 4. American Hustle 5. The Last Time I Saw Macao 6. Upstream Color 7. Gravity 8. Nana 9. Viola 10. Computer Chess 11. Museum Hours 12. At Berkeley 13. The Last Christeros 14. The Wind Rises 15. Sightseers 16. Pain and Gain 17. No ...