Lifestyle & Culture

Company XIV’s Nutcracker Rouge Has Crackle, Pop, and Lots of Sizzle

December 5, 2013 by admin 6 Comments

Cast of “Nutcracker Rouge.” Image courtesy of Phillip Van Nostrand

What if the Sugar Plum Fairy was a delectable striptease artist, the Waltz of the Flowers a titillating swirl of T and A, and the Land of the Sweets the domain of burlesque divas, sexy sirens and buxom beauties? No Russian Cossacks masterfully performing barrel turns and double tours; instead, there are gender bending S &M dilettantes giving it to you front and center. As unconventional as this re-imagined Nutcracker sounds, and as far away as this vision of the Casse Noisette is from toy soldiers, the creamy boureès of the Sugar Plum Fairy, and swirling ballerina snowflakes, Company XIV’s Nutcracker Rouge is a delicious adult option to more traditional Nutcrackers.

Company XIV since its inception has gained a reputation for re-imagining ballet classics, fairy tales and a variety of well-known stories and myths. Take for example their version of Adam and Eve (Le Serpent Rouge), re-conceptualized as man’s inner battle with the dual nature of women as realized in the personages of Eve and Lilith.

Shelly Watson as Madame Drosselmeyer (singing in center) and cast members of "Nutcracker Rouge." Image courtesy or Robert Zash

Shelly Watson as Madame Drosselmeyer (singing in center) and cast members of “Nutcracker Rouge.” Image courtesy of Robert Zash

In Company XIV’s version of the Nutcracker, Marie-Claire (Laura Careless) gets lost in the forest and stumbles upon the Kingdom of Sweets. Invited into the kingdom by the King of the Sweets (Jeff Takacs), Marie-Claire transitions from an innocent girl on the brink of womanhood to the saucy adult Sugar Plum Fairy resplendent in bedazzled corset and pasties.

Image courtesy of Robert Zash. Laura Careless as Marie-Claire and Cassady Rose Bonjo as Nutcracker Doll

Laura Careless as Marie-Claire and Cassady Rose Bonjo as Nutcracker Doll. Image courtesy of Robert Zash

Many of the elements from the original Casse Noisette are still present in Nutcracker Rouge. In typical Company XIV fashion, artistic director Austin McCormick has blended stylistic elements from Baroque dance, modern, classical ballet, burlesque, and circus acrobatics, as well as spoken dialogue, torch songs, and a few selections from Duke Ellington’s jazzy The Nutcracker Suite.

Re-interpretations of ballet classics for the most part fall short of the original due in part to audience’s familiarity with the original work. And the reworking of this holiday favorite is no exception and a hard nut to crack, at best. From Ballet Bejart Lausanne’s revised Nutcracker and the Australian Ballet’s recent version to Matthew Bourne’s version and Mark Morris’ Hard Nut, re-workings of this beloved classic, with the possible exception Morris’ Hard Nut, languish and fail to find wide audience appeal.

Katrina Cunningham (singing) and Jeff Takacs as Monsieur
Drosselmeyer (seated), Image courtesy of Phillip Van Nostrand

For the most part, the assemblage of dance styles and multi-media elements of Company XIV’s Nutcracker production works, although at times the story was hard to follow. The stage at the Minetta Lane Theatre is problematic and depending on where you are sitting, most of the intricate parterre work that Company XIV has come to be known for is lost because of sightline issues. There is also at times too much going on on-stage. Where Austin McCormick has become a master at melding movement styles, in this production some elements that muddied the story and crowd the stage need to be edited out. And some of the Cirque du Soleil elements that work in the current Broadway production of Pippin, in this production sometimes fall flat and don’t push the narrative forward. However, this re-imagined Nutcracker does have lots of merit, and McCormick’s titillating approach to this well-known ballet classic is innovative and choreographically sound as a dance theatre work.

Standouts in this production are Laura Careless as Marie-Claire. Her Sugar Plum Fairy had just the right combination of frothy decadence and saucy allure. Davon Rainey’s “Candied Violets” dance was a dissertation in kittenish androgyny. And Zane Philstrom’s costumes captured both the combined rococo and burlesque aesthetic of this production. (Pasties, illusions, and cutouts have never looked this good!!)

Kana Kimura and Davon Rainey. Image courtesy of Robert Zash

Still, if you are looking for an alternative Nutcracker that incorporates innovative choreography, interesting stagecraft, and a reworked story seen though the lens of a burlesque dance hall, this might be the production for you. Bump and grind has never been this much fun!!

Nutcracker Rouge runs at the Minetta Lane Theatre through January 12. For more information, go to companyxiv.com.

