Peggy’s place
Art of This Century, view of the Abstract Gallery, New York, ca. 1943. Courtesy Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Venice. Left to right (paintings): Vasily Kandinsky, Landscape with Red Spots, No. 2, 1913; Kazimir Malevich, Untitled, ca. 1916; Francis Picabia, Very Rare Picture on Earth, 1915; Albert Gleizes, Woman with Animals (Madame Raymond Duchamp-Villon), 1914 (partially visible ...
Cinefamily in Chantal Akerman tribute
Oct
31
2015
The honoring of a highly respected filmmaker, Belgian-born Chantal Akerman (1950 – 2015), who died October 5 in Paris, apparently by her own hand at age 65 — a sad occurrence. The Cinefamily will screen Akerman’s chef d’ouevre, Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce-1080 Bruxelles, which when premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 1975, ...
Girlz n the hood hang out with Misty Copeland
It was a real girl’s night out — a few righteous gents joined in — as Dance Camera West and The American Cinematheque joined forces, Tuesday evening, to host a sneak preview screening at the Aero Theatre of “A Ballerina’s Tale,” the new documentary about our first African-American principal dancer of American Ballet Theatre, Misty ...
Still in time for October dance month @ Brand Library & Art Center
Oct
13
2015
I’m often asked for names of interesting dance companies in Los Angeles. An intriguing locally produced series, Brand Associates’ Dance Series, offers a good selection in its two remaining showcases on a four-company roster on subsequent Saturday afternoons. The performances take place at the Skylight Gallery of Glendale’s fun Brand Library & Art Center. The four ...
Review: Twyla Tharp’s 50th, reminder of a revolutionary
photo: Sharen Bradford, New York Times Watching Twyla Tharp’s 50th Anniversary Tour performance at The Wallis in Beverly Hills was like taking a trip down memory lane with an old friend. (The Wallis co-commissioned the tour with four other presenters including The Joyce Theater in New York.) The old magic was there in Tharp’s juxtaposition ...
Congratulations, Raven Wilkinson, recipient of Dance/USA 2015 Trustees Award
Sep
23
2015
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
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
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)
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
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 ...