Fame or Famine

Tis the season for resolutions, right? So here we go:

 Get back into my body. I’ve let my dance body go for about a year now, and it’s a shame, with all the opportunities for Contact Improv, Argentinian Tango, and the like.
Find my voice. This is one I’ve got a head start on – I performed with my girlfriend over Xmas playing guitar, and have been picking up the piano again as well. But I really do miss singing in a choir setting – something about harmonies really does it for me. I want to explore that.
See more indie artists. I …read more

1 Comment

I did a performance, years ago, with Douglas Rosenberg, Heidi Latsky, and Larry Goldhuber at P.S. 122. It was great fun – lots of neat projections, cool music, and the two of them dancing together…le sigh.
It put PS 122 into a soft spot in my heart, and so I read reviews like this one with great joy. Thanks to Foot in Mouth for pointing the way, and in case you just want to see the dance and ignore all the wordiness, here you go:

Comments Off

This morning at breakfast I was shocked to see the Price is Right game show up on the TV at the diner…and Drew Carey as host. I’d heard that Bob Barker had retired, but I’d never expected to see Drew Carey as a replacement. I’ve immense respect for the man for his hosting talents of “Who’s Line is It Anyway?”, which used to be my family’s favorite group-watching show (though some of the jokes pushed the boundaries of “ABC Family”, that’s for sure).
I confess, it betrays a lack of respect for Game Show hosts – it always seemed to me …read more

1 Comment

OK, when I say “viewing”, I mean attending, and so this is really only useful if you live in or are travelling to NYC. Still, it’s a nice little snapshot of what’s current in the NYC dance scene, and I especially like her description of someone I would definitely want to check out:
” TangoX2, City Center, January 16-24: Okay, so the theater and the story and the costumes are likely to be cheesy, if the troupe’s visit last year is any clue. But chubby, wistful star Miguel Angel Zotto is not to be missed. Last time, he danced in …read more

Comments Off

I was rather amused by this article that I came across via my B5 Media sister-site Spekked. In it the author (and several commenters) seem rather upset that the actual dancing talents on Dancing with the Stars seem to be “outvoted” by fans of those with lesser skill.
” Though Brown and Chmerkovskiy were the better of the two couples they really have nothing to complain about. THE best dancer (Sabrina Bryan) of any season never even made it to the finals. They should be counting their blessings they made it that far.”
Or my other favorite comment: “As a dancer, Helio …read more

Comments Off

I’m lucky enough to be in Lansing, MI tonight working with a web client, and she has invited me out to Magdalena’s Teahouse tonight to see Medicine Crow perform.
” Teaching himself the guitar at the age of twelve, Mike began playing earnestly, but being self-taught, it took him a lifetime to learn what theoried guitar players learn in weeks and months of formal study. Realizing that, though eventually finding his own style, he concentrated on what he is best known for now: song writing. The result produced what could be argued as a sound that is perhaps best summed up …read more

Comments Off

One of the benefits of being part of the B5Media family is that there are a lot of other bloggers out there doing neat things – though I occupy a pretty unique niche here in the lifestyles channel, and most of the celebrity watches are less about the performing arts than individual celebs.
DanceWatcher  Lynn Devries is the exception. A veteran blogger, she also loves (like me) the dance reality shows. I’m kicking myself for not noticing her blog sooner, but now I’m itching for the next season of dance to start off. See, far from being a competition, when you …read more

Comments Off

I’m sure you’ll be able to hear this kind of thing on the DVD when it comes out, but meanwhile, here’s a nice treat: learning about the process of taking Sweeney Todd from stage to screen – including interviews with cast members, and more.

Comments Off

Oscar Peterson, the legendary jazz musician, died on Sunday. He is special to me because it was hearing one of his pieces performed with his trio that made me understand, finally, what the big deal about Jazz was.
It was summer band camp, and I was taking, for the heck of it, a jazz piano class. Never had played jazz piano, and never really done jazz before, but my teacher taught me the circle of fifths, and then the blues, and then added in seventh chords and scales…all of which was ok, but not real exciting. It was all just on …read more

Comments Off

I wish this were actually my article. Instead, it’s just a pointer, but a good one: NPR has written up the ways that dance critics feel that dancers set themselves apart (both as performers and choreographers). You have some of the usual suspects here – Pilobolus (have you seen their new calendar? Breathtaking!) and Alvin Ailey. But you also have newcomers like Pittsburgh Ballet’s Kumiko Tsuji, who graces the cover of Dance Magazine. Critic and editor-in-chief of Dance Magazine, Wendy Perron had this to say about her impromptu solo performance of a jazzy piece by Dwight Rhoden called Smoke ‘n’ …read more

Comments Off