—William S. Gooch

Ballet Hispanico at The Apollo

November 24, 2013 by admin Leave a Comment

Images courtesy of Michelle Tabnick Communications

The Metropolitan Opera House, New York City Center, The David Koch Center for the Performing Arts, and even the Brooklyn Academy of Music are all concert venues that are associated with dance. The Apollo Theater is rarely thought of as a performance space for grand jetés, pointe shoes and diaphanous tulle tutus. With a new perspective on presenting an expansive palette for its ever-widening audience, The Apollo has now added concert dance as a must-see event on its annual calendar.

In recent years such esteemed dance companies as American Ballet Theatre, the Dance Theatre of Harlem, and Taylor 2 have kicked of their proverbial heels on the stage that has presented such greats as Duke Ellington, Bills “Bojangles” Robinson, the Nicholas Brothers, Moms Mabley, Ella Fitzgerald, the Staple Singers, Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, and Patti LaBelle. Add Ballet Hispanico to the list.

“Sombrerisimo” image courtesy of Paula Lobo

For their third, one-night only appearance at the Apollo Theater, Ballet Hispanico presented three works. As a company rich in the tradition of Hispanic culture, artistic director Eduardo Vilaro is taking Ballet Hispanico in a different direction than former founder and artistic director Tina Ramirez. Though the nod to Hispanico culture is still the integral focus of the company, Vilaro is directing the company to include dance works that celebrate the depth and width of the entire Latin traditions, not just Euro-Western Latino culture. The dance triptych presented on Saturday expresses Ballet Hispanico’s more expansive point of view.

From Umbral, inspired by the Mexican celebration Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), to the male bravura piece Sombrerisimo, to Vilaro’s Hogar, Ballet Hispanico has set its focus on finding that delicate balance between finding dance works that expertly combine ballet and modern dance techniques, as well as have audience appeal. The program presented on Saturday almost accomplished that goal.

Image courtesy of Michelle Tabnick Communications. Ballet Hispanico in "Sombriesmo."

Images courtesy of Michelle Tabnick Communications. Ballet Hispanico in “Sombriesmo.”

The ballet that came closest to having audience appeal while blending a variety of dance styles was Annabelle Lopez Ochoa’s Sombrerisimo. Using a derby hat as a prop has been done on countless occasion. (Bob Fosse was a genius at winding unique ways to incorporate hats, canes, and gloves into choreography without allowing the prop to be the main focus of the work.)

Ochoa’s utilizes great partnering for the men in this male tour de force. Ochoa also infuses technique from modern dance, ballet, flamenco and lyrical jazz, all while several derby hats are passed back and forth, caught in the air, ricocheted and used as a centerpiece of the choreography. Though Sombrerisimo highlights the versatility and technical acumen of Ballet Hispanico’s men, the work is not without humor or lyricism. Jamal Callendar and Mario Espinosa are the standouts in this work with Callendar setting himself apart as the premier danseur of the company

“Umbral” in rehearsal. Image courtesy of Michelle Tabnick Communications

While Sombrerisimo had audience appeal on many levels, Edgar Zendejas’ Umbral was mostly cerebral work. Inspired by the Mexican celebration of the Day of the Dead, Espinosa in a red leotard and white skeletal make-up was easily identifiable as the death specter. Other than that literal reference, all other references to the Day of the Dead were hard to decipher. Still, there was some good choreography with inventive partnering in Umbral. One of the most effective sections was sequence were the Ballet Hispanico women danced topless with their backs to the audience. Zendejas ingeniously devised movement that spoke to the futility of life and the stark bareness of death without being too literal or kitschy.

“Hogar” in rehearsal. Image courtesy of Michelle Tabnick Communications

Vilaro’s Hogar is a dance work that projects Ballet Hispanico into its new vision of itself; a company that references Hispanic culture while incorporating movement styles that go beyond culture and specificity. There was lots of inventive partnering with Vilaro pulling everything suitable from the pyrotechnical lexicon. There was even one section where the men kept one female dancer airborne for an extended period of time that was reminiscent of a similar section in Balanchine’s Unanswered Question. If there was one drawback to this debut work were the costumes which though appropriate for the male dancers, had a frumpy effect of their female counterparts.

Overall, this one-day only performance at the historic Apollo Theater was a success. And though Ballet Hispanico is still finding its new voice, with Eduardo Vilaro at its helm and its fine casts of dancers, they will get there!!

—William S. Gooch

Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Spring 2014 Restaurant Round-Up

September 4, 2013 by admin Leave a Comment

OK, we all want to look svelte and trim for Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week. I don’t care what anyone tells you this is a very visual industry and you are often judged on how you look. Still, before and after the shows at the Tents you have to get some nourishment and the snack bars and trail mix distributed in the lobby at Lincoln Center is just not enough to satiate your palette or keep your strength up.

Just in time for MBFW, Fashion Reverie has come up with a few places that will satisfy that rumbling stomach and also not break the bank. These eateries are also great places to get away from the hustle and bustle of MBFW, and reflect with a colleague on the great collections you may have witnessed throughout the day.

