Yoshiki in Concert w/ Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra on Jan 12 & 13, at Carnegie Hall - Tickets On Sale Tomorrow

Yoshiki--composer, classically-trained pianist, drummer/percussionist, and the creative force behind the rock group X Japan, has announced a special concert event presented Knitting Factory - Yoshiki Classical, Featuring The Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra. This special classical performance will take place on, Thursday, January 12 and Friday, January 13, 2017 – 7:30 PM both evenings, at Carnegie Hall’s Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage in New York City.

For the Carnegie Hall concert, Yoshiki will perform his original compositions alongside the world-renowned Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra. He will also play several traditional selections TBA. The Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra was named one of the Top 10 orchestras in the world by CNN in 2015.

“I began taking piano lessons and music theory at age four, and became interested in classical works by Beethoven and Schubert,” explains Yoshiki. “In elementary school, I played the trumpet in the brass band, and around age ten started composing songs for piano. I’ve been writing classical music ever since. Needless to say, classical music has been a major influence in my musical career, including X Japan. I was fortunate enough to play Madison Square Garden 2 years ago with my band X Japan. Now I’m playing Carnegie Hall as a pianist with Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, which was another dream of mine. Words can’t describe how honored I am to be performing at such a prestigious venue with an amazing orchestra.”

Tickets for the January 12 and 13 concerts, priced at $105/ $85/ $75/ $65/ $55/ $40, will be available at 11am (EST) on September 29th at the Carnegie Hall Box Office, 154 West 57th Street, or can be charged to major credit cards by calling Carnegie Charge at 212-247-7800 and Carnegie Hall’s website -https://www.carnegiehall.org/Calendar/2017/1/12/0730/PM/Yoshiki-Classical-Special-with-Tokyo-Philharmonic-Orchestra/.

Yoshiki composed Anniversary for piano and orchestra, and performed it with a 77-piece orchestra to celebrate the tenth year of the Emperor of Japan's reign in 1999. In 2015, he composed the theme song and conducted the Super World Orchestra at the opening ceremony of the World Expo. In 2012, Yoshiki composed the official theme song for the Golden Globes®. His classical concerts in 2014 captivated crowds earning him standing ovations and sold out shows in more than 10 countries as he performed classical versions of X Japan songs and popular rock tracks with a string sextet live on stage, as well as some traditional Classical pieces.

His album, Yoshiki Classical debuted at #1 on the iTunes Classical Music chart in 10 countries around the world. Pianist Magazine raved Yoshiki Classical a “true labor of love from a talented artist who’s made an impressive mark within the classical and rock genres.” The album featured performances by YOSHIKI as both the composer and pianist with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Tokyo City Philharmonic Orchestra. Produced by Yoshiki, the album included two selections that were produced by the legendary Beatles producer Sir George Martin. For more information about the album Yoshiki Classical, visit: http://www.yoshiki.net/classical.html. Yoshiki is a Kawai Artist.

In 2011, the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra celebrated its 100th anniversary as Japan’s first symphony orchestra. With about 130 musicians, TPO performs both symphonies and operas regularly. TPO is proud to have appointed Maestro Myung-Whun Chung, who has been conducting the orchestra since 2001, as Honorary Music Director, Maestro Mikhail Pletnev as Special Guest Conductor and Maestro Andrea Battistoni as Principal Guest Conductor. In March, 2014, TPO became made a very successful world tour of six major cities: New York, Madrid, Paris, London, Singapore and Bangkok. In December 2015, TPO held Beethoven’s 9th symphony concerts in Seoul and Tokyo with Mastro Myung-Whun Chung, with Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra combined into one orchestra.

This Yoshiki Classical World Concert Tour will also take place in Japan and Hong Kong.

Japan -Presented By UDO Artists, Inc.-
December 5 (Mon): OSAKA Castle Hall
December 6 (Tue): Tokyo International Forum
December 7 (Wed): Tokyo International Forum
December 8(Thu): Tokyo International Forum

For tickets and information, please visit www.udo.jp

Hong Kong – Presented By Big Honor Entertainment-
December 29 (Thu):  Hong Kong, Asia World Expo

For Tickets and information, please visit: www.puffinent.net

The new music documentary about Yoshiki’s rock group X Japan titled WE ARE X--from Passion Pictures—will be released by Drafthouse Films in New York and Los Angeles on October 21, 2016, followed by nationwide release. Since its premiere at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival--where it was awarded the Special Jury Prize for editing--the film has continued to garner critical acclaim due to its remarkably candid portrayal of its subject, Yoshiki, leader of X Japan.
 

For more information, please visit:

www.Yoshiki.net

Releases + Assets:

http://www.msopr.com/n/client-roster/x-japan

Janis, Me & Bobby McGee in NYC

Janis Joplin on The Cutting Room Floor

In a genre rife with imitation, Janis, Me & Bobby McGee at The Cutting Room on September 15th offers unapologetic originality, with Joplin’s music as the catalyst for a high- energy evening of songs and stories.

Don’t go expecting a Joplin impersonator. At six feet tall with a Joker-esque grin, Karen Irwin may bear a passing resemblance to Joplin if you squint, but she makes it clear:

“I do not play her. I am playing myself. I am inspired by her and I am singing her tunes. But I am not trying to be Janis Joplin. I am trying to be Karen Irwin.”

Irwin had been told for years her singing was reminiscent of Joplin’s, and-- after her fiancé’s sudden death in 2007-- was encouraged to use her Art as a means to healing and self- empowerment.

“An especially dear friend did research to find parallels in [Janis’ and my] lives and philosophies and helped me to construct this cabaret show,” she says. “It’s a universal story, really. Girl isn’t the kind of girl who people think she should be. Girl is bullied and tortured by other boys and girls. Girl fights through the torture to discover her own authenticity and share it with the world.”

While the theme of discovering one’s own voice and comfort in her skin is universal, it’s the differences that resonate most strongly with Irwin. “I see where our stories diverge, mostly. I was given a supportive family and not the unbridled access to drugs [Janis had]. I never really felt connected to my gender until I was able to redefine for myself what it meant to be a woman.”

Having performed the show from Indianapolis to Bangor, with bookings lining up around the country, every audience gets a blood-pumping, powerhouse performance.

“I’m not ‘careful’ when I perform this,” she says. “I leave the stage with bruises and I don’t know where they came from. But it’s worth it. It’s worth it just to get lost. It gets me high. And people are moved.”

But her connection to Joplin and her legacy stops at the stage.

“I wouldn’t want to be her,” Irwin says definitively. “She has encouraged me to be myself.”

  • Janis, Me & Bobby McGee makes its New York debut on Thursday, September 15th at 9:30 at The Cutting Room, 44 E. 32nd St. New York, NY 10010.
  • Tickets are $25 in advance, $30 the day of show and are available at thecuttingroomnyc.com or linking from JanisMeAndBobbyMcGee.com.

Janis, Me & Bobby McGee promotional video

clips from 2015 show in Maine

Desigual @ New York Fashion Week Sep 2016

TIME INC.’s ESSENCE AND INSTYLE REVEAL EXCLUSIVE OCTOBER ISSUE INTERVIEWS FEATURING THE OBAMAS

InStyle Partners with Leading Designers to Release Limited-Edition Tote Bags Benefiting the Peace Corps Let Girls Learn Fund

 Time Inc.’s Essence, the number one media company dedicated to African-American women, and InStyle, the world’s most successful fashion media brand, both debut October issue cover stories featuring the Obamas. Essence highlights both President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama, and InStyle showcases a one-on-one interview with the First Lady.

After nearly eight years as Commander-in-Chief and First Lady, the First Couple talked candidly to Essence to reflect on their legacy, their favorite memories and what’s next after the White House. While weighing in on his most notable moments, the President states: “For me, things like My Brother’s Keeper…that’s something I’m confident we’ll be continuing after we leave…” Also, the First Lady weighs in on their impact: “I think when it comes to Black kids, it means some­thing for them to have spent most of their life seeing the family in the White House look like them. It matters...”

The October Issue of InStyle marks the first time the fashion media brand has ever featured a First Lady. In the final stretch of a polarizing election season, there’s one thing the American public can agree on: the power of Michelle Obama. She talks to InStyle about the importance of educating girls, the impact of social media and, of course, her personal style. On the influence of women globally, she states: “Girls are going to move our country and our world to a place where there’s more peace, more prosperity, more possibility, because women raise the next generations again and again and again.”

In honor of the October cover subject, InStyle has partnered with select American designers to release a line of limited-edition designer tote bags to benefit the Peace Corps Let Girls Learn Fund. Let Girls Learn is an initiative launched by the First Lady and President to help adolescent girls around the world go to school. Bringing the mission to life, each designer pays homage to one of the countries where the Peace Corps Let Girls Learn Fund is creating real change: Carolina Herrera drew inspiration from Peru, Jason Wu from Senegal, Prabal Gurung from South Africa, Narcisco Rodriguez from Malawi, DVF from Moldova, DKNY from Jamaica, and more. The collection is available for pre-order at Shop.InStyle.com on October 13 (interested parties can enter their information to receive updates starting now), with prices starting at $52—and 100% of the profits benefiting the Peace Corps Let Girls Learn Fund. 

“Both Essence and InStyle recognize the resounding influence that the First Couple has had on so many facets of our society. We are delighted that President and Mrs. Obama chose these two powerhouse brands to share their passions and engage with a diverse combined audience of nearly 50 million,” said Alan Murray, Chief Content Officer, Time Inc.

Essence and InStyle October issues will be available on newsstands and via tablet on Friday, September 16.

For details, visit Essence.com  and InStyle.com and follow both on social media:

  • Twitter: @Essence and @InStyle
  • Instagram: @Essence and @InStylemagazine
  • Snapchat: @Essencemag and @InStyle
  • www.essence.com

Kinesis Project dance theatre presents Secrets and Seawalls

At the Adapted Aquatics buildings in Fort Tilden, Gateway National Park
September 18 & October 16, 2016 at 1pm and 4:30pm

Kinesis Project dance theatre, hosted by The Rockaway Artist Alliance and National Parks Service, presents a performance experience along the beach of Fort Tilden on September 18, 2016 and October 16, 2016 at 1pm and 4:30pm. Audiences will meet at Rockaway Artist Alliance Gallery to be brought to the performance, and should wear clothes for a fall day at the beach and shoes for walking. After the performance, audiences are welcome back to enjoy the art opening at the Rockaways Artist Alliance. A post show conversation with the artists will take place on October 16th after the 4:30pm performance. Tickets for Secrets and Seawalls are $25-$45 and are available at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/secrets-and-seawalls-in-the-rockaways-2016-tickets-27126669599.  

Transportation from NYC: Kinesis Project partners with NYC Beach Bus to easily bring our audiences to Ft. Tilden. The bus meets ticketed audience members near Atlantic Avenue and transports audiences - drinks and snacks available! Tickets for bus must be purchased ahead of time via the performance ticket link to board.  

Secrets and Seawalls is a dance in two acts. Inspired by storms and disruption, Melissa Riker and Kinesis Project dance theatre in collaboration with architect Lee H. Skolnick, FAIA, use methods of dance and architecture to explore vulnerability, power, and how each are revealed.  The work premiered along the beach at Fort Tilden in Gateway National Park, The Rockaways in 2015.  Melissa Riker and Lee Skolnick's collaboration, Secrets and Seawalls has spanned the interest of both dance media and architecture. 

"The partnership with architect Lee H. Skolnick is apparent as the audience is coaxed along the promenade by the dancers who, like mischievous water nymphs, lure you to a graffiti-strewn concrete carcass where they are perfectly framed; dip diving through the building's shell."
-The Dance Enthusiast

"The Kinesis Project dance troupe turned the Fort Tilden shoreline into an outdoor theatre...Using the expanse of the abandoned graffiti'ed buildings, the beach and ocean's edge as their performance space..."
-THE WAVE, Rockaway Beach, NY, November 20, 2015

Three years in the making, Secrets and Seawalls stems from the choreographer's questions about the integrity of NYC's seawalls and the impact of weather. Working in collaboration with architect Lee Skolnick, Riker and Skolnick use the lenses of their respective art forms to create a dance work that tracks vulnerability in ourselves and in structures. Choreography by Melissa Riker, in full collaboration with the dancers. Dancers: Cassandra Cotta, Zachary Denison, Michelle Amara Micca, Lonnie Stanton. Concept collaboration: Lee Skolnick, FAIA. Costumes by Asa Thornton.  Live Music by Katie Down, Helen Yee and Michael Evans.  

