Connoisseur collection of dance-movie posters grace Barnsdall exhibit 1

Dance · Film · Visual arts
“I was born with a poster gene! When I was a kid I used to ‘color in’ the New York Times (black & white) print ads for theater. When I saw the poster, I’d compare their color choices [to mine].” Collector Mike Kaplan offers this charming anecdote in explanation for a lifelong obsession as we ...

Paula Abdul honored at Choreographer’s Carnival

Dance
Super delighted to learn the wonderful news that Paula Abdul, a career-long dancer/singer/choreographer, received a whole lotta love as well as an award at the annual Choreographer’s Carnival last week. In tribute to Paula, her dance video “Cold Hearted Snake” was recreated step by step (and you thought the Joffrey Ballet restaging of “The Rite ...

Jerome Robbins hits the bull’s-eye

Dance · Film
As this Saturday afternoon draws to a gloomy conclusion, it seems like a perfect time to fire up the “Prologue” from WEST SIDE STORY (1961). But when is not a great time to watch this? Jerome Robbins’s brilliant storytelling through dance … Leonard Bernstein’s tremendous original score — the anthem of an urban jungle. A ...

Happy New Year 2013 from arts·meme! 1

Dance · Film
[click directly on photos for detail] Incandescent dance photography from a Hollywood film. Why are we not surprised that Jack Cole stands behind it? The Harlequinade costumes are a dead giveaway; one of the enduring interests of this choreographer (he died in 1974 in Los Angeles) was commedia dell’arte. High-voltage performance (Gower Champion laudable in ...

Jack Cole, Hollywood director 4

Dance · Film
On the camera crane works Jack Cole (in white sweater, click photo for detail), directing “Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend,” exactly as he did for all four GENTLEMEN PREFER BLONDES (1953) dance numbers (Two Little Girls From Little Rock, Ain’t There Anyone Here for Love, When Love Goes Wrong, Diamonds Are A Girl’s Best ...

Jack Cole, superlative night club dancer, 1940s 1

Dance
Photo of Jack Cole costumed for his seminal night club act (photo by Maurice Seymour). Like so much related to Cole, the pose is spectacular and unique. What other dancer would opt for this unusual, asymmetric position? With one leg turned out, and the other in parallel position? It was never seen before nor since. ...

Thanksgiving with MJ

Dance · Film · Music
By any stretch of a writer’s imagination, a good day this Thanksgiving Day. My advance piece about Trey McIntyre Project got front-page Calendar section placement in the L.A Times. But sharing the page with my writing, an even more exciting dance story (sorry, Trey!). It concerns tonight’s ABC-television broadcast of Spike Lee’s documentary “Michael Jackson: ...

Jack Cole’s mid-century-modern dance design 1

Architecture & Design · Dance · Film
A lost Jack Cole dance sequence from DOWN TO EARTH (Columbia, 1947). [click on the photo for detail.] Called the “New York number,” it used to be part of the larger “People Have More Fun Than Anyone,” number before it was cut from the film. It was absolutely common in Cole’s Hollywood career that his ...

Barrie Chase to reminisce about her favorite dance partner 1

Dance
We would never miss the upcoming event at the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences this Thursday evening when the elegant, long-legged beauty, Barrie Chase, appears in person for a fun screening and panel discussion.  Clips from four of the Emmy-Award winning television specials Chase made with Fred Astaire in the late 1950s and early ...

Ballet dancer, movie star Marc Platt’s “Culture by the Mile” 2

Dance · Film
A marvelous Columbia Pictures publicity photo from 1947 features a rare creature: a ballet dancer who became a movie star — Marc Platt. And he’s still alive, with us, nearly 100 years old. Bravo Marc Platt, a beautiful American dancer! The touching, slightly potboiler “verso” text (posted below the photo) was written by a Columbia ...