Image courtesy of Susan Mangino PR

Sirio Ristorante, located not far from Lincoln Center and right next door to the elegant and sophisticated Pierre Hotel is an ideal place to have a cocktail or a chic dinner. (I personally recommend the blue pearl cocktail, a yummy combination of acai and blackberries mixed with vodka.) “The blue berries in the drink look like blue pearls which is why we named the cocktail, Blue Pearl. The Blue Pearl cocktail goes well with any appetizer because it is not too sweet and too strong. It is good for both lunch and dinner because the cocktail has a great balance of sweet and sour,” explains Siro bartender Alla.

Named after legendary restaurateur, Sirio Maccioni, and designed by Adam D. Tihany, the restaurant is the sister restaurant to Sirio Ristorante at the Aria Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. Sirio Ristorante features a menu of contemporary and seasonal Italian cuisine that complements the casual elegance and modern feel of the restaurant.

“A great quick meal at Sirio’s in between shows at the Tents would be our Mediterranean Sea bass, simply grilled with a side of extra virgin olive oil and capers with basil. We have a great array of appetizers from poached lobster, delicately prepared octopus, to salmon tarter with crème fraiche … Sirio is a legend so everyone knows about the great dining experience of Sirio. When you think of Italian dining in NYC, Sirio is the best,” details server Sy Togaan.

Located just a few blocks from Sirio’s, is Richie Notar’s Harlow, a full-service restaurant that evokes old Hollywood glamour while appealing to the modern culinary palette. Upon entering Harlow, guests arrive into a high-ceiling parlor space with plush club chairs and banquet couches throughout the room. There is also a semi-private dining area that seats about 25 with a rectangular, curved sunroof that on a sunny, clear day beams in warm sunrays that can add that special ambience to any afternoon lunch.

Harlow images courtesy of Susan Mangino PR

The approachable menu of simple, yet elegant cuisine was created by consulting chef Danny Ye. My personal lunch favorites were the California Cobb salad, spinach and artichoke salad, crispy fish sliders, and Lamb Gyro. The bespoke cocktail menu, created by Beverage Director Tyler Drinkwater, includes twists on classics.

Now, Fashion Week veterans know that a fair amount of shows are scattered throughout NYC during New York Fashion Week. So, for those fashion insiders who attend shows below 23^rd Street, Grape & Vine housed at the newly renovated Jade Hotel in Greenwich Village is a must dining experience. With its upscale, clandestine Art Deco ambiance, Grape & Vine is the perfect getaways for that fashionista who needs a sumptuous, but serene break from the managed chaos of New York Fashion Week. Restaurant manager Jean-Pierre Yvart expands on the Grape & Vine decor “I came to this restaurant because it is integrated into the West Village and the décor reflects a different time, a time of elegance, sophistication and intrigue. I love the kind of 1920s Prohibition, tucked-away mood of this restaurant. The velvet banquettes, and fireplace and early newspaper images from the Village Voice speaks to a particular time and place.”

Image courtesy of jadehotelnyc.com

“Everything that we serve is market oriented, available from local farms along the Hudson River. A great dish for lunch for those looking for a light lunch before heading back to the shows would be our salmon flat bread with capers. We also have some great salads with autumnal vegetables, and if you want to indulge your sweet tooth our carrot cake is divine, as well as our chocolate layer cake. We try to focus on something for every palette,” continues Yvart.

Great food, great libations, fantastic fashion; am I in Paradise?

Sirio Ristorante is located at 795 Fifth Avenue; Harlow is located at 111 East 56th Street, and Grape & Vine is located in the Jade Hotel at 52 West 13th Street.

—William S. Gooch

Rubix Kube: The 80s Have Never Been This Much Fun

August 28, 2013 by admin 2 Comments

They’re a little bit Punk, a whole lot of Rock n’ Roll with a healthy portion of Pop bundled into a stage show of miasmic crazy, frothy fun. But, that is why their fans love them. Rubix Kube takes you back to the 80s, a fantastic voyage of bold, kaleidoscope colors paired with a nostalgic purview into 80s music as we would like to remember it, crazy, uncensored, unabashedly liberating and free of restrictions. Yeah, that is what 80s music was all about!!

“As an entire decade of music, 80s music is the most fun … When you think of the 80s, you immediately smile,” contends David Zablidowsky, Rubix Kube bass player and vocalist. Rubix Kube lead singer Cherie Martorana continues, “Out of all the decades of music, the 80s has the most genres within that decade. Every decade has one or two genres, but in the 80s there was Punk, Dance, New Wave, Hair Metal, Pop, Rap, and R&B. And every one had money and was happy.”

