Satchmo blesses Herb Alpert with Blessing trumpet
Dec
17
2010
On November 10 the Louis Armstrong Educational Foundation presented the first “Satchmo Award” to recording legend Herb Alpert. The award was presented to Alpert at the Newark Performing Arts Center in Newark, New Jersey, during a WBGO jazz-radio gala. Singer Dee Dee Bridgewater acted as master of ceremonies. The Satchmo award recognizes Alpert”s contributions to ...
Don Martin, 80, instructs youngsters in Lester Horton technique 4
Dec
15
2010
Saturday’s showcase of the Los Angeles County High School of the Arts (LACHSA) dance program, which included marvelous snippets of Jiri Kylian choreography, also featured a serene demonstration of Lester Horton technique as taught to the next generation by master instructor Don Martin. Says Martin: “Lester was a genius. He was ahead of his time. ...
Bloody mamas: violence against women in art and life
Monday, November 15, 2010, was a grisly night for women in Los Angeles. Both in art and in life, the blood of women flowed unnaturally and to no good purpose. Shortly after midnight, Ronni Chasen, the owner of her own public relations firm and a hard-driving career woman, was found bleeding to death, crashed in ...
Judy Garland doesn’t care, and I don’t care either! 1
I love the insouciant song written for vaudevillian Eva Tanguay in 1906, “I Don’t Care.” It’s my theme song. Here Judy Garland sings it in “I Don’t Care,” from “In the Good Old Summertime” (1943). The anthem is also the arts•meme theme song. They say I’m crazy Got no sense But I don’t care They ...
Proud Hollywood Boulevard survivor: Larry Edmunds Book Shop 1
Dec
11
2010
Film historian and author Robert S. Birchard contributes this story to arts•meme. For over 70 years and through three locations, Larry Edmunds Book Shop has been a Hollywood institution, known the world over as the place to go for books related to the movies as well as stills, posters and other film-related memorabilia. Few today ...
arts•meme honored
Guide to Art Schools Top 50 Ballet Blogs arts•meme received a lovely honor by being named among the fifty best ballet blogs (we assume this means “in the universe”) by the ‘guide to art schools.’ We are grateful for the honor and will try to merit our certificate!
Buy one now! BLACK SWAN teeshirts!
Just a joke, folks! For not a joke, read my “Black Swan” review here. More on “Black Swan”: Meet body double Kimberly Prosa. Kimberly gears up for action here.
JOHN LENNON SHOT DEAD
Dec
8
2010
Leaving home for classes at Hunter College, I stepped out the front door of my East 4th Street tenement walk-up, pausing on the top step to acclimate to the biting-cold December air. Gloria, the black single mother from the first-floor-rear apartment, was smoking a cigarette on the sidewalk, chatting with a friend. At the foot of ...
Ow! Betty Grable sizzles in Jack Cole choreography 2
Jack Cole and Betty Grable were both friends and colleagues. He called her “Thumper” and she matched his penchant for salty language. He kicked her sagging career into high gear and she relied on him. I love how she shakes it in this number, video below. It’s “How Come You Do Me Like you Do?” ...
BLACK SWAN opens: body double Kimberly Prosa prepared
Here’s body double/dancer Kimberly Prosa, all geared up for today’s sure-to-be clamorous opening of Darren Aronofsky’s “Black Swan.” The ethereal Odette, the white swan, heavenly in her tutu and feathery head piece … … also tricked out in knee pads and grunge boots. Hey, where’s the pointe shoes? A 21st century combat-ready Odette! Kimberly explains ...