The News Review:
- Dance at the cutting edge
- Hurtin’ music but a fun time was had by all
- Benefits – New York Times
- Dick Martin
- Boston Ballet dancers perform with zest
- Today’s celebration of African Liberation Family Day
- Stage Reviews: ‘In the Heights’ is standout Tony-nominated…
Dance at the cutting edge
The Australian – May 26, 2008
quot;No one comes near. It’s his modesty that appeals to me, and I’ve learned so much from him about making dance accessible to non-dance audiences. He made it seem natural, the way he would break into dance from a walk, picking something up and suddenly he was dancing, moving over the furniture, over anything that’s handy. quot;I’m the opposite of choreographers who say, ‘Give me plenty of space. ‘ I don’t like empty spaces. I want props and sets and plenty of furniture. quot;
Matthew Bourne’s Edward Scissorhands is at the Sydney Opera House from Thursday to June 14; Queensland Performing Arts Centre, June 18-22; His Majesty’s Theatre, Perth, July 1-6; Arts Centre, Melbourne, July 22-August 3.
Hurtin’ music but a fun time was had by all
Toronto Star – May 26, 2008
quot;They say a 13-year-old is not supposed to have developed their ear as well as she has,quot; said sister Amy Schnurr, 19, a contestant in the female open category. quot;I guess that’s why she’s so entertaining ? to see someone so young, and petite as well, have such a big voice come out of her. quot;Barn Dance originated in 1937 as a travelling radio show for CKNX in nearby Wingham. The show, broadcast from towns across southwestern Ontario, went off the air in 1963, but Earl Heywood revived the idea in 1996 as one of Canadian country music’s foremost annual gatherings. It’s still billed as quot;Canada’s largest barn dance,quot; although fans now travel to it, not the other way around. Events range from an actual dance to a gospel singalong. But the main event is the Saturday night stage show featuring an unhurried pace, simple rhythms, the occasional cowboy hat and not a little heartache… Events range from an actual dance to a gospel singalong. But the main event is the Saturday night stage show featuring an unhurried pace, simple rhythms, the occasional cowboy hat and not a little heartache. quot;If you’re trying to break my heart, you don’t have very far to go,quot; one typical line went. quot;My grandson knows 1,000 songs but show him a 78 (vinyl record) and he wouldn’t know what it was,quot; said emcee Jim Swan adding a touch of nostalgia before a receptive crowd, most members old enough to have heard the original Barn Dance radio broadcast. The Ontario Open Country Singing Contest began in the 1980s at the Canadian National Exhibition. It moved to Wingham for 2003-2005, briefly suspended activity, and reconvened in Blyth last year. Unquestionably, the weekend’s hardest working musicians made up the contest’s house band ? guitarist Steve Miller, bassist Ron Cameron and drummer Scott McQuaig, all from Brampton.
Benefits – New York Times
nytimes.com – May 26, 2008
at Florence Gould Hall, 55 East 59th Street. Dinner at Scarlatti, 34 East 52d Street, will follow the performance, which features four dance premieres and benefits the company. Tickets, $175, from (212) 219-3910… A supper party at the Algonquin will follow. Tickets, $150, from (212) 889-3141. Just One Auction FRIDAY — Just One Break, which places disabled workers in jobs in New York City, will benefit from an arts show and auction featuring works of disabled artists. Cocktails and hors doeuvres will be served at 7 P. in the atrium of the RJ Colors restaurant, 237 Park Avenue at 46th Street. Kathy Buckley, a deaf comedian, will perform.
Dick Martin
Telegraph.co.uk – May 26, 2008
Screened in Britain on BBC2, the show made stars of Goldie Hawn and Lily Tomlin and created such catchphrases as “Sock it to me!”, “Here come de judge” and (Martin’s own gnomic rejoinder) “You bet your sweet bippy”. After splitting with his partner Dan Rowan in the late 1970s, Martin went on to become one of American television’s busiest directors. Laugh-In, which was launched in January 1968, was unlike any comedy-variety show before it: rather than relying on tightly scripted song-and-dance segments, it offered a kaleidoscopic, almost stream-of-consciousness series of non sequitur jokes, political satire and wacky antics from a cast of talented young actors and comedians that included Ruth Buzzi, Arte Johnson, Henry Gibson, Jo Anne Worley, the British-born Judy Carne and the ear-cupping announcer Gary Owens. Presiding over it all were Rowan and Martin, two veteran nightclub comics who put their own distinctive spin on the show. Their stand-up banter satirising the contemporary scene seemed to catch the liberated mood of the times. Martin played the clown to Dan Rowan who, like all straight men, provided the voice of reason, striving to correct his partner’s absurdities. Martin, meanwhile, was full of bogus, often risqueacute; theories about life, to which he appeared to cling with unwavering certainty… Richard Martin was born into a middle-class family on January 30 1922 at Battle Creek, Michigan. After leaving high school he elected to work at a Ford car assembly plant before making his way to Hollywood in 1943. While attempting to break into showbusiness, he earned his living as a bartender. He was working in a cocktail lounge at Studio City, California, in 1952 when a mutual friend introduced him to Dan Rowan, a 30-year-old car salesman who was also trying to break into comedy. Within a fortnight they were appearing without pay at a supper club in Los Angeles with Rowan as straight man and Martin as his flippant partner. In their first routine ndash; which they kept in their act for years ndash; Martin (the drunk) heckled Rowan (the Shakespearean actor) as he declaimed from Hamlet. Once established on the American nightclub circuit, the pair signed a seven-year contract with NBC Television in 1957, only to cancel it by mutual agreement three years later after appearing regularly as hosts on the Colgate Comedy Hour.