And happiness and frenzied joy is what Rubix Kube brings to their fans. They have even found a unique way to make Punk, a music genre that speaks to political outrage and nihilism, a pleasurable stroll down 80s memory lane. Vocalist Scott Lovelady who has an uncanny resemblance to Billy Idol explains, “We also perform Billy Idol, Adam Ant, The Clash, Oingo Bongo, Bow Wow Wow, Missing Persons, Nena, Vapors, the Thompson Twins; even early Duran Duran. You have to understand that by the mid-80s Punk was a lot more melodic which made it appealing to a wider audience. It still had a rebellious message but was more radio friendly.”

Still, whether finding a way to make 80s Punk more palatable or successfully mixing all the 80s genres onstage in one show, Rubix Kube guarantees to give audiences the complete 80s experience. “There are other 80s cover bands that try to do what we do. But they sound like they are covering the music from the 80s. Rubix Kube doesn’t cover the music; we sound like the 80s artists themselves. We are a tribute band, not a cover band. We re-create the 80s onstage in our music, in our dress, and also in our attitude,” explains David Z.

Images courtesy of DeWolf Photography

And a 80s experience it is. From Cherie Martorana prancing around in Betsey Johnson frocks to David Z conjuring up images of David Lee Roth in zebra spandex tights to Scott Lovelady performing Spandau Ballet in a 80s Armani suit, Rubix Kube leaves no 80s stone unturned. “We love performing Madonna’s “Like a Virgin,” admits Drummer John Laspina. “Although Cherie performs that tune, sometimes we parody other songs and the guys gets to wear some feminine clothes onstage,” continues Laspina jokingly.

David Zablidowsky in a bustier and garters, hmm, I don’t know? Maybe Rubix Kube should contact The Blonds.

—William S. Gooch

Forest Whitaker Speaks About What Is Special in “The Butler”

August 15, 2013 by admin Leave a Comment

Forest Whitaker in “The Butler”

Finally, it’s here. After months of buzz, “Lee Daniels’ The Butler” opens Friday nationwide.

The film, based loosely on the life of a real White House butler who served during eight Administrations, stars an astounding list of A-listers led by Oscar-winner Forest Whitaker and Oprah Winfrey. The movie was inspired by a Washington Post article written by Wil Haygood about the late Eugene Allen, who served as a White House butler and maitre d’.

Oprah Winfrey and Forest Whitaker in “The Butler”

In addition to the supporting cast that includes David Oyelowo, Cuba Gooding, Jr., Terrence Howard, singer Lenny Kravitz and model/actress Yaya DeCosta, “The Butler” also features a lengthy list of A-listers making cameo appearances including Vanessa Redgrave, Mariah Carey, Jane Fonda (as Nancy Reagan), John Cusack (as President Nixon), James Marsden (President Kennedy) and Robin Williams (President Eisenhower). But the real news about “The Butler” is that the film, written by Danny Strong (“Game Change”) is about more than its all-star cast.

Oprah Winfrey in “The Butler”

“The Butler” stars Whitaker as Cecil Gaines, whose service to seven Presidents serves as a backdrop to some of the biggest moments in American history and the impact history has on Gaines, his wife —played by Winfrey, and their sons and neighbors. Despite the setting, “The Butler” tells history form Gaines’ point of view, emphasizing his life and journey through social and personal upheaval, the most intense being his ongoing conflict with his oldest son who travels his own turbulent journey from Freedom Rider to a Black Panther.

Lee Daniels image courtesy of leedanielsentertainment.com

“This is a love story and a story about a father and son,” said Daniels, during a post-screening interview session hosted earlier this month by the National Association of Black Journalists’ national convention in Orlando. “The White House just happened to be in the background of the story about a father and son. I think the father-son story is universal and that’s’ what really attracted me to the story.”

Whitaker said it was the focus on the butler’s real life drama that attracted him to the project. “This was a story dealing with the love between a man and his family. It had intimacy. It allowed us to see the love of this black family in a way that was very special,” he said.

Whitaker said he also was taken with the different styles of struggle waged by father and son. Though the father, to a younger generation, appeared passive and subservient, the audience sees him waging his own, quiet protest, repeatedly risking his job to ask that the black help receive the same pay as their white counterparts at the White House. The son, meanwhile, insists that he wants more than what his parents have achieved.

“I knew it was going to be very special,” Whitaker said, adding, “And I always wanted to work with Oprah, so I just accepted the blessings and the opportunity.”

While there are a number of peeks at well-known historic moments and White House gossip and legends (LBJ’s bowel issues, for example), a large part of the film is devoted to the realities of the Civil Rights movement as seen through the eyes of Louis, Cecil’s oldest son (played by Oyelowo) who goes from Freedom Rider and lunch counter sit in protester to a Black Panther. He ultimately runs for Congress and protests South African apartheid.

