This Thursday at Cathedral St. John in New York: rare John Adams oratorio

Music
It’s very short notice but those of you in New York may want to amble by for music in a majestic space. The Cathedral of St. John the Divine presents contemporary composer John Adams’ El Niño: Nativity Reconsidered, an American Modern Opera Company production, with libretto by Peter Sellars and concept by AMOC member, Julia ...

‘Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad’ with Barrie Chase in person 1

Film
It’s a macabre but nonetheless resolute fact — and it came directly, unprompted, from Chase, a friend of artsmeme (F.O.A.M.). (She is also one of artsmeme’s favorite subjects.) Barrie Chase, one of Hollywood’s most precious jewels as a dancer, now 90 and fit as a fiddle, admitted it herself. Speaking of It’s a Mad, Mad, ...

Splendid early film choreography by Jack Cole for ‘Kismet’ (MGM, 1944) 2

Dance · Film
This YouTube bundling of two lengthy harem numbers choreographed by Jack Cole for KISMET (MGM, 1944) displays the young choreographer’s mature grasp of his craft in staging, and in creating beautifull and unusual framing of dance for the eye of the camera. The first sequence has rare footage of The Kraft Sisters, in particular Beatrice ...

Superlative studio musicians of ’70s rock revealed in ‘Immediate Family’ doc

Music
This is the portrait of an artist. Don’t recognize him? His name is Waddy Wachtel. Never heard of him? That’s intentional. Wachtel, whom Keith Richards calls a “natural maestro,” made a life decision — to become, and remain, a top-notch, back-of-house studio musician. Playing behind front-line artists like Carole King, James Taylor, Linda Ronstadt, Keith ...

Glitches and snafus: arts-writing errata that drives us crazy

Dance · Film · Ideas & Opinion · Music
As the Internet has expanded opportunities for all kinds of people to be published (including riff-raff like artsmeme!) with bylines, so too has spread misinformation, glitches, and snafus, the kinds of mistakes that an editor used to safeguard from readers. I myself am in this situation; I self-publish without editorial oversight. I am always grateful ...

Susan Jaffe presents: casting for ABT ‘The Nutcracker’ two-week run opening at Segerstrom tonight

Dance
Appointed to her post as artistic director of American Ballet Theatre over a year ago, Susan Jaffe is very much in the drivers’ seat. A transition ensued following the 30-year tenure of Kevin McKenzie with whom she danced in the course of her 22 years as among the company’s most sparkling principal dancers. Seguing into ...

Shaken but not deterred, Diavolo dancers to commemorate Northridge earthquake

Dance
jacques heim, artistic director, diavolo dance Ed. note: This story by Debra Levine, commissioned the Younes & Soraya Nazarian Center for the Arts, is republished with permission. On January 17, 1994, slumberers across the city of Los Angeles were awakened by a heaving jolt. It was 4:31 a.m. (This writer was hurled from bed to ...

Middle Eastern cultures to convene in peace at Yuval Ron’s ‘Rumi’s Wedding’

Dance · Music
banafsheh sayyad We’re in faraway Los Angeles. But here’s guessing peoples in every corner of our hurting world would love nothing more for our Middle East brethren to enjoy a resplendent Sunday evening of Arabic/Sufi/Israel culture at Rumi’s Wedding Night Celebration. The December 17 concert features acclaimed world music artist and peace activist Yuval Ron ...

Step into the holidays … with Trinity Irish Dance Company

Dance
by 
Ed. note: This story by Mindy Aloff, commissioned and previously published by the Younes & Soraya Nazarian Center for the Arts, is reprinted with permission. During the 1960s and ‘70s, two young Irish step dancers growing up in Chicago proved to be outstanding champions in the rigorous world of dance competitions. Both studied at the ...

FILM NOTE: Finland’s delicate, deep and droll ‘Fallen Leaves’ up for Oscar

Film
A very affecting movie is Finland’s official entry for Best International Feature at the upcoming 96th Academy Awards, FALLEN LEAVES. In his seventeenth feature film, Director/Auteur Aki Kaurismäki, a master of distanced and deadpanned but ultimately humanistic storytelling, shines a light on working-class people struggling to live with dignity in a world set up to ...