Melissa Riker is Artistic Director and Choreographer of Kinesis Project dance theatre, celebrating its 10th NYC Season in 2015. She is a New York City dancer and choreographer who emerged as a strong performance and creative voice as the NYC dance and circus worlds combined during the 90's. Riker's dances and aesthetic layer her training as a classical dancer, martial artist, theatre choreographer and aerial performer. She creates dances on site - and in context. 

Riker invents large-scale out-door performances and spontaneous moments of dance for individuals and corporate clients.

Audiences and critics have called Riker's work "a Marx Brothers' routine with soul," "A movable feast." And from The NY Times, her choreography is: "comically acrobatic, gracefully classical, visually arresting."

Since 2005 Kinesis Project's work has been experienced in San Francisco, San Diego, Seattle, Boston, Philadelphia, Vermont, Florida and in New York City at such venerable venues as Danspace Project, Judson Church, Joyce Soho, The Minskoff Theatre, The Cunningham Studio, West End Theatre and Dixon Place.  The company dances outside in sculpture gardens, universities, and annually since 2006 in Battery Park's Bosque Gardens and The Cloisters Lawn as well as hosting over 30 surprise performance all over New York City and the tri-state area as an element of the company's earned income and outreach programming with volunteer populated flashmobs. Residencies include: Earthdance 2006, Omi International Arts Center 2008, Kaatsbaan International Dance Center 2011, TheaterLab 2014, Adelphi University 2014. Ms. Riker is a 2016 CDI Residency Fellow, 2015 LMCC Community Arts Fund grantee and was commissioned by The Brooklyn Botanic Garden for a surprise large-scale work and performances of her work Secrets and Seawalls at Omi International Arts Center, Gateway National Park in partnership with Rockaways Artist Alliance. Ms. Riker has received commissions from Carson Fox and the Ephemeral Festival in 2013, 2014 and 2015 for large-scale outdoor events, NYU in 1998, for an outdoor work long before "flashmob" was coined, 2006 and 2008 grants from the Puffin Foundation for her work Community Movements, a dance work with community volunteers, Fellowships from the Dodge Foundation, Space Grant Residencies from 92nd St Y, The New 42nd St Studio, Gibney Dance Center, and The Joyce Theatre Foundation, and annual artistic merit grants from The Bowick Family Trust to support the continued work of Kinesis Project dance theatre.

Lee H. Skolnick, FAIA (collaborating architect) seeks to synthesize art, science, and architecture to create memorable and meaningful experiences. He unlocks each project's "motivating story" to inspire imagination, curiosity, and understanding. For over 35 years, Mr. Skolnick has passionately developed and pursued his philosophy of "design as interpretation," wherein he seeks to unearth the unique themes and compelling concepts which characterize each project, and to translate them into concrete expression. Breaking down the barriers between disciplines, Mr. Skolnick has created an extraordinary firm where more than 35 designers and educators work in close collaboration. By making a thorough exploration and translation of content the starting point for design, he has brought depth, authenticity, and vision to an enormous array of diverse projects around the world. His museum, cultural institution, and residential projects have been recognized as works of fresh innovation and inspiration. Mr. Skolnick has employed his integrated design philosophy on projects for such clients as the Aileron Center for Entrepreneurial Education in Dayton, OH; the Sony Wonder Technology Lab in New York, Muzeiko: The America for Bulgaria Children's Museum in Sofia, Bulgaria; the Paley Center for Media in New York and Los Angeles; the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC; the Creative Discovery Museum in Chattanooga, TN; the New-York Historical Society; the New York Hall of Science in Queens, NY; the Cooper Hewitt National Museum for Design in New York and the Muhammad Ali Center in Louisville, KY, among many others.

Mr. Skolnick also has served on the Boards of The Cooper Union, Longhouse Reserve, the Society for Environmental Graphic Design and the Editorial Advisory Board of the Journal of the National Association for Museum Exhibition (Exhibitionist). He has served on panels and juries for the New York State Council on the Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts and the American Institute of Architects. He is also a frequent lecturer, instructor, and author of scholarly papers and popular works, and is an Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Leicester, England. 

Since the 1980s, he has been awarded Architectural Digest's "AD100," Cooper Union's "Achievers Under 40," House & Garden's "Design Obsession," the Presidential Citation for Outstanding Achievement from The Cooper Union, "The Most Innovative" by The Best of the Best Luxury Homes magazine, "The Best of the Best" Home Book's House of the Year, and local, state and national AIA Honor Awards. In 2003, Mr. Skolnick was elevated to the American Institute of Architects College of Fellows. In 2007, he coauthored the exceptional book What is Exhibition Design?; an unparalleled handbook that explores what constitutes successful design and clarifies the roles of the various disciplines involved in exhibition design while exploring how new technologies expand the possibilities for both form and function. In 2008, Architecture Omi, an ambitious new project in Columbia County, New York, named Mr. Skolnick as its first Chairman of the Board. Architecture Omi is part of Omi International Arts Center, a renowned not-for-profit art program that provides artist residency programs and outdoor exhibition spaces on its rural campus, where a collaborative environment flourishes between artists from multiple disciplines. Architecture Omi seeks to explore the myriad intersections of architecture, art, nature and human structure.

LIVE Musical Party with Karen Ortiz, at GRILL ON THE HILL: Aug 27, 2016

This August 27, at 8:30 pm, there's a party at Grill on The Hill, that you can't miss. The Grill On The Hill is a lot like “cheers” but with African-Americans, Latino and a vibrant rainbow tribe.

Their new musical series — designed to give new bands a new home — the first in the series begins on Saturday, 8.27 with a feisty Latina.  

Uploaded by Rishabh Natarajan on 2016-04-14.

Karen Ortiz loves music and music loves Ortiz.  The singer/songwriter knew her heart, from a very early age and at 9 year old, she shared the stage with South African legend Hugh Masekela and Paul Simon at Carnegie Hall.  

Fast forward to circa 2016, her voice is stronger and the message of her original songs stress the power of positive changes and the value of tolerance. 

Originally from the boogie-down Bronx, the gifted songstress/songwriter is bringing her band to Grill On The Hill, on Saturday, August 27th (9:30pm) as part of the new program to promote up and coming singers in Harlem. 

Q: Karen, How would you describe your music?

I think every artist has qualms with answering this question because it makes you define an extension of yourself. I write my own songs and I'm a primarily a singer so that would put me under singer songwriter, which is funnily a genre for a lot of people, though it doesn't say much about the music itself. I'm unsigned, so I guess that's indie? I write a lot of folky, kinda rock stuff but I'm brown so I get labeled some variation of soul quite often. I tend to not try to describe it at all. People can make of it whatever they want. I'd only describe it as honest.

Q: As a songwriter, in this city, where do you cull your inspiration?

City life, for sure. I have a song, "Bartender", as many artists in this city find themselves in the service industry to support their craft. In it I talk about how exhausting it is to do something for the sole purpose of building something somewhere else and living at night. The type of people you surround yourself with when you live at night, either serving cocktails or serving up songs at a venue, they're never in work mode, though you always are. Writing songs is a way for me to deal with stress and the high demands this city has on us, especially with the cost of living... and i don't just mean financially. The removal from all things natural and limited access to it and how we adapt is always interesting to me. I also have a song called "Dogs Used To Be Wild," and it essentially explores to what extent we can be removed from our nature and be domesticated into becoming a totally different animal. That's what us city folk do.

Q: Top 3 musical influences.

These will change in a week but I would say vocally, Jeff Buckley has always inspired me. Not just his power and range but he was extremely versatile. Bob Dylan's lyricism is amazing because he tells a story the whole time and it's hard for you to know his music without listening to what he's actually saying. Same goes for Father John Misty. Nina Simone I relate to on many personal levels. I remember the first time I heard her was a live recording of a performance. Her rapport with the audience was so relaxed and nonchalant, as if she couldn't tell that everyone was in love with her. And she definitely left a lot of space for silence. I LOVE when an artist doesn't feel like they have to entertain in between songs and is just themselves for a moment. I know this is cheating but Ella Fitzgerald's style is unmatched and I'd totally fan girl over her if i could get in a time machine and do that. 

Q: Why do you love being on stage?

That's a good question! I dunno if I love being on stage, I just know I have no choice. I don't really know how to be happy without it and my mental hygiene suffers. I don't covet the limelight, I just wanna create something better than I am that has more lasting power than this useless body. What I do love is representing the underrepresented. So I won't be making any love songs or shaking a scantily clad body anytime soon. Hahahaha, luckily for you. That's just not my bag and there are plenty of people that already do that and do that really well, lol. They're killing it out there with the live songs and the booty shaking and good for them! What I do love is giving someone a message they relate to that no one else is talking about but they actually deal with, like feeling kind of lost or like you're not really building anything. Before you think I'm some saint about it, i should clarify that it's totally selfish. I just have to do it. Haha

Q: In NYC you top 3 watering spots?

Ha! I drink at places I notice the staff doesn't hate their lives. That and at home. Lol-in all seriousness, probably where is convenient for everyone else. Only if I'm trying to impress someone or am dragged somewhere do I go to "nice" bars. Well.... Here's a better answer: anyplace with boardgames, dogs, or not a line to get to the bar. If it's summer, a big neighborhood bar with plenty of picnic tables is always nice. Or spicy food and sake in the winter. You know, I'm afraid of giving real answers of real hidden gems on account of all the changes happening in our neighborhoods, haha. Stick with the Lower East Side, guys. That's already yours.

Q: Fill in the blank:  I make music becasue

I must. That's who I am, a musician.

-------------------

Click the link below, to get tickets for the event:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/rockin-musical-benefit-party-for-the-sleepytown-collection-join-singersongwriter-karen-ortiz-tickets-27017046714

GRILL ON THE HILL. SATURDAY, AUGUST 27th. 9:30pm. Part of the New Music

Series. FREE

Tickets on Sale for Works & Process, the Performing-Arts Series at the Guggenheim - Fall 2016 Season

Highlights: Operatic Adaptations of It's a Wonderful Life by Jake Heggie and Breaking the Waves by Missy Mazzoli
Steppenwolf: The Fundamentals by Erika Sheffer
The Metropolitan Opera: L'Amour de Loin by Kaija Saariaho
Peter & the Wolf with Isaac Mizrahi
Works & Process Commission: Jodi Melnick with Sara Mearns, Jared Angle, and Gretchen Smith

Works & Process at the Guggenheim is pleased to announce its fall 2016 season. Since 1984 the performing-arts series has championed new works and offered audiences unprecedented access to leading creators and performers. Each intimate program blends performance with stimulating conversation with the creators, and takes place in the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum's Frank Lloyd Wright-designed, 285-seat Peter B. Lewis Theater. Described by the New York Times as "an exceptional opportunity to understand something of the creative process," Works & Process is produced by founder Mary Sharp Cronson. A season preview video is available and further details can be found at worksandprocess.org.

Lead funding for Works & Process is provided by The Florence Gould Foundation and The Christian Humann Foundation and is supported in part by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council. 

Fall 2016 Season Schedule
Opera Philadelphia
Breaking the Waves by Missy Mazzoli
Monday, September 12, 7:30 pm
Composer Missy Mazzoli and librettist Royce Vavrek's chamber opera Breaking the Waves, based on Lars von Trier's 1996 Academy Award-nominated film of the same name, tells the story of a couple's sacrificial love. Prior to the world premiere, cast members perform excerpts, and Mazzoli and Vavrek discuss their creative process.

Kate Weare Company
Marksman
Sunday, September 18, 7:30 pm
Choreographer Kate Weare's newest work, a sextet with an original score by saxophonist Curtis Robert Macdonald, zeroes in on our ability to precisely intuit one another with senses remote from modern consciousness yet imperative to our survival. Dancers perform excerpts from the new piece prior to its premiere at the Joyce Theater in New York. Weare and Macdonald participate in a moderated discussion before the Joyce premiere. 

Steppenwolf
The Fundamentals by Erika Sheffer
Monday, September 26, 7:30 pm
A Steppenwolf commission, The Fundamentals explores America's corporate culture through its main character, Millie, a resourceful young mother and housekeeper at a New York luxury hotel. When an opportunity in management gives her the chance to leave her blue-collar life behind, she is faced with how much, and who, she is willing to sacrifice. Cast members perform excerpts, and playwright Erika Sheffer and director Yasen Peyankov provide a behind-the-scenes look at the play's production. 