Images courtesy of the Weinstein Company

Daniels said the searing realities captured in some of the 1960s protest scenes were an intense experience for the cast as they endured some of what their real life counterparts had to endure.”We were on a bus that was not air conditioned, that traveled over a bridge where lynchings took place. I yell action and I look up and see all these Klansmen and swastikas coming, the cross is burning,” Daniels said, describing the filming of a scene depicting the Freedom Riders, volunteers who rode through the Jim Crow south to rally support for the Civil Rights movement.

“Everybody in the bus is getting scared. They’re (the actors portraying Klansmen) are shaking the bus. They’re hurling obscenities and everything,” Daniels said. “I think that in that moment I knew what those kids had gone through (in real life) because there was nobody to yell ‘cut’ for them. I knew that they were heroes on the most profound level. They were willing to die. I don’t know that I could be on that bus.”

Daniels said he hopes “The Butler” serves as a tribute and reminder of those who endured the intense struggles for equality—whether working behind the scenes like the butler or in the heat of protests and marches like his son. “This is a way for me to speak to (a younger generation) about this,” he said. “I think this will rip off the scab of an ugly sore that’s affecting all of America.”

—Karyn D. Collins

David Zablidowsky: Positively Expecting the Unexpected

August 12, 2013 by admin 5 Comments

When Fashion Reverie sat down with David Zablidowsky (David Z) after our photo shoot, we were struck by the contradictions and polar opposites, all good. Here is a rock musician who doesn’t party or live the hard, wild life of a rock musician, though he has the party boy swagger and attitude. The long hair conjures up images of 80s rocker style—which is the music he sometimes plays—but his taste and personal style extends to the current punk chic trend with sophisticated tailoring seen currently in high-fashion menswear brands. And though David Z is a bonafide guys’s guy with a strong masculine jawline and ripped body, his complex mix of wild rocker hair, ringed fingers and bangles, black eyeliner and black painted nails demonstrates that he is comfortable pairing the masculine with the feminine in his own unique way. In other words, David Zablidowsky is a kind of modern-day rock n’ roll dandy that appeals to a wide variety of women but is also the man that a lot of men would secretly like to be.

Shirt by Custo Barcelona, leather jeans by John Varvatos, boots by Zara

But wasn’t David Bowie, Mick Jagger, and Alice Cooper rock dandies of their generations? And you cannot forget Marilyn Manson and Adam Lambert, who have successfully combined feminine and masculine elements with onstage outré theatrics. If that be the case, David Z is in good company and his lists of musical accomplishment speak to his ability to find that delicate balance between performance art and skilled musicianship. “In addition to ZO2 and ZO2’s reality-based television show Z-Rock, I have been playing with the Trans-Siberian Orchestra for the past 12 years. When I started out with Trans-Siberian, we were playing small theaters and venues; now we play huge arenas like Madison Square Garden … I have played with Joan Jett and the Blackhearts. I also play with the very popular 80s tribute band Rubix Kube where I get to wear neon colors and spandex on stage … I just finished a European tour with Jeff Soto who used to sing with Journey. Yeah, you could say I stay very busy.” details David Z.

Image courtesy of Anthony Tudisco, shirt by Custo Barcelona

Shirt by Custo Barcelona, leather jeans by John Varvatos

Still, at the heart of David Z’s craft and stage acumen is his love of head banging music and fashion. “Hey, I love clothes … Believe it or not I shop a lot at Zara. It is a European look, affordable and the fit is great. But, I also love G Star, Dsquared2, Custo Barcelona, Tallia Orange, Rochambeau, and John Varvatos, who is geared toward rock n ’roll, and his shop in the Bowery is in the area where the old CBGBs was, so you cannot go wrong,” confirms David Z. “It is unfortunate when musicians don’t realize that you have to present a complete package and your look onstage and off is so important. You have to be cognizant of the fact that this is a business and people are always looking at you. KISS was my idol growing up, so early on I tapped into stage theatrics and enhancing your performance on stage and off with your wardrobe,” continues David Z.

And Rubix Kube is the perfect synthesis for David Z of the music he loves, onstage wild theatrics expressed in flashes of bold color and the manic energy found in 80s Punk. “What I love about Rubix Kube is we get to dress up on stage in crazy 80s clothes and have fun!! There are no rules for what is too much. Sometimes, I’m wearing fuchsia spandex with neon sneakers and a Mohawk,” explains David Z. “Rubix Kube does all 80s music so our Punk repertoire in that genre would be Blondie, Wendy Williams and the Plasmatics, David Byrne and The Talking Heads, Adam and the Ants, Billy Idol, Big Country, The Human League, Oingo Boingo, the Pretenders, Siouxsie and the Banshees, and Eurythmics. A lot of these bands were crossover, so our audience members recognize the music, even if they weren’t fans of Punk.”