Boston Ballet dancers perform with zest
Charleston Post Courier (subscription) – May 26, 2008
With something for everyone, the company was radiant in its execution, and the program was a lesson in where ballet began, where it is today and how it got there. This was clear in the evening’s final piece, “In the Upper Room,” choreographed by Twyla Tharp in 1986. It was Tharp who was the first dance-maker to bridge the gap between ballet and modern dance. Driven by the epic score of Philip Glass, dancers ? clad in Norma Kamali costumes, some sporting sneakers ? create continuous momentum with casual athleticism, which is reminiscent of the aerobics craze of the ’80s. The group carried off Tharp’s cheeky irreverence and lightning speed with tireless zest. In an about-face, the traditional variations of “Swan Lake” stands the test of time. The white swan pas de deux, danced by Larissa Ponomarenko and Roman Rykine, was the epitome of heart-melting tenderness with pure dramatic expression… The white swan pas de deux, danced by Larissa Ponomarenko and Roman Rykine, was the epitome of heart-melting tenderness with pure dramatic expression. However, it was the black swan, danced by Erica Cornejo, who stole the spotlight with her cool precision and bold command. In “Break the Eyes,” by the company’s resident choreographer Jorma Elo, the dancers move at breakneck speed in what seemed to be a parody on life in the ballet. The dance begins with Ponomarenko speaking in her native Russian tongue, perhaps musing on the distorted reality of life on stage. These moody sequences ended with a haughty and haunting laugh, then gave way to ensemble dancing to the bright sounds of Mozart. Though the dancing is charged and intriguing, the choreography is, at times, cold and repetitive. But overall it is the dancers who are a delight to behold and the program is thought-provoking.
Today’s celebration of African Liberation Family Day
AntiguaSun – May 26, 2008
One of the most striking scenes in the production was the murder of King Court and his body left on stage. The actor playing our hero remained on stage throughout the celebratory scene, which showed that he died so that future generations could be free to dance, sing, live and ultimately revel in the freedom of choice, albeit more bad choices are made. Significantly, as we can dance, retell stories of early revolutionists, and relish in the freedom of public speech and expression, there are many throughout the world, namely Africa, where such ?simple? public expressions are unheard of. For the brave few who may attempt to make a stand, their feet are literally cut from beneath them, and threats against their lives or the lives of their families are anything but idle. A year later, Saiid Greene?s words ring ever more true. At last year?s gathering, he stated that ?the adults in the country fear the youth, because they are a living reminder of the country?s failure to our young people. ?You speak down to them, and not with them, because you?re afraid of them ? but they are what you?ve sown… The alarming difference, however, is that in the Congo, families are killed and the vehicles to speak out are far and few between. It was Minister of Labour Jacqui Quin-Leandro, who noted at this year?s International Women?s Day March that a clear indicator of society?s failure to its people is the fact that in this 108 square mile country, a rapist can feel secure in knowing that he can rape and not get caught. Rape, let me remind you, was a tool encouraged by the Willie Lynch instructions on ?how to make a slave?, on how to break the strength of a woman. Today from noonThough the numbers who remain in denial or are blasé towards the significance of African Liberation Day outnumber those who remain conscious to the cause, the celebration continues. Today members of the ALD committee in Antigua will organise the first African Village Exposé at the top of Prince Klass Street. Various members of the business community will be on hand to share their products and remind us of the creativity of Black people as well are their comprehensive knowledge. Some of the vendors will include the Best of Books, Made in Antigua, Respect For Life, Niobe?s Fashion, Richard of Ghana Fashion; The African Hebrew-Israelite Community, Top Ranking, and Sister Nats (who makes natural herbal products and bottles them, like garlic syrups and Soya-based products).
Stage Reviews: ‘In the Heights’ is standout Tony-nominated…
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette – Pittsburgh Post Gazette – May 26, 2008
Although the show uses pop musical styles, it always subjects them to the logic of story. What also ignites the show with the urgency that is most exciting about musical theater is the movement and energy on stage, not just the choreography by Andy Blankenbuehler but the entire sense of a neighborhood bursting at the seams. For just one example, I loved the dancing by cell phone light at the end of Act 1. “In the Heights” is not another break-through tribal musical like, in their respective days, “West Side Story,” “Hair” or “Rent,” but it gets its electricity from the same source. You might call it a Latino “Rent,” as some have, except that the story is so familiar, complete with a misunderstanding older generation (”Midsummer,” again). It’s the most exciting new musical I’ve seen on Broadway this year.