From Paul Parish: Went down to Justin Herman Plaza this afternoon, the park across from the Ferry Building at the edge of the old port of San Francisco, and saw Chris Black's group Potrzebie do a sweet, goofy 40-minute piece about baseball called "Pastime." They danced it in a sunny little hollow with fancy apartments on one side and the bay on the other and tourists strolling the sidewalks. The … [Read more...]
Where’s our Pavarotti? Readers respond (UPDATED WEDNESDAY NIGHT)
[Ed. note, Wednesday: scroll down to where it says UPDATE for recent responses] Remember Eva's call out to readers for a Pavarotti of dance? Well, readers responded (thank you!)-- and we have responded back (of course!). EC G.: Y'all, please. If you think Judith Jamison is even CLOSE to being a household name (in the way, that is, that Pavarotti certainly was), then you need to share what you're … [Read more...]
GO: Martha Graham Dance Company at the Joyce (UPDATE Sunday: Eva Yaa Asantewaa responds)
I haven't been a big fan--until now. Whatever Janet Eilber, hired last year as artistic director, is doing to get the dancers to find the drama in the timing and the steps is working wonders. My sense is she's honoring their own hunches, and they naturally go for clarity and suggestion over cartoon. Anyway, here's my Newsday review. The New York run continues through next Sunday, September 23. … [Read more...]
A Pavarotti for dance?
Foot contributor Eva Yaa Asantewaa writes: Hearing of Beverly Sills's death this summer, I wondered if the field of dance had or could have a world-renowned, charismatic figure who, in a similar way, might serve as a much-needed ambassador to the masses. The announcement of Luciano Pavarotti's death yesterday reminded me of those thoughts: a beloved figure, bridging the gap between aficionados and … [Read more...]
Dance onscreen that trumps dance onstage
Way back in May, we here at Foot wandered from the question of why opera is winning the popularity contest over ballet to why music is more likely than dance to survive recording. I asked readers if they'd seen any dance recordings that they felt survived the translation intact--or even improved on the live event. For a whole two months, the only people to take a stab at the question were Griffin, … [Read more...]
Nureyev as a young star on PBS this week…
...in fact, tomorrow, Wednesday, at 9 pm, for New Yorkers (repeated Saturday night at 12:40 am--officially Sunday). The focus is Nureyev's Soviet years. The documentary, "Nureyev: The Russian Years," has its cheesy moments, but the footage of him dancing--both newly discovered film and clips from studio films and live broadcasts shot soon after he defected, in 1961 at age 23--are thrilling through … [Read more...]
What’s the pity? Eva Yaa Asantewaa reviews the site specific “Accounting for Customs” and the Times dance chief’s review. Apollinaire responds.
From Eva: "Accounting for Customs"--a new site-specific ensemble work by choreographers Andréya Ouamba (a Congolese performer from Senegal) and Reggie Wilson (U.S.)--utilizes the main entrance steps of the former Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House at 1 Bowling Green at the lower tip of Broadway. Some months ago, during an interview for "Dance Magazine," Wilson told me of his fascination with the … [Read more...]
What’s so hard about getting dance to “sing” on TV
Apropos of posts earlier this summer--from Paul and me and Tonya (a.k.a. Swan Lake Samba Girl)--about how dance translates to the screen (or fails to), here's an advance feature I wrote for Newsday about "Live From Lincoln Center's" national telecast this Thursday of Mark Morris' widely acclaimed "Mozart Dances." Morris and the wonderful 86-year-old director of "Live From...," Kirk Browning, shed … [Read more...]
Ah, summer in New York!
From Eva, in response to my call out in the previous post: Not much from me. Isn't this the time when we get to kick back, Apollinaire? [Ed: Oh, alright.] I'll be checking out some theater (and the occasional dance event) at the Fringe Festival and sometimes heading up to Lincoln Center Out of Doors, braving either the scorching sun or threat of downpours to enjoy some music and dance. Last … [Read more...]
Scant
...presence from me, at least, in the next week or so. Perhaps Eva or Paul will have something. In the meantime, did you see Paul's invention of a new drink to beat the heat? Out here in the East, the weather argues for it. From Paul Parish: A propos of nothing (and I promise I will write something appropriate SOON), in my other life, I have invented a new drink, and my friends have urged me to … [Read more...]