Red shirt by Mark

David Z’s Punk leanings go beyond just 80s Punk bands; it extends also to clothes. “I love the mix of styles that pops up in Punk that can be a hodgepodge of interesting fabrics from tartans and denim to vinyl and plastic to the new aesthetic that is more sophisticated and tailored. I love the spikes and hardware. I love the fact that Punk crossed over from music and street fashion to a point of view that you now see on high-fashion runways.”

I guess you could say David Zablidowsky’s musical taste, fashion points of view and life cred could be summed up in positively expecting the unexpected. “I don’t know what every day or prime time work is. My life has be a series of unexpected opportunities … I live a charmed life.” Hmm, we should all be so lucky!!

—William S. Gooch

To view more images from the editorial shoot, click credits image below. For Full Screen click arrow at bottom right of slide.

The Joyce Theater Breaks New Ground with Ballet v6.0 Festival

August 6, 2013 by admin Leave a Comment

Whim W’Him image courtesy of Bamberg Fine Art

There’s more to the ballet world than American Ballet Theatre and the New York City Ballet or regional ballet companies like the Joffrey Ballet Chicago, Miami City Ballet, the Philadelphia-based Pennsylvania Ballet, and Salt Lake City’s Ballet West. Those companies are built on the traditional model that ballet companies in particular have followed for centuries with a single artistic director at the top who dictates everything from the style of the company to the repertoire and the dancers themselves. Dancers who are unhappy or want more freedom to try things out their way usually just leave or seek employment at another dance company.

But increasingly, there is another model being adapted in the ballet world, one that resembles closely in approach and sensibility to how more established companies in the modern dance world have spawned smaller companies. What does that look like in the ballet world? Dance lovers will be able to see for themselves with the debut of the Joyce Theater’s Ballet v6.0 Festival, which begins Tuesday and runs through Aug. 17 at the Joyce, 175 Eight Avenue in New York City (www.joyce.org).

Ballet X image courtesy of Alexander Isiliaev

The festival features six small companies which are considered leaders of this new wave in the ballet world. “I noticed that there’s been a trend. Ballet dancers and choreographers are leaving the traditional large company structure to form their own, smaller scale groups, in order to take control of their careers,” said Martin Wechsler, director of programming for the Joyce Theater. “When they form their own groups, they can decide for themselves what they want to dance or choreograph rather than answering to the artistic director, or in some cases artistic directors. It basically gives them more control over their careers.”

Examples of this modern dance trend are numerous. Martha Graham left the company of choreographer Ruth St. Denis to form her own company. Paul Taylor left Graham’s company to form his own. Stephen Petronio left Trisha Brown’s company to form his own.

Morphoses image courtesy of robertonthearts.com

The most well-known example of this trend in the ballet world was Morphoses, the ballet company started by choreographer Christopher Wheeldon while Wheeldon, a former dancer with the New York City Ballet (NYCB), was still a resident choreographer with NYCB. Morphoses is currently inactive; Wheeldon severed ties in 2010 and the company’s co-founder and executive director, Lourdes Lopez, left last fall to become artistic director of the much larger Miami City Ballet.

Dominic Walsh image courtesy of Gabriella Nissen

Dominic Walsh Dance Theater image courtesy of Gabriella Nissen

The schedule and companies performing as part of the Ballet v6.0 Festival this month are:

Aug. 6-7: Ballet X, founded by Pennsylvania Ballet’s choreographer –in-residence Matthew Neenan and former Pennsylvania Ballet dancer Christine Cox.
Aug. 8-10: Dominic Walsh Dance Theater, founded by Walsh, a former Houston Ballet member.
Aug. 9-10: Company C Contemporary Ballet, founded by NYCB alumnus Charles Anderson.
Aug. 12-13: Whim W’Him, founded by Pacific Northwest Ballet principal Oliver Wevers two years before he left PNB.
Aug. 14-15: BalletCollective, founded by Troy Schumacher who is still a dancer with NYCB.
Aug. 16-17: Jessica Lang Dance, founded by Lang, who has forged a busy career as a choreographer since dancing with Twyla Tharp.

Image courtesy of BalletCollective

The uncertain future of Morphoses highlights the challenges that may lie ahead for these companies. Securing funding and bookings while retaining one’s artistic focus and inspiration are challenges that have bedeviled companies of all sizes and spelled the demise of many.

Said Wechsler, “I think we just have to see how these companies develop in the future. I can’t speak for them about their goals, their desires or how formally they want to exist in the future or even if they’re hoping to grow into a larger scale company. But these types of companies are definitely a trend to watch.”

— Karyn D. Collins

Kronos Quartet Celebrates 40-Year Anniversary at Lincoln Center Out of Doors Festival

July 24, 2013 by admin Leave a Comment

Lincoln Center Damrosch Park Bandshell photo by Kevin Yatarola

Free outdoor performances featuring world-class artists have been a perfect summer recipe for the Lincoln Center Out of Doors Festival for 43 years now. But this year’s festival, which begins Wednesday and runs through Aug. 11, is promising a little something extra: five days of programming marking the 40^th anniversary of the renowned Kronos Quartet.