Carnegie Hall
Steve Reich 80th Birthday
Sunday, October 8, 7:30 pm
Preview Carnegie Hall's Steve Reich 80th Birthday celebration. Prior to its world premiere on November 1, Ensemble Signal conducted by Brad Lubman will perform excerpts from Reich's new work Pulse, Signal will also perform Quartet, a work scored for two pianos and two vibraphones. The program culminates with video excerpts from Three Tales, a ground breaking video opera by Reich and Beryl Korot. Reich and Korot will participate in a moderated discussion with Stuart Comer, MoMA chief curator of media and performance art. Pulse is co-commissioned by Carnegie Hall.

MCC Theater
Ride the Cyclone by Jacob Richmond and Brooke Maxwell
Sunday, October 16, 7:30 pm
Prior to the New York premiere of Ride the Cyclone,creators Jacob Richmond and Brooke Maxwell and director Rachel Rockwell discuss the quirky musical that follows six teenagers whose lives are tragically interrupted aboard a roller coaster ride that promises a prize like no other. Excerpts will be performed. 

Works & Process Commission Encore
Commedia dell'arte by John Zorn
Sunday, October 23, 9 pm
American composer and musical pioneer John Zorn returns with Commedia dell'arte, a suite of five miniatures inspired by the dell'arte characters Harlequin, Colombina, Scaramouche, Pulcinella, and Pierrot. Zorn participates in a moderated discussion.


Rules Of The Game by Jonah Bokaer and Daniel Arsham
Monday, October 31, 7:30 pm
Choreographer Jonah Bokaer and scenographer Daniel Arsham's largest collaboration yet, Rules Of The Game is a new multidisciplinary work for eight dancers. It features an original score composed by Pharrell Williams, arranged and conducted by David Campbell and recorded by the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. Bokaer discusses the collaboration, and excerpts are performed before the New York premiere at Brooklyn Academy of Music's Next Wave Festival. 
Enter via the ramp at 88th St and 5th Ave. 

Houston Grand Opera
It's a Wonderful Life by Jake Heggie and Gene Scheer
Sunday, November 6, 7:30 pm
Houston Grand Opera artistic and music director Patrick Summers, composer Jake Heggie, and librettist Gene Scheer discuss Heggie and Scheer's It's a Wonderful Life-an opera based in part on the timeless film It's a Wonderful Life* (1946) and Philip Van Doren Stern's short story The Greatest Gift (1943). Excerpts will be performed prior to the world premiere. 
*The opera adaptation is by permission of Paramount Licensing, Inc and co-commissioned by San Francisco Opera. 

The Metropolitan Opera
L'Amour de Loin by Kaija Saariaho
Monday, November 7, 7:30 pm
Excerpts from Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho's breakthrough opera L'Amour de Loin are performed prior to the Met Opera premiere in a new production by Robert Lepage. Peter Gelb, General Manager, Metropolitan Opera, willmoderate a discussion with Saariaho and the creative team. 

Works & Process Commission
Jodi Melnick with Sara Mearns, Jared Angle and Gretchen Smith
Sunday, November 13, 3* and 7:30 pm
Monday, November 14, 7:30 pm
See the culmination of choreographer Jodi Melnick's Works & Process residency with dancers Sara Mearns, Jared Angle, and Gretchen Smith. Melnick's work weaves dance, spoken text, and moderated discussion with Claudia La Rocco. The performance features live music for harpsichord by composer György Ligeti, violin by composer Heinrich Biber,and newly commissioned music by Robert Boston. 
*Enter via the ramp at 88th St and 5th Ave. 

Nederlands Dans Theater with Sol León and Paul Lightfoot
Tuesday, November 15, 7:30 pm
Preview Nederlands Dans Theater's New York City Center season with excerpts from choreographic works by Sol León and Paul Lightfoot, Marco Goecke, and Crystal Pite. León and Lightfoot will participate in a moderated discussion. 
Enter via the ramp at 88th St and 5th Ave. 


Juilliard Dance
New Dances with John Heginbotham, Katarzyna Skarpetowska, Pam Tanowitz, and Matthew Neenan
Sunday, November 20, 7:30 pm
Excerpts of new works by four innovative choreographers-John Heginbotham; Katarzyna Skarpetowska; Pam Tanowitz; and Matthew Neenan- are performed by Juilliard Dance students prior to their premieres. Artistic director Lawrence Rhodesdiscusses the creative process with the choreographers. 

Peter & the Wolf with Isaac Mizrahi
December 3, 4, 10, 11, 2:30 pm and 4 pm
December 9, 5 pm and 6:30 pm
Isaac Mizrahi narrates Sergei Prokofiev's charming children's classic as Brad Lubman conducts Ensemble Signal, and a cast performs choreography by John Heginbotham, bringing the 30-minute story to life for the young and young at heart. 
For children 5 and up. 
Premium front-row ticket: $100/$90 Friends of Works & Process and Guggenheim members
Enter via the ramp at 88th St and 5th Ave. 

Holiday Concert
Sunday and Monday, December 18 and 19, 7 pm
In what has become a revered annual tradition, Vox Vocal Ensemble, led by George Steel, fills the museum's iconic rotunda with the joyous sounds of holiday music. 
The museum closes at 5:45 pm and reopens at 6:45 pm for the concert. 
Floor seating: $40, $35 Friends of Works & Process and Guggenheim members
Ramp standing: $20, $15 Friends of Works & Process and Guggenheim members 

Location:
Peter B. Lewis Theater, unless otherwise noted
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
1071 Fifth Avenue at 89th Street
Subway: 4, 5, 6 train to 86th Street
Bus: M1, M2, M3, or M4 bus on Madison or Fifth Avenue

Tickets:
$40, $35 Friends of Works & Process and Guggenheim Members, unless otherwise noted.
$10 student rush tickets available one hour prior to each performance if space allows (for students under 25 with valid ID). 
For the box office call 212 423 3575, Mon-Fri, 1-5 pm, or visit worksandprocess.org.

Shawn Blanchard: From Crack Baby to Author, Speaker & Mentor

Shawn Blanchard was born on the Westside of Detroit with drugs in his system in an environment surrounded by drugs, sex, poverty, and negative peer pressure. He has seven brothers. Today, three are deceased, and two are incarcerated. In reading this, most would assume that with his upbringing there would be no hope for a better tomorrow. They would assume that his beginning would be the very end of his story, when in fact, his story had just begun.

Present day, Shawn is a Mentorship Specialist, Author, and Speaker who has dedicated his life to mentoring and providing youth with the necessary tools needed to reach success for over 15 years. He was recently honored and awarded the President Barack Obama's Volunteer Community Service Award in DC at the White House. Art Shrian and myNewYorkeye had a conversation with Shawn, and he's smart, funny and inspiring. Just what you would expect. Here are the excerpts:

Art Shrian: You started with unfortunate beginnings, but you not only came out of it, but turned it around. Who and what motivated you to be able to do that?

Shawn Blanchard: There are honestly a ton of factors that influenced me. Quite frankly, I believe that we all have unlimited factors that have the potential to influence us if we let them. Formal mentorship was a big part of my motivation starting with my Grandmother, a high school counselor, some brothers, and some of my sisters. Even if I didn’t want to emulate someone exactly there were factors that I appreciated or they served as a “really good bad example” and I knew exactly what I didn’t want to emulate. Beyond the individuals I watched television and would see A Different World, Will Smith’s charisma and fun intelligence in Fresh Prince, James Bond’s overall articulate yet masculine finesse, Eddie Murphy’s suave persona in Boomerang, and countless others that I would sew together to produce the kind of man package I wanted to embody.

AS:  As people of color, we face injustice and lack of same opportunities everyday. How was your journey (any specific examples), and how did you overcome those obstacles?

SB: I think we should approach every situation with excellence in mind regardless of our circumstances. If you give me a seemingly impossible test, that simply means that your “impossible” is about to be my “possible”. Such situations give us the ability to strive beyond the norm. When I hear statistics or myths about my people I simply understand that there is general information out there that doesn’t apply to everyone. Society and media has a way of painting a tainted picture of people of color. I see these statistics broken all the time and in many instances the “statistics” are lies. People often talk about the amount of black men in prison when in actuality there are more black men in college then in prison. I recall being at the University of Michigan. I was told that I shouldn’t take math or economics courses because they would be difficult for me to pass given my background being from a high school in an underserved community. So, I made math and econ my major and even taught math at the University of Michigan during the summers. I take pleasure in obstacles. They tend to be opportunities.

AS: Now you're mentoring young folks, and giving back to the community through your book, seminars and other ways. How important is this to you? And how has it impacted you personally, in process of helping others?

SB: This is my life’s mission. I’m blessed because it takes some of us a lifetime to find our purpose in life. My main thought behind what I do is making sure that my presence and tools make the lives of others better. Otherwise, I would be working in vein. This has impacted my personality because it forced me to dig deep into myself, my experiences, and research to find solutions to some of life’s most difficult scenarios. It also gives me clarity of what is truly fulfilling. Making the life of another better is a real reward.

There are many roads to travel in life. Often times our best self is the self that selects the road less traveled. Answers to all of life's questions are all around us. We can find such answers by tapping into the GURU's called mentors. The answers we need in life are all around us.

AS: You happen to be a fashion and men's style expert and successful entrepreneur as well. How important do you think dressing up and your appearance is to be successful in life? 

SB: Attire plays a helpful role in our success. It shapes the minds of others through there first impressions. I’m a firm believer in knowing you have to teach people how to treat you. An easy first step is displaying the visual aspect of excellence through attire. It displays your energy level, attention to detail, gentleman knowledge, individuality, and overall intelligence. Secondly, we have to psychologically send ourselves personal messages. One’s attire can send a message of importance to self.

AS: Any particular tips on mens styling and what's going to be HOT this summer?

SB: This summer there are a couple looks that I foresee being winners. For the dressier look patterns on patterns, neckerchiefs, and shades of grey are setting the tone. For the more relaxed look; overly distressed jeans, baseball caps, and backpacks that are cool enough to take into a boardroom will set the stage.

AS: What's your favorite TV shows, and what's in your netflix/amazon queue right now?

SB: Great Question! My favorite television show is definitely POWER! It’s a real show that some see as entertainment, however, it is definitely a reality that many are not privy to. Lately I’ve been letting it loop in amazon while I get work done to make sure I’m caught up for the upcoming season. I just started Game of Thrones… I like it!

AS: Who would you like to play you, in your biopic? Why?

SB: Hmmm… I was just having this conversation on FB Live. There are a number of actors that would play the role well. I think Michael B. Jordan or Chadwick Boseman may be good choices. I think Michael B. Jordan would be really believable because it would be playing a merger between his role in Rocky, Fruitville Station, mixed with an intellectual, charismatic care giver which I haven’t seen him do yet. Seems like he’s naturally that kind of person anyway. Chad on the other hand has mastered the art of playing another character well which we saw in Jackie Robinson. This would be a totally new role for him that I’m sure he could execute well.

AS: What's your most favorite and least favorite thing about NYC?

SB: My most favorite aspect of NYC is the hard work among the rich cultured melting pot. Between various ethnicities, food, dance, and language, there is a universal thirst for hard work and acceptance of diversity. My least favorite aspects are the rats in the subway! Those things are like small dogs! LOL!

CNN Impact Your World Looking at Shawn Blanchard today, it's hard to believe the polished, well-spoken University of Michigan grad and Detroit city official once envisioned a life as a kingpin drug dealer. "Never judge a book by its cover," he laughs.

More than $82 Million Awarded for Arts Projects Nationwide Including $14,000 awarded to Ardea Arts

National Endowment for the Arts Chairman Jane Chu has approved more than $82 million to fund local arts projects and partnerships in the NEA's second major funding announcement for fiscal year 2016. Included in this announcement is an Art Works award of $14,000 to Ardea Arts for the creation of BOUNCE The Basketball Opera. The Art Works category supports the creation of work and presentation of both new and existing work, lifelong learning in the arts, and public engagement with the arts through 13 arts disciplines or fields.

"The arts are all around us, enhancing our lives in ways both subtle and obvious, expected and unexpected," said NEA Chairman Jane Chu. "Supporting projects like the one from Ardea Arts offers more opportunities to engage in the arts every day."

