Congratulations, Raven Wilkinson, recipient of Dance/USA 2015 Trustees Award

Dance
Two of classical ballet’s loveliest and most well-spoken ballerinas, American Ballet Theatre principal dancer Misty Copeland in a charming interview with a woman on whose shoulders she stands, the pioneering African-American ballerina Raven Wilkinson. Photo credit, Raven Wilkinson portrait, Andros on Ballet

Bringing ballet to Beethoven: Melissa Barak @ the L.A. Phil

Dance · Music
We chatted recently with Melissa Barak, artistic director of Barak Ballet, concerning her upcoming choreographic contribution to the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s annual gala concert September 29 at Walt Disney Concert Hall. The festive all-Beethoven program includes not only the Philharmonic but its conductor, Gustavo Dudamel, doing double duty with the Simon Boliivar Symphony of Venezuela. ...

Barrie Chase rocks the Hermes sandal 4

Dance · Fashion
An interview with the statuesque and still beautiful Barrie Chase spurred a conversation on Facebook about the hip-looking Grecian-style sandals the cool sixties dancer wears in these photos. Chase has not only gorgeous long limbs, but beautiful ballet-trained feet. First to comment was longtime ballet master and presenter Don Hewitt, “I have called them Hermes ...

Miss Ruth strikes a Denishawn pose in “The Peacock” (1914)

Dance · Visual arts
A photographer’s dream model, the exotic Ruth St. Denis habitually struck a dramatic pose for the camera. Fifty years later, in the San Fernando Valley, she was doing the same thing. Ruth St. Denis, “The Peacock” 1914, photo by J.D. Toloff, Evanston, IL

Clarion voice of songbird Judy Collins fills L.A. night sky 8

Music · Reviews
Yes, a songbird, thrush, warbler, coloratura, balladeer … she self-describes as a ‘troubadour.’ But who knew that folk-rock legend Judy Collins is also supremely entertaining, a raconteur spieling salty, even ribald stories all while innocently strumming her guitar? Tonight in a delicious free concert at Levitt Pavilion Los Angeles, Collins lulled her audience like a ...

Donna Sternberg’s 30 years of probing dance discovery

Dance · Ideas & Opinion
It’s an honor to celebrate with choreographer Donna Sternberg, this weekend, thirty years of steady dance making in Los Angeles — her keen and inquisitive nature knitting dance to the real world in unusual ways. Sternberg founded her company in 1985, after working and touring with Donald Byrd, Mary Jane Eisenberg, Yen Lu Wong and ...

Being Judy Collins ~ at Levitt Pavilion Los Angeles

Music
Elizabeth Levitt Hirsch and her amazing team at Levitt Pavilions have outdone themselves. We so look forward to the free concert by folk-rock warbler Judy Collins in the shadow of the Los Angeles skyline. Bringing high-quality, family-friendly musical fare to our city park – Levitt Pavilion Los Angeles. Judy Collins | Levitt Pavilion Los Angeles ...

Spectral ballet studios by Ruth Weisberg

Dance · Visual arts
Ruth Weisberg L’ANCIENNE, 1978 Ink Drawing on Lithographic Wash 28 3/4 x 40 1/2 inches JRFA #0935 Ruth Weisberg GILLES ET L’ANCIENNE, 1978 Original Lithograph 29 5/8 x 41 3/4 inches JRFA #0936 The deeply evocative body of work entitled “Reflections Through Time,” a career retrospective of artist Ruth Weisberg now on at Jack Rutberg ...

She’s our Yankee Doodle Dandy: Misty Copeland

Dance
As we approach the Fourth of July weekend, 2015, we salute the lady in red, white and blue. It’s Misty Copeland, recently named as a principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre and one of only four American ballerinas to hold that prestigious title in our national ballet company. In addition to Misty, who was raised ...

Hepworth’s beautiful “bird” nests in Los Angeles

Visual arts
Concurrent to a retrospective of the esteemed artist’s oeuvre at Tate Britain, on view, a distinguished sculpture, “A Bird Form,” at Leslie Sacks Contemporary in Bergamont Station, Santa Monica. “Barbara Hepworth: Sculpture for a Modern World” opens at the Tate this week, the first major Barbara Hepworth exhibition in London for almost 50 years. It ...