Bill Bragin, Lincoln Center’s director of public programming, said the Kronos at 40 celebration was a happy meeting of artistic minds. “The Kronos Quartet has accomplished so much at so many different levels. We wanted to do something really special for the 40^th anniversary here,” Bragin said. “One thing we had never done before was to turn over part of our season to a co-curator. But based on our personal rapport as well as the artistic product we knew we were in sync and would collaborate really well. “The important thing for (Lincoln Center) was that it not feel like Kronos would just be here as resident performers but that they really be curators and that the programming would reflect their sensibility and their role as commissioners and collaborators.”

Mark Dendy Dance & Theater Projects
photo by Amelia Barksdale-Patterson

The celebration begins Wednesday with “Ritual Cyclical,” a work by choreographer Mark Dendy that will feature 80 dancers performing to classic recordings by the Kronos Quartet. The piece, which will be performed at 6 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, will use the main plaza space as well as surrounding areas on the Lincoln Center campus. The Kronos Quartet will actually perform live at several of the celebration’s events including a celebration of Afrobeat king Fela Anikulapo Kuti Wednesday evening and collaboration with Ukrainian singer Mariana Sadovska on Thursday evening, both at 7:30 p.m.

Kyle Abraham/Abraham.in.Motion: PavementPhoto: Carrie Schneider

Image courtesy of Carrie Schneider

The festival isn’t all about Kronos Quartet. Other performers scheduled during the rest of the festival include choreographer Kyle Abraham (Aug. 1), “A Tale of Two Nations”—featuring percussionists and dancers from the Northeastern Brazil Carnaval champions and their New York counterparts (July 30, Aug. 1 and 2), and the Rockin’ Rockabilly Revue (Aug. 10). Times and locations vary although most of the evening performances will be held at the Damrosch Park Bandshell off West 62^nd and Columbus Avenue. All performances are free and open to the public.

For Kronos, the Lincoln Center collaboration was a special artistic opportunity, said Kronos artistic director and co-founder David Harrington. “From my standpoint and the standpoint of Kronos and the work we do, the opportunity to cast five shows in New York City at Lincoln Center that we curate and program, and where we get to invite our favorite musicians from all over the place, was all just too good to be true,” Harrington said. “As a way of beginning the 40^th year of Kronos I can’t think of a better way to do it.”

Adam Rudolph image courtesy of Daniel Dawson

Harrington said each day’s performances has special meaning to the group. The Fela concert, for example, will not only provide something of a preview of a forthcoming Kronos album but involves an AIDS awareness charity that is a Kronos favorite. On Saturday afternoon, the quartet will participate in a special Play-Along Concert with educator and musician Craig Woodson during which the audience will be invited to play their own homemade instruments with Kronos.

“I’m really looking forward to (the Play-Along Concert) so much. Craig is someone Kronos has worked with for over 20 years,” Harrington said. “There may be lots of kids joining us and playing with us on instruments they’ve made. It’s so much fun and empowering. It’s important to know that music can be made from all sorts of objects.”

Asphalt Orchestra image courtesy of Kevin Yatarola

Projects like that show one way in which Kronos has succeeded at its original mission to celebrate music from other cultures and traditions. “From the beginning we tried to perform all sorts of things to bring more of the modern world into the realm of string quartets. Basically I’ve spent every day for the last 40 years trying to do that,” Harrington said. “We’ve done more than 800 pieces from men and women, from many different cultures and backgrounds and religions, all sorts of languages, by many different instruments. Culturally we’ve brought some of the world into this realm of string quartet music.”

But he noted that another Kronos goal has not yet been reached. “I was hoping we could create a kind of music that was so powerful that was so powerful and so strong that it could actually protect people from harm, from violence and wars,” Harrington said. “We have not been successful in that yet. But I believe that the best note has not been written yet and I don’t think the best note has been played yet.”

For information and a full schedule for the Lincoln Center Out of Doors Festival, which runs July 24-Aug. 11, go online at LCOutOfDoors.org.

— Karyn D. Collins

Celebrate Food, Travel, and Vintage Clothes with “Tripping Out with Alie & Georgia”

July 10, 2013 by admin 2 Comments

When temperatures rise above 85 degrees, lots of urbanites consider using their vacation time of those extended weekends to jump in a car for summer road trips. Well, Alie and Georgie of “Drinks with Alie & Georgia,” and “Classy Ladies with Alie & Georgia” web series fame have taken summer road trips to new heights with their popular “Tripping Out with Alie & Georgia” show on the Cooking Chanel.