To join the Twitter conversation about this announcement, please use#NEASpring16. For more information on projects included in the NEA grant announcement, go to arts.gov.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

To support the production and outreach activities of Ardea Art's Basketball Opera, BOUNCE, a dramatic mix of music, theater and basketball involving youth and community both in the process and performance of the work. BOUNCE is grounded in contemporary youth issues, including teen violence.  It brings to life a story of the soaring hopes, dreams and aspirations of Isaac (Icarus) "Ike the Flight" Harris, a high school basketball player who overcomes temptations and life's hard lessons. An accessible, affordable-to-produce opera performed on basketball courts across the country in parks, athletic centers, schools, correctional facilities and theaters. This universal opera is conceived by director Grethe Holby, with story and libretto by basketball author and poet Charles R. Smith, Jr., and music by Grammy award-winning composer Glen Roven with additional music by folk blues Global soul composer Tomás Doncker and EDM Producer Ansolo.  Partners include University of Kentucky Opera Theatre (development); WNYC (media); Alaska Public Media, City Parks Foundation, Gangstas Making Astronomical Community Changes (GMACC), and three city high schools: EBC High School for Social Service, Nazareth Regional HS, both in Brooklyn, and Business of Sports School (BOSS) in Manhattan. 

ARTIST BIOS

Grethe Barrett Holby (Concept & Direction) Collaborating on well over 35 new operas over her career, she launched the groundbreaking organization American Opera Projects in 1988, which she led for 13 years, then Ardea Arts/Family Opera Initiative in 2006. A Rockefeller fellow, Holby has collaborated with Leonard Bernstein, Placido Domingo, Yusef Komunyakaa, Lou Reed, Menotti, Kitty Brazelton and others, in venues from The Kennedy Center and La Scala to The Kitchen. Productions for Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Indianapolis, North Carolina, Memphis, Anchorage, Houston, Michigan, and Washington opera companies; and originating cast member of Philip Glass/Robert Wilson Einstein on the Beach.

Glen Roven (Lead Composer/Music Supervisor) Composer, lyricist, conductor, pianist; Founder and Artistic Director for RovenRecords, distributed worldwide by Naxos; 12 -time nominee and 4-time Grammy winner; collaborated with Quincy Jones, Wynton Marsalis, Frank Sinatra, Julie Andrews, Aretha Franklin, Renee Fleming, Kathleen Battle and hundreds of other celebrities for film, television, Broadway, Carnegie Hall and many other international venues and orchestras.

Charles R. Smith, Jr. (Story and Libretto) Award-winning author, photographer and poet with over thirty books to his credit including a Coretta Scott King Award for Illustration (2010) for his photographs accompanying the Langston Hughes poem "My People" and a Coretta Scott King Honor Author Award (2008) for his biography on Muhammad Ali, "Twelve Rounds to Glory." Early books such as "Rimshots", "Hoop Kings" and "Hoop Queens" focus on his love of basketball.

Tomás Donker (Additional Music) Global Soul composer and producer. Directs, composes and performs with his ensemble, Tomás Doncker Band. Guitarist for James Chance & The Contortions, Defunkt, J. Walter Negro & The Loose Jointz. Collaborated with Boosty Collins, Yoko Ono, The Itals, & Prince Charles Alexander. Current projects with Ivan Neville, Bonnie Raitt, Meshell Ndegeocello, Living Colour's Corey Glover, P-Funk keyboardist Amp Fiddler Shamekia Copeland, & Bill Laswell.

Ansolo (EDM tracks) A DJ and Electronic Dance Music Producer, Ansolo has performed in major EDM concert venues and festivals around the world including Electric Zoo and Ultra Music Festival. 

Everett McCorvey (Lead Music Director) Professor of Voice, OperaLex Endowed Chair in Opera Studies, and Director and Executive Producer of The University of Kentucky Opera Theatre: Artistic Director of the National Chorale, New York City; Director, American Spiritual Ensemble; Vice chair Kentucky Arts Council. Professional Credits: the Kennedy Center, Metropolitan Opera, Teatro Communale (Italy), Radio Music City Hall. A basketball fan, he often sings the National Anthem for UKY Wildcats games.

NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS

Established by Congress in 1965, the NEA is the independent federal agency whose funding and support gives Americans the opportunity to participate in the arts, exercise their imaginations, and develop their creative capacities. Through partnerships with state arts agencies, local leaders, other federal agencies, and the philanthropic sector, the NEA supports arts learning, affirms and celebrates America's rich and diverse cultural heritage, and extends its work to promote equal access to the arts in every community across America. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the National Endowment for the Arts and the agency is celebrating this milestone with events and activities through September 2016.

ARDEA ARTS Founding Artistic and Executive Director - Grethe Barrett Holby

Ardea Arts commissions, develops, and produces provocative new works of music-theater and opera to entertain, challenge and inspire today's diverse global community, uplift the human spirit, and encourage new ways of seeing our world. It is their goal to engage the community to the greatest extent possible in both the process and performance of the work, producing both within and far outside the walls of the opera house in order to reach the widest public possible. Collaboration is sought with unexpected artists to include American contemporary and popular forms in the operatic musical palette. Ardea Arts works out of its studio in Soho, New York City.

In addition to BOUNCE, Ardea Arts repertory includes Flurry Tale  (1999), Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (2001), Fireworks!  (2002), Animal Tales (2005), The True Last Words of Dutch Schultz (2007), The Man in the Black Suit (2008),Goodnight Moon/Plums (2009), CAT (2010), Maya's Ark  (2013), BABAR The Little Elephant (2014), One Christmas Long Ago (2015), and in development, The Three Astronauts. Producing partners have included Center for Contemporary Opera, French Institute NYC (FI-AF), American Opera Projects, NYC Central Park Zoo, Infinity Music Hall CT, and International Symposium for Personal and Commercial Space.

BOUNCE The Basketball Opera will have workshop performances this June 25-27. Please visit www.ardeaarts.com for details.

Big Apple Circus Returns to Cunningham Park with the Queens Premiere of The Grand Tour May 15 – June 12, 2016

Big Apple Circus returns to Cunningham Park for the company’s 38th season with the Queens Premiere of The Grand Tour! Tickets start at $25, and the show runs from May 15 – June 12, 2016 under the Big Top at Cunningham Park, located at Union Turnpike and 196th Street in Oakland Gardens, NY 11363. To purchase tickets or for more information, visit www.bigapplecircus.org.

See high-flying acrobats, lovable clowns, the Wheel of Wonder, ponies, puppies and more! All seats less than 50 feet from the ring. In this all-new show, The Grand Tour transports audiences to the advent of the modern travel era, when the most adventuresome began touring the world in ships, planes, trains, and automobiles. Audiences will be awed by the world-class entertainers as they perform breathtaking acts from the four corners of the globe. Clowns, jugglers, acrobats, and aerialists from Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, and North and South America set off on a whirlwind adventure, accompanied by the live, seven-piece Big Apple Circus Band at each performance.

“The Grand Tour is a first-class jaunt.”
— – The New York Times
“A class act ... Sophisticated and beautiful.”
— – The Village Voice
“Language can’t do justice to the visual and kinetic thrills of the Big Apple Circus. Just go!”
— – Time Out New York
“Polished and fun.”
— – Daily News
“The Finest Up-Close Circus in America.”
— – Variety
“America’s Best Circus for Children.”
— – Parents Magazine

Four-time Big Apple Circus ringmaster John Kennedy Kane returns to introduce a variety of stunning performers: clowns Joel Jeske and Brent McBeth; third-generation circus animal trainer Jenny Vidbel with her pony and dog acts; aerialist Sergey Akimov; international juggling sensation Alexander Koblikov; ninth-generation circus performer Chiara Anastasini with hula hoops; the Dominguez Brothers defying the law of gravity with their thrill-filled act featuring the Wheel of Wonder; Chinese hand balancers The Energy Trio; the African acrobatic troupe Zuma Zuma; and the Dosov Troupe soaring on the teeterboard.

The Grand Tour, conceived and created by Joel Jeske, is directed by Mark Lonergan (artistic director of Parallel Exit, the three-time Drama Desk Award-nominated physical theater company) with choreographer and associate director Antoinette DiPietropolo. Musical direction by Rob Slowik, with clown material created and directed by Joel Jeske. Set and lighting design by Maruti Evans, costume design by Oana Botez, and props design by Katie Fleming.

Big Apple Circus Embraces Autism will take place on Tuesday, May 31, 2016 at 11am. Big Apple Circus has joined with world-renowned Autism Spectrum Disorders experts to adapt The Grand Tour for families with members on the spectrum and create a joyful experience for all. The adapted show includes the same world-class artistry as the full performance with a shorter running time, adjusted lights and sound, a calming center, pictorial social narratives, and specially trained staff and volunteers to assure a memorable event for everyone! All tickets to this special performance, a 75-minute abbreviated show, are half price ($12.50–$37.50).

A special Big Apple Circus Member event, including dessert in the ring with the performers, will be held following the performance on Saturday, May 21, 2016 at 4:30pm.  For more information on how to become a Big Apple Circus Member, please visit http://www.bigapplecircus.org/join-and-give.

As a nonprofit performing arts institution, the Big Apple Circus is committed not only to thrilling audiences in the ring, but also to bringing the joy and wonder of circus into the community. Big Apple Circus creates direct, shared connections inside its one-ring Big Top AND in hospitals, nursing homes, and schools, in its New York City home and in cities across America.

““These performers, many from circus dynasties, preserve an important tradition, reinforced by the nonprofit Big Apple Circus’s commendable community-service activities, notably the
Clown Care program, which entertains hospitalized children. This company … doesn’t only have awe-inspiring acrobatic skills; it has a lot of heart, too.””
— – The New York Times, 2014 Critics’ Pick

Big Apple Circus Clown Care® brings the joy of classical circus to hospitalized children at 15 leading pediatric facilities across the United States. Performers collaborate with doctors and staff to design a program to fit the needs of each hospital. Members of the Clown Care team bring the healing power of humor to children with acute and chronic illnesses, visiting nearly 225,000 young patients every year.

Big Apple Circus offers a specially adapted performance of the show, Circus of the Senses, for children and adults with vision or hearing impairments and/or other disabilities. American Sign Language interpreters are positioned in spotlights throughout the tent, and wireless audio headsets transmit a live audio play-by-play description of the action in the ring. Braille or large-print descriptive programs are available for audience members. A “touch session” after the show offers a unique opportunity for pre-selected groups of visually impaired children to go into the ring to meet the artists and literally feel a clown nose, a juggler's clubs, or the silky coat of a performing dog.

Big Apple Circus Embraces Autism provides performances with modified lighting and sound as well as a staffed calming center, to meet the needs of children on the autism spectrum. Inclusion is a core value at Big Apple Circus, which is dedicated to delivering the finest circus entertainment to everyone, regardless of physical or cognitive ability, or economic circumstance.

Circus for All! distributes free and subsidized tickets to schools and nonprofit organizations serving low-income children and families, enabling many of them to experience the excitement and wonder of the circus for the very first time.

Circus After School teaches kids life skills such as teamwork, responsible risk-taking, and perseverance, through a structured program of learning and performing circus arts.

About Big Apple Circus

(Will Maitland Weiss, Executive Director; Guillaume Dufresnoy, Artistic Director)

Conceived and founded by Paul Binder and Michael Christensen to be a leading presenter of live family entertainment and a nonprofit performing arts institution, our nation-wide performances and community programs have made our 38-year history far-reaching and full. It all began in 1974, when American entertainers Binder and Christensen became juggling partners and took to the street corners of Europe. Their comedic juggling act was a hit, and they soon found themselves on the stage of the prestigious Nouveau Cirque de Paris. They returned home to America in 1976 with a vision: to entertain and improve the lives of millions of American children and families. One year later, they found a site for the first tent-raising in Battery Park, New York, and went on to create the award-winning, nonprofit Big Apple Circus. For more information, visit www.bigapplecircus.org.

About Cunningham Park

Culture, sports, nature... and fun! All of these things abound in Cunningham Park, one of the largest parks in Queens.  Assembled between 1928 and 1944 and named Cunningham Park in 1934, the space has developed into headquarters for countless athletic leagues, animals, playmates, and barbecue enthusiasts.  Pick a pleasure and begin your explorations today!  http://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/cunningham-park.

