Sugar Plums for the ages, in ABT’s ‘The Nutcracker’ at Segerstrom Center
Nov
26
2024
Her name is Antonietta Dell’Era (1861-1945), and, as legend goes, in 1892 she was the first to dance to Tchaikovsky’s magical foray on the celesta as the Sugar Plum Fairy. That music the brilliant composer concocted to give aural evocation of “drops of water shooting from a fountain.” Ms. Dell’Era’s first performance received good reviews, ...
On Hallo•meme, be bewitching, like ‘Gilda’ 6
I was thinking about my costume for this Halloween. Who better to embody than Rita Hayworth in her hallowed role as a film-noir temptress in the movie of the same name, Gilda (1945), from Columbia Pictures?Here she is in her nightclub number in the movie, “Put the Blame on Mame.” Rita was dressed in a ...
Let’s watch YouTube reactions to Jack Cole’s ‘Diamonds Are A Girl’s Best Friend’
Well, I’ve studied it, screened it, spooled it, summarized it, synopsized it. I’ve analyzed, advocated, argued and addressed it. Glowed and kvelled over it, enjoyed and celebrated it. So it’s fun, for a change, to let YouTube queen, “India Reacts” take the reins as she watches (her first time, ever) a video of “Diamonds Are ...
Top this, Hollywood! The making of ‘Top Hat’ (1935) 2
artsmeme is lucky to have good friends who collect fabulous Hollywood dance photos like the one above, given to us by Bison Archive’s Marc Wanamaker. It’s a soundstage shot of the making of the superlative movie-musical from RKO, “Top Hat” (1935). In our photo, director Mark Sandrich, in his own swank chapeau, directs a brief ...
A happy ceremony for La Cérémonie (1995) at Laemmle Anniversary Classics
ed. note: To mark the 30th anniversary of French auteur Claude Chabrol’s dark masterpiece, La Cérémonie (1994), Laemmle Theatres and the Anniversary Classic Series present a special screening of the film followed by a with a conversation between host Stephen Farber and actress Jacqueline Bisset, in person, at the Laemmle Royal Theatre in Santa Monica. ...
The many modes of Chita Rivera
Mar
1
2024
Let’s watch this great dancer/entertainer, Chita Rivera (1933-2024), do her thing in her 2005 show “The Dancer’s Life,” in which she pays homage to her choreographers, Jack Cole, Peter Gennaro, Bob Fosse, and Jerome Robbins. It is a brilliant montage impeccably performed. Rivera found this luminous path to continue to share her gifts well into ...
Pina Bausch, Matthew Bourne in dance takeover of Bunker Hill
ROMEO AND JULIET director/choreographer matthew bourne, photo credit: johan persson It warmed my dance critic’s heart to see swarms of Angelenos flocking onto the Plaza of the Los Angeles Music Center to enjoy two impressive and complex dance showcases, both running, separately, at the stalwart performing arts center’s active houses. The 2,000-seat Ahmanson Theater is ...
post sponsored by The Soraya
Jazz/pop superstars Herb Alpert, Lani Hall to open Soraya jazz festival 1
ed. note: This story by jazz writer, Kirk Silsbee, was commissioned by The Soraya in advance of “A Golden Anniversary,” in the upcoming Jazz at Naz Festival January 27. It is published with permission. Few trumpet voices in history generate the kind of instant recognition as that of Herb Alpert. His short, pungent phrasing and ...
Big music by Sánchez/Alexa for big ‘Existencia’ choreography at The Soraya
Ed. note: This story by Debra Levine was commissioned the Younes & Soraya Nazarian Center for the Arts. The spasms of explosive percussion that jump off the screen of Birdman, the Oscar-winning Best Picture of 2014, are the work of a brilliant and innovative musician: the Mexican-born drummer Antonio Sánchez. In the decade since that ...
Splendid early film choreography by Jack Cole for ‘Kismet’ (MGM, 1944) 2
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 ...