BFFs Alie Ward and Georgia Hardstark have transported their love of travel, vintage clothes, summer cocktails, and easy-to-make hors d’oeuvres wrapped it all in a frothy bow and taken it on road in the ultimate buddy-comedy series. “We wanted a name that reflected that we travel and that we go on trips, freak out, and fall down. We were going to call it the Allie and Georgia show originally but the network wanted a title that reflected travel,” explained Alie Ward.

Image courtesy of tumblr.com

This weekly, zany road trip across America details crazy happenings along the way with great tips on innovative summer cocktails and hors d’oeuvres. “Our favorite drink for the summer is the Palombe Marca which is the grapefruit, tequila, lime, salt and beer cocktail. It is refreshing, busy and bitter. The Palombe Marca has lavender syrup which makes it bright and floral for the summer. When it comes to food we like serving things that are very light and don’t require a lot of preparation. We love meatballs for the summer because they are easy to make, and you can serve them at room temperature. We also love poker chip stacked pancakes that can be served as dessert. For our first episode filmed in Las Vegas, we made tiny poker chip pancakes stacked with maple butter cream frosting,” details Ward and Hardstark.

Image courtesy of the Cooking Channel

Sandwiched between the road trip antics, Alie and Georgia flaunt vintage fashions that harken back to a more simple time. “Vintage dresses are second nature for us. We have been wearing vintage for a long time and we know that we are not going to look like anyone else in the room. When you are wearing a vintage dress you can look very sophisticated which can instill trust and believability. At the same time, some vintage dresses are tight and don’t work that well when you are trying to prepare a meal,” confides Georgia. “When you see girls making and serving cocktails and food in mini dresses and halter tops, you might not think as highly of them or take them very seriously. I am more 1950s Donna Reed and I like something that has a wide skirt that covers all of my derriere, and Georgia is more 60s and gravitates toward those silhouettes,” continues Alie.

Whether creating unusual summer cocktails or camping it up in flirty vintage frocks, Alie Ward and Georgia Hardwick are sure to make palettes water, enlighten minds, and warm hearts in “Tripping with Alie & Georgia.” See popular recipes from “Trippin with Alie & Georgia, go to link below to cookingchanneltv.com/shows/tripping-out-with-alie-and-georgia/recipes.

“Tripping with Alie and Georgia” airs on the Cooking Channel on Fridays at 10:30pm.

—William S. Gooch

21 Club Hosts Women’s Luncheon to Benefit American Friends of Rabin Center

May 4, 2013 by admin Leave a Comment

Do you remember that classic scene from All About Eve when smartly dressed Margo Channing (Bette Davis) and her nemesis Eve Harrington (Anne Baxter) meet at 21’s as Eve tries to blackmail Margo’s friend (Celeste Holm) in the ladies’ room? Well, if you don’t recall the scene or have never seen the movie, no worries; this time around the meeting in the ladies’ room and the adjourning dining area had nothing to with corruption, blackmail or deceit.

This gathering at Club 21 of concerned women and friends was a luncheon to benefit American Friends of the Rabin Center to raise awareness and support for breast cancer early detection and development of new technologies and equipment. “Our goal is for awareness of the need for better equipment for breast cancer and earlier detection,” says Executive Director, Joshua Eli Plaut, PhD.

Executive Director, Joshua Eli Plaut,

American Friends of the Rabin Medical Center works with the particular needs of Israeli women in order to bring a decline in their currently higher rate of breast cancer, especially among women under the age of 50. Proceeds from this luncheon benefit the Rabin Fellows Medical Exchange Program and the partial funding of a Digital Tomosynthesis Mammography and research to fight breast cancer at Israel’s Rabin Medical Center—home to the Davidoff Cancer Center—a world class facility whose sole focus is on the treatment and prevention of cancer.

Images courtesy of Edentpr

Pre-luncheon activities included a silent auction with from Eric Javits, Dr. Z Paul Lorenc, Executive Chef Chris Coleman from Petaluma, Edward Tricomi from Warren Tricomi of the Plaza Hotel and more. While guests feasted on divine snapper with a tomato and cream gravy coupled with roasted asparagus and pepper salad, actress Tovah Feldshuh introduced guest speaker author, playwright and screenwriter Delia Ephron. Ephron spoke about her life and how it important it is for women to find and follow their bliss and be in touch with that positive inner voice that always directs you toward your passion. Ephron also spoke about her new novel, The Lion Is In, which explores three women at various crossroads in their lives and their journey to self-acceptance funneled through the lens of a road trip through rural North Carolina.

American Friends of Rabin Medical Center is committed to helping Israel’s Rabin Medical Center of Petah Tikvah fulfill its mission; sustain and expand its facilities with the most advanced technology and equipment by encouraging individual, family, corporate and institutional commitment to the hospital; publicly promoting the hospital; educating the public; encouraging visitation; creating joint ventures with other medical establishments; and by raising funds through a variety of programmatic efforts throughout the United States.

—Staff