@837NYC, VR experience is FUN and FREE! #LWDYK

Lapacazo, What Do You Know?  I know about virtual reality and in NYC, at the Samsung 837 experience it’s free and fun! 

Don’t fret when you get the notification that out of town guests are arriving at your door this season. So you can’t get them tickets to HAMILTON you can still give them a taste of innovation that costs them nothing and will entertain them for hours.  

Google the Samsung 837 “where technology and culture collide. It’s located in the heart of the cobble stoned streets in the Meatpacking district in NYC, where “Samsung 837 combines art, fashion, technology, and sport in unprecedented ways.” Check it. The place is filled with ideas and unique opportunities to try out the Samsung’s cutting edge devices including the Samsung V.R.gear but since it’s not a store, don’t expect to be able to purchase any Samsung products. 

The line up of FREE events at Samsung 837 isoff the chain good and it goes way beyond just concerts and screenings, it shows how their devices contribute to moments worth the buzz.

http://www.samsung.com/us/837/#!/

The space was designed by renowned architecture firm Wonderwall and features an amphitheater area, VR tunnel, customer service and workshop area, and café. Enjoy live DJs spinning every day from 1-7pm in their fully equipped DJ Studio. From house to reggae, we have a sound to match every taste. Every Sunday sign up for the 837 Run Club.  Be fearless and lace up your shoes and come sweat it out with expert-led jogs along the Hudson Highline.

Here is what you need to know about the Samsung V.R. gear that’s powered by Oculus. 

Lapacazo Sandoval: How Many Apps are in the Gear V.R.?

Samsung makes the gear V.R. and Oculus is the virtual reality content provider. There are over150 experiences currently in the Oculus app. 

LS: I was bowled over by the fact that you can enjoy Netflix on the Samsung V.R. gear?  Explain.

The Netflix app is downloadable through the Oculus app. You can log in and watch your choices. Anything that was shot in 360 degrees will show up all around you as you are watching it.  Anything that was not recorded specifically in 360 degrees will appear— like a giant screen— in front of you, as if it’s being projected. Imagine. Just like if you are sitting there.

LS: How can I enjoy this experience, with my friend, using an Avatar with the Samsung V.R. gear?

That’s a great question. When you download the Gear V.R. app (through Oculus app) one of the 150 experiences and that ranges from watching movies and playing games and also includes [a] social hangouts.  

Let’s say that you are in New York City and your friend is in Japan. If you both have Samsung gear V.R. and you’ve downloaded the [Netflix app] you can both ‘ virtually hang out ‘ in a social hang out setting and using a cartoon Avatar and it looks like both of you are in the same room.  Similar to a video chat or phone conversation. Using the character [Avatar] you can have a conversation and it feels like you are there with that person. 

LS: Describe the worlds’ largest selfie?

The photo mosaic here at Samsung 837 is the world’s largest selfie. You take a picture wait just a few seconds and it pops up on the world’s largest social media display and this screen, as we call it: it’s 96, 55’ inch panels. Once it takes your photo, it’s comprised of 55 thousand Instagram images.  

LS: That’s great family connectivity and it’s free except for the coffee bar upstairs.  

Correct. At Samsung 837 we sell nothing but you can experience everything. Our events are free but RSVP is essential. Go to Event Brite Samsung 837 event bar. One of the newest attractions is the 4 D virtual roller coaster experience where the chairs move.  All free!

MANNES AMERICAN COMPOSERS ENSEMBLE (MACE) to perform at The New School's Ernst C. Stiefel Concert Hall

The New School's Mannes School of Music is pleased to announce that the Mannes American Composers Ensemble (MACE) will perform on Wednesday, May 11, at The New School's Ernst C. Stiefel Concert Hall (55 West 13th Street, New York, New York). Conducted by Alan Pierson, the program will feature selections by Steve Reich, Thomas Weaver, and Caleb Burhans. True to the mission of MACE, the program exemplifies the ensemble's commitment to the work of living American composers. The concert will begin at 7:30pm. Admission is free.

Founded in 2012 by Lowell Liebermann and directed in 2015-16 by Alan Pierson, MACE presents works by iconic American masters such as John Adams, Mason Bates and Steve Reich, as well as works by young and up-and-coming composers such as David Hertzberg and Nina C. Young. The ensemble aims to embrace a broad view of the vital landscape of contemporary American Music, and to bolster that landscape through premieres and, soon, commissions.

The May 11 concert will feature Steve Reich's "City Life. City Life is a contemporary masterpiece; a work that combines live musicians with sampled urban sounds. The piece is rarely heard live. Also on the program are Mannes Alum, Thomas Weaver's "Into Focus", and Caleb Burhans' "oh ye of little faith"

Richard Kessler, Executive Dean for the College of Performing Arts and Dean of Mannes said, "With MACE, we are aiming to put the works of living composers and of American composers at the center of the practice here at Mannes. You can see this in our programming of the ensemble, which is directed this year by Alan Pierson."

The 6th Annual Bayou 'n Brooklyn Music Festival-Brooklyn's Only Cajun, Creole and Zydeco Festival May 13-15, 2016

Bayou 'n Brooklyn and Jalopy Theatre bring local talent together with an amazing line-up of Louisiana musicians for three full days of music, dance, workshops, community jam sessions, and food in Red Hook, Brooklyn. Louisiana-born Courtney Granger and Blake Miller are this year's headliners, and to welcome back long time supporter of the festival, Jesse Lege. Also in this year's line-up are Amelia Biere and Darren Wallace. The celebration kicks off with dance hall bands on Friday May 13, 2016 at 8pm, and the party continues until late Sunday night May 15, 2016. This three-day festival takes place at Jalopy Music Theatre (315 Columbia Street, Between Hamilton & Woodhull, Brooklyn, NY 11231).  Three-day Weekend Passes are available for $60, and attendees may participate in music workshops in guitar, Cajun Song, Country Song, Cajun fiddle, Cajun accordion and bass for $30 each.  Admission for day passes ranges from $25 to $35. For more information and to purchase workshop tickets, visit http://shop.jalopy.biz/product-p/sh-051316.htm.

 

Now in its sixth year at the Jalopy Theatre and School of Music, Bayou 'n Brooklyn is Brooklyn's ground breaking, one of a kind Cajun, Zydeco Festival.  Celebrate with a three-day-weekend full of music, dance, and regional Louisiana Jambalaya. Get a taste of Louisiana without leaving New York! Enjoy the musical excitement of Cajun and Zydeco bands and nonstop dancing.  Look forward to community jam sessions, delicious dishes - including Louisiana-famous gumbo served at the Jalopy Tavern - and our famous Saturday Jambalaya Supper.  Learn more about the festival by listening to Radio Free Brooklyn here: https://www.mixcloud.com/RadioFreeBrooklyn/20160210-bayou-n-brooklyn-music-hour/.

 

You won't find a lack of things to do during this three-day festival with the abundant food, brews, jam sessions, workshops, and dancing - you can even get a drawing made of you or your favorite musician!  Have brunch while experiencing duo and trio performances at the Jalopy Tavern, equipped with a full bar and delicious menu.   In the theatre, back-to-back bands will keep you dancing.  Musical workshops begin at noon for musicians of all levels, followed by the Cajun Community Jam outside on the sidewalk. Bring your instruments, no experience required.  

ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES

The Grandson of well-known accordion builder Larry Miller, Blake Miller, has been surrounded by Cajun music and culture his entire life. Hailing from the small town of Iota Louisiana, Blake, a fluent French speaker and songwriter, managed to acquire a degree in Francophone studies from The University Of Louisiana at Lafayette, and in the mean time founded the popular young Cajun band, The Pine Leaf Boys, and became a member of the premiere Louisiana roots band, The Red Stick Ramblers. He has also served stints in just about every other Cajun/Creole band of note including Balfa Toujours, Les Malfecteurs, and Cedric Watson & Bijou Creole bringing his strong cultural identity and accomplished musicianship to the world. 

Courtney Granger, fiddle & vocals, was born in Eunice, Louisiana. Master fiddler and extraordinary strong singer, Courtney hails from the Balfa family lineage, which is evident in his powerful vocals and heavily Balfa-influenced fiddling. Courtney produced his own solo CD in the mid 90s, which brought him praise from the Cajun music scene, landing him several CFMA awards. In 1999, Courtney joined Balfa Toujours on bass and fiddle. Courtney has also recorded with the legendary Tim O'Brien.

Courtney's endless repertoire of both Cajun and classic country tunes, as well his impeccable thoughtful fiddling and soulful singing, has made him one of the most sought-after Cajun fiddlers in the world, playing with legends Jason Frey, Dirk Powell, Horace Trahan and The Pine Leaf Boys (4 time Grammy nominees). This fall Courtney will release his long awaited debut Country album on Valcour Records. 

Originally from twin cities, now from Lafayette, LA, Amelia Biere has grown in a household steeped with music, falling asleep to the sound of fiddles and stomping feet as lively barn dances ran late into the night. She was exposed to music and rhythm and the social connection that comes with enjoying music together and now has a well practiced music that resulted in a belting voice  

A native of Lafayette, LA, Darren Wallace started playing fiddle, guitar, mandolin, and bass fiddle at the age of 15. Soon after, he began to seek out the older musicians in the area to study their style. This lead him to master fiddlers, Lionel LeLeux and Varise Conner, as well as many other great Cajun musicians from which Darren absorbed their music, as well as Western Swing, C&W, and Bluegrass and eventually developed his own unique style of playing.  Over the years, Darren has shared the stage with many of the legends of Cajun and Zydeco music, some of which include Dewey Balfa, Canray Fontenot, Bois Sec Ardoin Eddy Lejune, Rockin Dopsey, and Merlin Fontenot. He spent a number of years as the house fiddler for Randol's Restaurant playing with a different accordion player every night, five nights a week

Deborah Monlux, producer, and pioneerBayou 'n Brooklynin 2011, paving the way for cultural exchange through music, art, dance and folklore. She was first inspired by the music of renowned Cajun fiddler David Greely former Mamou Playboy's fiddler, in 2010 and bridged the geographic gap by starting video-conference lessons with him shortly after. Deborah often travels to Louisiana to participate in festivals and workshops and soak up the Louisiana-born music and culture. She has played a prominent role in promoting the introduction of Cajun, Creole and Zydeco music and culture to a Brooklyn, NY audience by producing performances and jam sessions at venues that include Jalopy, Franklin Park Nyack, Lincoln Center BID, Postitively 8th in NYC, Galapagos Arts, the Atlantic Antic and Flatbush Frolic. She also plays fiddle in the NY based Catahoula Cajun Band.

Jesse Lége, creative visionary, artistic and sound directoraworld-renowned Louisiana accordion player and vocalist, is a strong supporter and creative director of the festival and a luminary for many musicians who are passionate about this special form of American Roots music. Jesse hails from Gueydan, Louisiana and has an impressive track record of more than 40 years of performances, including appearances at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and the Chicago Folk Festival. He is also a winner of numerous Cajun French Music Association awards, and was inducted into the Cajun Hall of Fame. Jesse Lége, continues to give his full support to Bayou 'n Brooklyn. As a true visionary, and Louisiana native, Jesse is the ambassador of Louisiana-born music and culture at Bayou 'n Brooklyn.

Jim Moore -Social Media Directoris a photographer who has documented the variety arts since the 1970s. His photographs helped Philippe Petit plan his tightrope walking stunt between the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in 1974 and were prominently featured in the Oscar-winning film Man on Wire.Jim produces a weekly online radio show Bayou 'n Brooklyn Music HouronRadio Free Brooklyn.com every Wednesday at 7pm.

THE FILM SOCIETY OF LINCOLN CENTER ANNOUNCES LA MAGNANI, MAY 18 – JUNE 1

The Film Society of Lincoln Center announces La Magnani, a series dedicated to the film work of iconic Italian actress Anna Magnani, May 18 – June 1. The 24-film series will screen entirely on 35mm and 16mm.

 

Anna Magnani’s blend of fiery passion, earthy humor, and unvarnished naturalism made her the symbol of postwar Italian cinema. Launched to worldwide superstardom through her indelible turn in Roberto Rossellini’s Rome Open City, she represented something startlingly new to audiences accustomed to movie-star glamour: here, in all its raw, gritty glory, was life. Equally adept at drama and comedy, she could harness her explosive emotional intensity to move an audience to laughter, tears, or both at once.

