Diva in concert: Darlene Love at Pepperdine
A recent hot theater ticket in San Diego was the trial run of the historic rock musical, “House of Dreams,” that told the story of Hollywood’s fabled Gold Star Studio. Over a hundred hit songs were recorded there in the 1960s — from “Rockin’ Robin” to “Good Vibrations” to “Cherry Bomb.” Owner/engineer and sound innovator ...
post sponsored by Lisa Smith Wengler Center for the Arts
Last call: Jessica Lang Dance @ Pepperdine
Apr
29
2019
Yes, it’s sad. It’s a sad moment. The closure of a boutique dance company, a precious organism, is depressing especially if it is for just one reason: it’s too hard to keep it going. That is the difficult decision choreographer Jessica Lang reached after seven years running her well-respected Jessica Lang Dance (JDL). jessica lang, ...
Weather report: It’s raining female artists in Los Angeles
Feb
15
2019
Nadezhda Tolokonnikova in live performance with PussyRiot at The Broad Stage, photo by Ben Gibbs We’ve had some crazy tumultuous storms lately in Los Angeles, a weather pattern augured to continue as women are seizing the stages of the city’s performing arts centers. For a mighty wind of female fabulousness — and fury — has ...
John Sebastian’s Greenwich Village memories 4
John Sebastian’s songs for the Lovin’ Spoonful placed him firmly in the elite 1960s songwriting fraternity that helped turn rock from entertainment to an art form. Like Paul Simon, John Phillips of the Mamas and Papas and Roger McGuinn of the Byrds, Sebastian was one of the prime architects of folk-rock. That crop of folk ...
Pilobolus at Pepperdine — to the max
Jan
18
2018
It’s a ‘best-of’ show — to the max. For 45 years, the clowns, tumblers, acrobats and very good dancers of Pilobolus have tested the limits of human physicality to explore the beauty and the power of connected bodies. Pilobolus also connects with key influencers, thinkers, and creators of our world. A current tour show soon ...
Danny Ezralow opens hearts, minds through dance around the world
Choreographer Daniel Ezralow is a global citizen. The Los Angeles native speaks fluent Italian, and a smattering of Russian and Japanese, having directed and choreographed projects in all three countries — the massive 2015 Sochi Olympics Opening Ceremony and Japanese Men’s Rhythmic Gymnastics among them. He’s currently a judge on a new Italian TV talent ...
Motown magic to Malibu: Mary Wilson, Martha Reeves @ Pepperdine 1
Sep
17
2017
It’s difficult to witness the decay of present-day Detroit and reckon that the city was a booming factory town in the 1960s. While Detroit’s auto manufacturers put America in the driver’s seat, Motown Records flooded dance floors and came as close to dominating Top 40 radio as any domestic record label in history. Berry Gordy, ...
Killing us softly: Roberta Flack in concert @ Pepperdine
Jan
17
2015
Songstress Roberta Flack, who forged such a striking presence in seventies pop music as a songwriter/performer, will grace the cozy Smothers Theatre stage at Pepperdine University next month in an evening of concert music. She is the first artist to win Grammy Awards in two consecutive years, for “The First Time Ever I Saw Your ...
Rhoden’s RISE revisited
Just loved getting another look at Complexions Contemporary Ballet romping through Dwight Rhoden’s exemplary “RISE,” set to a sound score by ’80s rock band, U2, last night at the Smothers Theatre of Pepperdine University’s Center for the Arts. The work, a kind of dance corollary to the ecstasy of a rock concert-on-fire, stands up well. ...
REVIEW: Aspen Santa Fe Ballet at Pepperdine
Oct
12
2012
I’ve been following the Aspen Santa Fe Ballet. My first in-depth encounter was at Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival and then I had the rare opportunity, this past summer, to sit in on the adventurous ballet company’s rehearsals at their headquarters in Aspen. During that visit, I observed Alejandro Cerrudo, the thoughtful Spanish-born choreographer who now ...