On Robbins’s 100th, his biographers raise a glass
I’ll leave the kudos for Jerome Robbins on this auspicious day — his 100th birthday — to the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts now hosting an exhibit, Voice of My City: Jerome Robbins and New York; New York City Ballet with its planned Robbins repertory evening tonight (Afternoon of a Faun, Other ...
Fran at the Ace: fresh, frank … fraught!
Of her many accolades and achievements, what we find most cool and enviable about essayist/raconteur Fran Lebowitz is Vanity Fair having named her as one of the most stylish women of the year. She obviously presents well, so she’ll fit right into Los Angeles at her upcoming “Fran Lebowitz in Conversation” event presented by the Center ...
Makarova/Godunov triumph in molasses-tempoed Don Q pas de deux 1
Aug
6
2018
Both are Russian-born-and-trained sensations: she of the Kirov, he of the Bolshoi. Both were Soviet defectors. I never saw him dance in person, but he fascinates me. I saw her dance many times, with American Ballet Theatre. I worship her. Note his one-armed lift (of her) at 0:53. Note her turns — every one of ...
Summer flower splendor in a vase by Cara Jean
Cara Jean’s mantra is “Never Enough Flowers!….Ever!” That’s why along with her Baroque, filigreed cups, saucers, dishware, eggcups, she has created this romantic vase and crammed it with peonies. A former dancer, Cara Jean puts the movement into her dynamic, delicious porcelain ware. Cara Jean Clay | on sale on line
Isabel Emrich’s refracting beauty, in solo show 1
Gallery openings can be uncomfortable affairs, with too many bodies jammed into small, unventilated spaces. Painter Isabel Emrich’s “Progressions” opening last weekend at Skidmore Contemporary Art at Bergamot Station was no exception, but the work itself provided a visual oasis from the oppressive heat and humidity. It’s her second one-woman show at Skidmore — always ...
The art of the jazz song: Tadd Dameron for Sarah Vaughan 3
Ed. note: Guest writer Mark Miller deconstructs a jazz standard, “If You Could See Me Now,” for our appreciation. Music: Tadd Dameron Lyrics: Carl Sigman Jazz panist Tadd Dameron was known for his lyricism, an ironic attribute for an important bebop musician. Widely recognized as the bop era’s definitive arranger/composer, Dameron concocted this distinctive ballad ...
Marsha Hunt’s nobility, talent and patriotism on view in documentary
Jul
6
2018
In 1935, 17-year-old aspiring actress Marsha Hunt signed with Paramount Pictures and went on to a flourishing career at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. She made 54 films in 17 years, notably Pride and Prejudice (1940) and Raw Deal (1948). Then she was blacklisted. After that rude life-and-career interruption, she championed humanitarian causes as one of Hollywood’s first celebrity activists. A documentary, ...
Our pick: Daryl Sherman swinging at the Gardenia 1
Though she writes original songs, few contemporary artists have scoured the hidden corners of the Great American Songbook like singer-pianist Daryl Sherman. She’s a regular at New York’s Algonquin Hotel who gracefully straddles jazz and cabaret singing, essaying songs from both renowned and neglected tunesmiths like Cole Porter, Rodgers & Hart, Walter Donaldson, Jimmy McHugh, ...
Gifted women of dance revive community connection – courtesy of DVP
Jun
4
2018
Myna Majors (Baba Olatunji Drum and Dancers), Shirley Black Brown Coward (Audelco Award, Black Nativity), Ellen Graff (Martha Graham Dance Company), Naomi Goldberg Haas (Dances for a Variable Population), Audrey Hubbard Madison (Charles Moore Dance Theater), Elizabeth Keen (Paul Taylor, Helen Tamiris/Daniel Nagrin), Marnie Thomas Wood (Martha Graham Dance Company) and Alice Tierstein (Young Dancemakers ...
Trailblazing fashionista/journo Andre Leon Talley in doc
An unlikely fashionista except by virtue of his own brilliance, assiduous self-education in fashion history, and raging ambition to be in the middle of it all is the fascinating figure, André Leon Talley. This quintessential tastemaker, a contributor to Women’s Wear Daily, W, and Vogue, is the subject of a touching new documentary directed by Kate ...