La Magnani highlights the actress’s illustrious international career, including powerhouse performances for directors like Rossellini, Luchino Visconti (Bellissima), Pier Paolo Pasolini (Mamma Roma), Federico Fellini (L’amore and Roma), Sidney Lumet (The Fugitive Kind), George Cukor (Wild Is the Wind), William Dieterle (Volcano), Mario Monicelli (The Passionate Thief), and Jean Renoir (The Golden Coach).

This diverse survey of Magnani’s filmography also features a number of the actress’s rarely screened early performances, including her third-ever on-screen appearance, as a scheming maid opposite a young Vittorio De Sica in Mario Mattoli’s Full Speed; as a gold-digging showgirl in De Sica’s Doctor, Beware; showing off her distinctive vocal style as an enchanting nightclub performer in Carlo Ludovico Bragaglia’s La vita è bella; as well as her final roles in Alfredo Giannetti’s historical drama 1870—the only time she appeared opposite Marcello Mastroianni—and Fellini’s Roma, her farewell to film.

The series is the first stop of a traveling retrospective organized by Istituto Luce Cinecittà that will continue at film institutions around the United States, including the Gene Siskel Film Center in Chicago, the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, the Castro Theatre in San Francisco, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and The Wexner Center for the Arts in Columbus.

Organized by Florence Almozini and Dan Sullivan. Co-presented with Istituto Luce Cinecittà.

Tickets will go on sale Thursday, May 5. Single screening tickets are $14; $11 for students and seniors (62+); and $9 for Film Society members. See more and save with the discount All Access Pass or 3+ film package.

FILMS & DESCRIPTIONS
All films screen at Walter Reade Theater (165 West 65th Street) unless otherwise noted

  • 1870 / Correva l’anno di grazia 1870

Alfredo Giannetti, Italy, 1972, 35mm, 116m
Italian with English subtitles
In her final starring role, Magnani was cast alongside legendary leading man Marcello Mastroianni for the only time. Set amid the upheaval of the Risorgimento era, this stirring historical drama stars Mastroianni as an Italian nationalist who is imprisoned for his opposition to the church, leaving his wife (Magnani) to join the rebel cause. Though originally made for television, there is nothing small-screen about 1870, which boasts impressive attention to period detail, an Ennio Morricone score, and, of course, mighty performances from two icons of Italian cinema. 35mm print from Istituto Luce Cinecittà.
Monday, May 30, 4:00pm
Wednesday, June 1, 6:30pm

  • L’amore

Roberto Rossellini, Italy, 1948, 35mm, 69m
Italian with English subtitles
Roberto Rossellini’s twin tribute to Magnani offers a one-two punch of tour-de-force performances from the actress. In the first part, adapted from a theatrical monologue by Jean Cocteau, she’s a woman hanging on the telephone line for dear life as she pleads with a lover who has just ended their relationship—a veritable aria of desperation and despair. In the second, a story by Federico Fellini, she stars as a peasant who has a vision of Saint Joseph—and then finds herself mysteriously pregnant. When it was released in New York, the latter was condemned as “sacrilegious,” leading to a landmark censorship battle that went all the way to the Supreme Court. Far from blasphemous, it’s a luminous statement of faith and spirituality, featuring one of Magnani’s most moving performances. 35mm print from Istituto Luce Cinecittà.
Friday, May 27, 9:15pm
Saturday, May 28, 2:00pm

  • …And the Wild Women / Nella città l’inferno

Renato Castellani, Italy/France, 1959, 35mm, 106m
Italian with English subtitles
Sparks fly as Magnani plays opposite another legend of Italian cinema—Giulietta Masina—in this explosive women-in-prison drama. Masina is the naïve young innocent wrongly convicted, Magnani the volatile hardened convict who corrupts her. Despite its title, the film is less an exploitation shocker than a gripping character study, with the interplay between Magnani’s livewire intensity and Masina’s gentle guilelessness generating real dramatic tension. Each woman gets ample opportunity to shine, but the best moment belongs to the electrifying Magnani. The sight of her shimmying down a cellblock while shouting “rock and roll!” is worth the price of admission alone. 35mm print from Istituto Luce Cinecittà.
Friday, May 20, 9:00pm
Sunday, May 22, 2:00pm

  • Angelina / L’onorevole Angelina

Luigi Zampa, Italy, 1947, 35mm, 90m
Italian with English subtitles
Magnani delivers a powerhouse performance in this rousing, up-with-the-people slice of neorealism. She stars as a slum-dwelling mother of five who is thrust into the spotlight when she leads a band of women against a black-market peddler who is withholding their food rations. From there she finds herself the instigator of an all-out, female-powered political revolution that pits her against a coterie of capitalist fat cats. Fascinating for the way it flirts with proto-feminist politics, Angelina gives Magnani a role tailor-made for her brand of fiery magnetism and for which she was rewarded with a Best Actress award at the Venice Film Festival. 35mm print from Istituto Luce Cinecittà.
Sunday, May 22, 6:45pm
Thursday, May 26, 2:30pm*
*Venue: Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center, 144 West 65th Street

  • The Bandit / Il bandito

Alberto Lattuada, Italy, 1946, 35mm, 78m
English, Italian, and German with English subtitles
Magnani is a fierce femme fatale in this striking neorealist noir. Upon returning to Italy from the war, ex-POW Ernesto (the “Italian Errol Flynn” Amedeo Nazzari) takes stock of the shattered pieces of his life in bombed-out Turin. When he’s unwittingly implicated in a murder, he’s taken in by a crime ring presided over by Magnani’s glamorous gangster’s moll. But Ernesto’s idealism—he fashions himself a gun-toting Robin Hood, stealing from the rich and giving to the poor—doesn’t sit well with the rest of the outfit. Director Alberto Lattuada imbues this socially conscious crime saga with a shadowy style and a foreboding fatalism. Memorable set piece: a nightclub robbery set to a drum solo. 35mm print from Istituto Luce Cinecittà.
Monday, May 30, 9:15pm
Wednesday, June 1, 4:45pm

  • Bellissima

Luchino Visconti, Italy, 1952, 35mm, 108m
Italian with English subtitles
This early gem from melodrama maestro Luchino Visconti deftly blends showbiz satire with heart-tugging pathos. When Cinecittà Studios puts out a casting call for a new child actress, they’re flooded with starry-eyed stage mothers and their talentless tots, among them Magnani’s working-class Roman nurse who becomes obsessed with making her (rather indifferent) daughter a star. As in similar Hollywood-plays-itself melodramas (The Bad and the Beautiful, Sunset Boulevard), Bellissima both romanticizes the power of celluloid dreams while delivering a cuttingly cynical takedown of the movie industry. It ultimately achieves real poignancy through Magnani’s affecting performance as a mother whose desperate drive to succeed is outweighed only by her love for her child. 35mm print from Istituto Luce Cinecittà.
Wednesday, May 18, 4:15pm
Sunday, May 29, 8:30pm

  • Doctor, Beware / Teresa Venerdì

Vittorio De Sica, Italy, 1941, 35mm, 92m
Italian with English subtitles
Before he went neorealist a few years later, Vittorio De Sica brought his compassionate sensibility to this sweetly romantic screwball farce. He stars as a harried pediatrician (his prescription for any and all ailments: castor oil) juggling a failing medical practice with the advances of three women: an airheaded heiress (Irasema Dilián), a lovesick orphan (Adriana Benetti), and a gold-digging showgirl (Magnani). Though she only appears in a handful of scenes, Magnani handily steals them all (witness her sleepwalking disdainfully through a ridiculous dance number). De Sica himself called it the actress’s “true first film.” 35mm print from Istituto Luce Cinecittà.
Sunday, May 29, 6:30pm
Monday, May 30, 2:00pm

  • Down with Misery / Abbasso la miseria!

Gennaro Righelli, Italy, 1945, 35mm, 90m
Italian with English subtitles
Released the same year as Magnani’s international breakthrough, Rome Open City, this tenderhearted comedy charts the mayhem that ensues when an honest truck driver (Nino Besozzi) unwittingly gets mixed up in black-market smuggling and winds up adopting a streetwise orphan—much to the chagrin of his no-nonsense wife (Magnani). Something like a neorealist fairy tale, Down with Misery roots its charming wisp of a story in the none-too-rosy economic reality of postwar Italy to create a bittersweet look at downtrodden people striving for a better tomorrow. 35mm print from Istituto Luce Cinecittà.
Saturday, May 21, 6:30pm
Tuesday, May 24, 2:30pm

  • Fellini’s Roma

Federico Fellini, Italy/France, 1972, 35mm, 128m
English, Italian, French, German, Spanish, and Latin with English subtitles
Magnani’s farewell to film was this fitting send-off from Federico Fellini, a sprawling, kaleidoscopic tribute to the city that the actress embodied. Told in a delirious, stream-of-consciousness rush, it’s a hallucinatory trip through the director’s memories and fantasies, the whorehouses, palazzi, and catacombs of Rome both past and present. Among the dazzlingly surreal images: an epic nighttime traffic jam filmed through the gauzy wash of rain-streaked windshields; an outré Catholic fashion show of au courant papal wear; and a haunting journey into the ancient tunnels of a vanished Roman Empire. What emerges is a funny, outrageous, mystical portrait of a city both ever-changing and eternal.
Friday, May 27, 6:30pm
Saturday, May 28, 3:45pm

  • The Fugitive Kind

Sidney Lumet, USA, 1960, 35mm, 121m
Magnani’s second encounter with Tennessee Williams after her triumph in The Rose Tattoo is a torrid psychodrama of lost souls and raging passions. Based on Williams’s play Orpheus Descending, The Fugitive Kind stars Marlon Brando as a guitar-playing ex-con (nicknamed Snakeskin after the jacket he wears) who drifts into a godforsaken Louisiana town where his sexual magnetism inflames the desires of a wild-child nymphomaniac (Joanne Woodward) and a vile store owner’s world-weary, long-suffering wife (Magnani). The trio of heavyweight dramatic performances—Brando smolders, Woodward simmers, and Magnani boils over—propel this Southern Gothic shocker.
Friday, May 20, 6:30pm
Sunday, May 22, 4:15pm

  • Full Speed / Tempo massimo

Mario Mattoli, Italy, 1934, 35mm, 78m
Italian with English subtitles
This comedic charmer is a sparkling example of the stylishly sophisticated entertainment that Italy produced prior to World War II. An elegant young Vittorio De Sica stars as a bookish academic, who, when a vivacious, sports-mad socialite (the single-monikered Milly) crash-lands (literally) into his life, experiences both joie de vivre and romantic complications. In one of her earliest screen appearances, Magnani—looking less like Mamma Roma and, with bobbed hair and penciled eyebrows, more like an MGM starlet—makes a strong impression as a scheming maid; even in a relatively small role the force of her irrepressible personality shines through. The cherry on top is the film’s delightful climax, an inventive, sight gag–filled homage to silent slapstick. 35mm print from Istituto Luce Cinecittà.
Thursday, May 26, 9:00pm*
Wednesday, June 1, 3:00pm
*Venue: Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center, 144 West 65th Street

  • The Golden Coach / Le carrosse d’or

Jean Renoir, France/Italy, 1952, 35mm, 103m
English version
Jean Renoir’s exquisite love letter to the stage stars Magnani as an actress in a touring commedia dell’arte troupe. While traveling through 18th-century Peru, she finds herself receiving romantic advances from three men: a faithful Spanish soldier (George Higgins), a dashing bullfighter (Riccardo Rioli), and a wealthy Viceroy (Duncan Lamont), who possesses the dazzling carriage of the title. Renoir’s real interest, though, is in the “show must go on” magic of the stage, the mysterious art of acting, and the interplay between fantasy and reality. The combination of elegant comedy, gorgeous color cinematography, and exquisite art direction yields what François Truffaut called “the noblest and most refined film ever made.”
Saturday, May 28, 6:30pm
Sunday, May 29, 2:00pm

Tuesday, May 31, 6:30pm

  • Mamma Roma

Pier Paolo Pasolini, Italy, 1962, 35mm, 110m
Italian with English subtitles
In one of her defining roles, Magnani is a coarse ex-streetwalker who tries to start a new, better life in Rome for the sake of her teenage son (Ettore Garofolo)—but struggles to keep him from falling into a life of crime. Pasolini’s shattering working-class tragedy treats earthily realistic subject matter with a cool formal classicism, replete with Baroque music and visual references to Renaissance religious paintings (including a haunting re-creation of Andrea Mantegna’s Lamentation of Christ). The result is a subversive mix of the sacred and the profane that pushed neorealism in bold new directions.
Wednesday, May 18, 8:45pm
Saturday, May 21, 2:00pm

  • The Passionate Thief / Risate di gioia

Mario Monicelli, Italy, 1960, 35mm, 106m
Italian with English subtitles
Magnani’s funny side gets perhaps its finest showcase in this freewheeling, snap, crackle, and pop comedy. Donning a platinum-blonde wig (“you look like Kim Novak,” remarks her companion), she tears her way gloriously through the role of a two-bit movie actress stepping out for a New Year’s Eve night on the town. En route to a party, she meets up with an old friend (comedy legend Totò) who, little does she know, is assisting a suave thief (Ben Gazzara) as he picks the pockets of revelers. Over the course of one wild night, the trio tramps all over Rome, with Magnani and Totò improvising a musical number, a send-up of La Dolce Vita’s Trevi Fountain romp, and romantic tensions building along the way. It ultimately leaves a poignant lasting impression thanks to director Monicelli’s humanistic worldview. 35mm print from Istituto Luce Cinecittà.
Saturday, May 28, 8:45pm
Sunday, May 29, 4:15pm

  • The Peddler and the Lady / Campo de’ fiori

Mario Bonnard, Italy, 1943, 35mm, 95m
Italian with English subtitles
Two years before they starred opposite each other in Rome Open City, Magnani and Aldo Fabrizi headlined this bittersweet comedy. He plays a humble fishmonger in Rome’s Campo de’ Fiori marketplace who winds up way out of his league when he begins wooing a beautiful young woman (Caterina Boratto) who’s not all she seems. Meanwhile, Magnani—in the first of the earthy everywoman roles she would become known for—provides emotional gravitas as the brash, secretly-in-love-with-him fruit seller who pulls him back down to earth. The simple premise is lent nice depth by Magnani and Fabrizi, both nimbly balancing humor and heartstring-plucking poignancy. 35mm print from Istituto Luce Cinecittà.
Saturday, May 21, 8:30pm
Tuesday, May 24, 4:30pm

  • Peddlin’ in Society / Abbasso la ricchezza!

Gennaro Righelli, Italy, 1946, 35mm, 85m
Italian with English subtitles
The marvelous Magnani struts, dances (hilariously), and sings her way through this delightful satirical farce. She stars as a nouveau riche former fruit vendor who, having made a fortune on the wartime black market, leases the elegant villa of a dashing Count (Vittorio De Sica) in need of cash. But her newfound fortune and provincial naïveté make her an all-too-easy target for a parade of unscrupulous con artists. The follow-up to Gennaro Righelli’s Down with Misery, this riches-to-rags tale plays like that film in reverse, with political and class tensions never far from the surface. 35mm print from Istituto Luce Cinecittà.
Wednesday, May 18, 2:15pm
Wednesday, June 1, 9:00pm

  • Rome Open City / Roma città aperta

Roberto Rossellini, Italy, 1945, 35mm, 103m
Italian, German, and Latin with English subtitles
The film that announced both Italian neorealism and Magnani as major forces in international cinema, Rome Open City sent shock waves through the world upon its release. By taking his camera onto the rubble-strewn streets of Nazi-occupied Italy, Rossellini captured the horrors of life during wartime with an urgent, hitherto unseen immediacy, while Magnani—defiantly unglamorous, raw, and real—became the symbol of a new naturalism. She plays a mother and bride-to-be who is among a cross section of working-class Italians caught in a Nazi dragnet as the SS scours Rome for a leader in the resistance movement. More than 70 years after its arrival, Rome Open City retains its devastating power. 35mm print from Istituto Luce Cinecittà.
Wednesday, May 18, 6:30pm
Saturday, May 21, 4:15pm

  • The Rose Tattoo

Daniel Mann, USA, 1955, 117m
English and Italian with English subtitles
Magnani as a Tennessee Williams heroine yields heavy-duty dramatic fireworks in this seething saga of sexual repression. The playwright wrote the role of Serafina Delle Rose—a pious but volatile Sicilian wife and mother living in the American South—with her in mind. Enamored with a husband who is cheating on her, Serafina goes into a state of shock and denial when he dies suddenly. Her unlikely white knight is an impetuous, overgrown man-child (Burt Lancaster), and the two make as mismatched a pair of misfits as ever graced the screen. In her first Hollywood film, Magnani unleashed her hundred-proof emotional intensity in full force and was rewarded with the Best Actress Oscar. Also receiving an Academy Award was the luscious black-and-white cinematography courtesy of the great James Wong Howe. 35mm print courtesy of UCLA Film & Television Archive.
Thursday, May 19, 6:30pm
Friday, May 20, 4:00pm

  • La sciantosa

Alfredo Giannetti, Italy, 1971, 35mm, 92m
Italian with English subtitles
In one of four tour-de-force historical dramas Magnani made for Italian television in the early 1970s (all directed by Alfredo Giannetti, the Oscar-winning screenwriter of Divorce Italian Style), she dazzles as a washed-up cabaret star who receives an invitation to perform for soldiers fighting on the front lines of World War I. What the faded diva imagines to be a comeback engagement becomes a transformative experience when she is confronted with the realities of war. Magnani’s status as the living symbol of her country is concretized in the powerful image of her delivering a tear-stained rendition of the Neapolitan ballad “O surdato ’nnammurato.” 35mm print from Istituto Luce Cinecittà.
Tuesday, May 24, 8:45pm
Friday, May 27, 2:00pm

  • The Secret of Santa Vittoria

Stanley Kramer, USA, 1969, 35mm, 139m
This rollicking World War II comedy, based on the best-selling novel by Robert Crichton, is a satirical look at life in Italy under the occupation. Following the fall of fascism in 1943, the bumbling, blustery peasant Bombolini (Anthony Quinn) is installed as mayor of the small village of Santa Vittoria (one constituent whose respect he doesn’t have: his strong-willed wife, played by Magnani). At first, the not-so-bright Bombolini seems like a lame-duck politician. But when the Nazis march into town, he mobilizes the citizens to protect Santa Vittoria’s most precious asset: its copious supply of wine. Beautifully shot on location outside Rome,The Secret of Santa Vittoria combines suspense and humor in a spirited ode to resistance. 35mm print courtesy of UCLA Film & Television Archive.
Monday, May 30, 6:30pm
Tuesday, May 31, 8:45pm

  • La vita è bella

Carlo Ludovico Bragaglia, Italy, 1943, 35mm, 76m
Italian with English subtitles
This enchanting bit of wartime-era escapism follows the fortunes of an impecunious count (Alberto Rabagliati) who has gambled away his funds and is contemplating suicide. He gets a new lease on life when a medical doctor strikes a strange bargain with him: stay alive for one more week in exchange for money—but the deal comes with a catch. Playing an aspiring singer, Magnani is provided ample opportunity to display the distinctive vocal style she honed early in her career as a nightclub performer, for which she was dubbed “the Italian Édith Piaf.” 35mm print from Istituto Luce Cinecittà.
Sunday, May 22, 8:45pm
Thursday, May 26, 4:30pm*
*Venue: Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center, 144 West 65th Street

  • Volcano / Vulcano

William Dieterle, Italy, 1950, 35mm, 106m
Italian with English subtitles
While Magnani’s ex-lover Roberto Rossellini was shooting Stromboli with his new Hollywood girlfriend Ingrid Bergman, the Italian actress was filming this rival neorealist drama—also about a woman stranded on a hostile volcanic island—just a few miles away. The result was tabloid gold, as well as a genuinely fascinating movie in which Magnani plays a prostitute banished from Naples and forced to return to the hardscrabble island of her childhood. There, she is shunned by the community’s moralistic denizens as she tries to save her younger sister (Geraldine Brooks) from being seduced by a shady deep-sea diver (Rossano Brazzi). Helmed by German emigré Hollywood director William Dieterle, Volcano is a delirious blend of neorealist tropes—a gritty working-class milieu, sunlit location shooting, docu-realist fishing scenes—and juicy melodrama involving sunken treasure, sex trafficking, murder, and that volcano just waiting to erupt. 35mm print from Istituto Luce Cinecittà.
Tuesday, May 24, 6:30pm
Friday, May 27, 4:00pm

  • Wild Is the Wind

George Cukor, USA, 1957, 16mm, 114m
English and Italian with English subtitles
A torrid tale of lust and betrayal plays out against the backdrop of the American Southwest in this full-throttle melodrama. Anthony Quinn, the rare actor who could match Magnani’s explosive presence, plays a Nevada sheep rancher who, haunted by the death of his wife, marries her Italian sister (Magnani) and brings her back to America to live with him. But his controlling nature and the inescapable shadow of his first marriage (echoes of Hitchcock’s Rebecca) drive her into the arms of a young ranch hand (Anthony Franciosa). For her second American film, Magnani jumped at the chance to work with George Cukor, under whose direction she earned a Best Actress Oscar nomination. Said Cukor: “No actress possesses the magic and the fire of Anna.”
Thursday, May 26, 6:30pm*
*Venue: Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center, 144 West 65th Street

  • Woman Trouble / Molti sogni per le strade

Mario Camerini, Italy, 1948, 35mm, 84m
Italian with English subtitles
The Italian title of this neorealist seriocomedy translates as “The Street Has Many Dreams,” a more fitting name for a poignant, slice-of-life road movie. Magnani stars as a domineering Roman wife and mother along for the ride as her husband (Massimo Girotti, the hunky leading man of Visconti’s Ossessione) tries, unbeknownst to her, to ditch a car he stole in a moment of desperation. Woman Trouble moves deftly between compassionate social realism and breezy comedy as it delves into the hopes and fears of postwar, working-class Italians. The silvery cinematography is courtesy of Nights of Cabiria DP Aldo Tonti and the music by the great Nino Rota. 35mm print from Istituto Luce Cinecittà.
Thursday, May 19, 9:00pm
Friday, May 20, 2:00pm

For more information, visit: www.filmlinc.org and follow @filmlinc on Twitter.

 

 

Circus Now and Big Apple Circus In Association With Jonathan S. Cerullo | JSCTheatricals presented The 2nd Annual Celebration of American Circus

It was a big night under the big top as Circus Now together with the Big Apple Circus, in association with Executive Producer and Director Jonathan S. Cerullo, JSC Theatricals, presented the 2nd Annual Celebration of American Circusat the Big Top at Lincoln Center on January 5, 2016. For the second year, the Celebration of American Circus boasted an impressive roster of honorees, all of whom have spent decades furthering the appreciation of circus arts in America. Four prominent artists and organizations were recognized for distinguished achievements in the American circus arts.

Bill Irwin received the Evolving Circus Award from his Old Hats costar David Shiner. This award is given annually to an individual whose personal and/or professional contributions have made a significant and permanent impact on the circus field in America, with specific consideration of how the recipient's work has influenced the perception of the circus arts by the American public and the arts and entertainment industry. Irwin and Shiner will entertain Old Hats audiences January 26 through March 3, 2016, with a Thursday, February 18 opening night at The Irene Diamond Stage at The Pershing Square Signature Center (480 West 42nd Street between 9th and 10th Avenues). 

Circus Smirkus, Vermont's own award-winning international youth circus, received the Community Impact Award from Preston Scott. This award is given annually to a circus artist or organization that has succeeded in harnessing and demonstrating the power of the circus arts for community engagement and social good, and in bringing diverse audiences together through quality programming. Since 1987, the company has promoted the skills, culture and traditions of the traveling circus, inspiring youth to engage in life-changing adventures in the circus arts.

Rob Mermin, the founder of Circus Smirkus,ran off to the circus in 1969. He studied mime with Marcel Marceau and Etienne Decroux, and clowned with circuses throughout Europe, Scandinavia, and the Soviet Union in shows including Britain's Circus Hoffman, the Hungarian State Circusz, Sweden's Circus Scott (performing Karl Kossmayer's Comedy Mule Act), circus buildings in Russia, and three years (1973-75) in Copenhagen's circus building with Cirkus Benneweis. In 1995 Rob was co-director of Ringling's Clown College.  In 1987 Rob founded the international Big Top touring company Circus Smirkus in Vermont. Rob has authored two books on Circus Smirkus: A True Story of High Adventure & Low Comedy.

Ed LeClair, Producer and Executive Director of Circus Smirkus,has 35 years of business and nonprofit performing arts management experience, holding the position of Producer, Executive Director, or General Manager for four companies.  He has produced the last thirteen tours for Circus Smirkus, presenting over 500 shows. Since his joining Circus Smirkus in 2003, the organization has grown rapidly to become one of the top 100 companies in Vermont. Under his direction Circus Smirkus and its performers have been featured on PBS, "The Martha Stewart Show", "Fletch", "America's Got Talent", and The Toronto Film Festival. As Executive Director, Ed has continued Circus Smirkus' longstanding tradition of cultural exchanges, initiating partnerships with circuses in Columbia, Mongolia, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Cuba, and France. Ed holds an MBA from the Tuck School at Dartmouth, and a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical/Nuclear Engineering from the University of Arkansas. He studied and performed the Japanese art of Taiko drumming for 12 years and toured Japan with Vermont's Burlington Taiko.

Duncan Wall, Creative Director of Circus Now, presented performer and circus history writer Dominique Jando with the Elevating Circus Award, given annually to an individual or an organization who has made a lasting contribution to increasing public awareness about the beauty, artistry, creative potential of the circus arts through their body of work, with particular attention paid to interdisciplinary collaboration or expression. Jando began his involvement with the performing arts more than five decades ago in his native France, when he first stepped into a circus ring as a clown at the legendary Cirque Medrano in Paris. Later he pursued an artistic and administrative career in both the theater and the circus. In 1974, as General Secretary of the Paris Cultural Center, he participated with Alexis Gruss in the creation of France's first professional circus school, and of Le Cirque à l'Ancienne, which eventually became the French National Circus and is considered the catalyst of the European 'New Circus' movement. He moved to New York in 1983 to join the Big Apple Circus, and served as its Associate Artistic Director for nineteen years. He then worked as Creative Director of Circus Center in San Francisco, California. He is now an independent circus arts consultant and writer, and is Vice-President and Artistic Director of Lone Star Circus® in Dallas, Texas. He is also Founder and Curator of Circopedia.org, an international online circus encyclopedia funded by the Shelley and Donald Rubin Foundation. A circus and popular entertainment historian, Dominique has published several books and written many articles on these subjects, both in Europe and the US. The Russian translation of his Histoire Mondiale du Cirque is used as a textbook at Moscow's Circus and Variety State College and GITIS theater institute. He often lectures on circus and popular entertainment, has taught classical clowning at Circus Center's Clown Conservatory, is the International Circus Consultant for Guinness World Records, Ltd., and is a founding member of the Festival Mondial du Cirque de Demain, an international circus competition that has been held each winter in Paris since 1977. He has served on the juries of international circus festivals in Europe, Russia, Mexico, and Israel.

Founder & Associate Director of Circus Sarasota Dolly Jacobs presented an emotional Lifetime Achievement Award to Hovey Burgess. This award is given to an individual artist, troupe, or company whose overall contributions to the field and community are substantial, undeniable and significant. Mr. Burgess, recovering from a recent injury, was wheeled onstage by Big Apple Circus clowns Joel Jeske and Brent Mc Beth for a victory lap around the ring. He ended his speech by addressing the audience "If you love circus, then I love you." 

Born in Middlebury, Vermont in 1940, Hovey Burgess will complete his fiftieth (50th) year of teaching circus techniques for actors at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts this spring.  This summer he will hit the "sawdust trail" for his twenty-sixth season with St. Louis-based Circus Flora. Hovey Burgess is author of Circus Techniques with photographs by Judy Finelli.  He has written for TDR (Tulane Drama Review) and Spectacle.  He served as circus choreographer for Robert Altman's film Popeye with the late Robin Williams in the title role.  From Juilliard's Drama Division to Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Clown College, Hovey's teaching career has spanned the United States, from Maine to California and from Washington State to Florida, as well as Canada and Israel. Previous honors include City Lore's People's Hall of Fame; International Jugglers Association's Excellence in Education Award; Red Skelton Award for Teaching and Mentoring Clowns; Golden Nose Award for Lifetime Achievement; and Burlesque Idol's Best Dressed Award. 

Spotlighting the thriving state of the circus arts across the nation, the evening also featured performances from a variety of breath-taking acts, including aerial contortionists Anna and Emily Venizelos, a Diabolo Duo Act performed by Sawyer Oubre and Liam Gundlach, and Big Apple Circus' own Sergey Akimov on the aerial straps. The evening was conducted by Emcee Thom Wall.

A "Master of Modern Vaudeville," Wall has wowed audiences around the globe. With a sharp wit and sharper knives, Thom juggles, balances, and dives his way through exciting and fast-paced acts that astonish and amaze. As one of the last great American gentleman jugglers, Thom presents an elegant show with nuanced comedy and some of the most unusual tricks seen today. Thom is a complete variety performer, finely tailoring each performance to engage and surprise his audience, resulting in a unique and refreshing experience each time. Hailing originally from St Louis, Missouri, Thom regularly performs internationally. In addition to appearances in Hong Kong and South Korea, he toured with Cirque du Soleil's show Totem, where he juggled for thousands each night on tour across the US, Canada, and New Zealand. Thom has won awards internationally for his circus performances, notably the 2015 "People's Choice" Special Prize at the Riga International Circus Festival in Latvia, the Bronze and Silver medals at the International Jugglers' Association Senior Stage Championships (one of which was awarded for the first mouthstick act ever to receive an award in the organization's 67 year history), and "Best of the Fringe" for his duo act "The Dinner And A Show Show" at the 2014 Kansas City Fringe Festival. He has had the pleasure of performing for dignitaries and diplomats worldwide. Thom is a graduate of the New England Center for Circus Arts (NECCA) in Brattleboro, Vermont. When not on tour, he coaches aspiring circus artists at NECCA and regularly teaches workshops worldwide.

For more information, please visit: 

The 2nd Annual Celebration of American Circus Awards with Evolving Circus Honoree Bill Irwin - Jan 5, 2016

To honor and spotlight the distinguished achievements in the American circus arts, Circus Now together with the Big Apple Circus, in association with Executive Producer and Director Jonathan S. Cerullo, JSC Theatricals, is proud to present the 2nd Annual Celebration of American Circus at the Big Top at Lincoln Center on January 5, 2016 at 8pm. Part ceremony, part performance, the Celebration of American Circus will honor four artists and/or organizations that have been prominent in the circus arts landscape in America, while spotlighting the thriving state of the circus arts across the nation, and will feature Emcee Thom Wall, with performances from a variety of breath-taking acts.  Tickets start at $25 and are available online at www.circusnow.org/CELEBRATE2016.

For the second year, the Celebration of American Circus presents a distinguished and impressive roster of honorees, all of which have spent decades furthering the appreciation of circus arts in America.  Sabrina Motley, director of the Smithsonian's Folklife Festival, will present the Community Impact Award to Circus Smirkus Founder Rob Mermin and Ed LeClair, Smirkus's Executive Director.  Duncan Wall of Circus Now will present the Elevating Circus Award to Dominque Jando, renowned circus historian and author.  David Shiner will roast and toast and present the Evolving Circus Award to his fellow clownical artist Bill Irwin. Andthis year we introduce a new award, the Lifetime Achievement Award, will be presented by the legendary Dolly Jacobs (Circus Sarasota) to the legendary Hovey Burgess!

  • Evolving Circus Award, presented by David Shiner

HONOREE:  BILL IRWIN

This award is given annually to an individual whose personal and/or professional contributions have made a significant and permanent impact on the circus field in America, with specific consideration of how the recipient's work has influenced the perception of the circus arts by the American public and the arts and entertainment industry.

  • Irwin and Shiner will appear together next in Old Hats. Called "one of the funniest shows of the past few years" by the New York Post, and selected as a Critics' Pick by The New York Times and Time Out New York, Old Hats will entertain audiences January 26 through March 3, 2016, with a Thursday, February 18 opening night at The Irene Diamond Stage at The Pershing Square Signature Center (480 West 42nd Street between 9th and 10th Avenues). Tickets start at $45. To purchase tickets for all Signature productions, including Incident at Vichy by Arthur Miller and Night is a Room by Naomi Wallace, call Ticket Services at 212-244-7529 (Tues. - Sun., 11am - 6pm) or visit signaturetheatre.org. After an extended, sold out run in 2013, Signature welcomes back Bill Irwin and David Shiner in their award-winning, critically acclaimed production of Old Hats. This production reunites the clowns with original director Tina Landau and introduces their new songstress and comic foil Shaina Taub, hailed as "a young Judy Garland meets grown-up Lisa Simpson" by the San Francisco Chronicle. Using music, technology, and movement, Irwin and Shiner combine their inimitable magic and slapstick to create an unforgettable outing that's fun for the whole family.


  • Community Impact Award, presented by Sabrina Lynn Motley, Director of the Smithsonian Folklife Festival
Rob Mermin

HONOREE: CIRCUS SMIRKUS
This award is given annually to a circus artist or organization that has succeeded in harnessing and demonstrating the power of the circus arts for community engagement and social good, and in bringing diverse audiences together through quality programming. 

Circus Smirkus is Vermont's own award-winning international youth circus. Since 1987, the company has promoted the skills, culture and traditions of the traveling circus, inspiring youth to engage in life-changing adventures in the circus arts.

  • Elevating Circus Award, presented by Duncan Wall, Creative Director of Circus Now

HONOREE: DOMINIQUE JANDO
This award is given annually to an individual or an organization who has made a lasting contribution to increasing public awareness about the beauty, artistry, creative potential of the circus arts through their body of work, with particular attention paid to interdisciplinary collaboration or expression.

  • Lifetime Achievement Award, presented by Dolly Jacobs, Founder & Associate Director of Circus Sarasota

HONOREE: HOVEY BURGESS
This award is given to an individual artist, troupe, or company whose overall contributions to the field and community are substantial, undeniable and significant.

For more information, please visit:

A Boy’s Life. Cartoons and Bullets

Given recent barbarous attacks in Paris, I am publishing  an article from Creativity Is Risky: Free Speech in a Charlie Hebdo World about a French boy threatened with his life for standing up for his beliefs. The full magazine, published September 1, and related content can be found here. 

A week after the murder of 11 journalists at CharlieHebdo’s offices in Paris, a boy at Marcelin Berthelot de Saint-Maur-des-Fossés school in Val-de-Marne, southeast of Paris, published an homage to the fallen in his high school paper. In response, he received death threats in a series of seven brief letters, two of which contained bullets.

“We want your death,” said one letter. “Say your goodbyes.”

Pierre, a French currency trader living in a suburb of New York City with his wife and two sons, attended Marcelin Berthelot and grew up reading comic books by Charlie Hebdo editors Jean Cabut, whose pen name was Cabu, and Georges Wolinski.

He feels particular pain over what happened and a true sense of nostalgia. “They were legends, as famous as Jon Stewart,” he said during a recent interview in a bustling café across from Grand Central Terminal. “I grew up with them.”

Pierre was an avid reader of Cabu’s “Legrand Duduche,” a comic strip that debuted in 1963 featuring a blond and lanky schoolboy wearing glasses — one who closely resembled Cabu. In the 1970s, “Legrand DuDuche” became an anti-authority and antimilitaristic character, and he evolved over the years into a pacifist and ecologist.

Those who murdered the Charlie Hebdo journalists and, shortly thereafter, shoppers at a kosher supermarket attacked the very heart of French society, said Pierre. “They attacked what we stand for and how we express ourselves. They attacked the way the French have designed to live together in religion.”

He is not surprised at the death threats against the young journalist, not because of any ill will against individual Muslims but because of tensions in French society.

While the lycée is in an affluent area, in the same region as the Château de Grosbois, Muslim ghettos are not far away. These areas are called zones d’education prioritaires, or priority education zones, and were created in 1981 to address the needs of disadvantaged and immigrant students — to “give more to those who have less.” The so-called ZEPs have proved a failure, as French Education Minister Vincent Peillon has said. Last year the French government enacted a series of reforms in an attempt to stem the “ghettoization,” according to L’Express.

“The socioeconomic problems are really explosive,” Pierre said. “The norm for teenagers in the ghettos is to hate the West. They don’t trust traditional media, which drives them to social media, where they read ISIS propaganda.”

Pierre would agree with Minister Peillon that the state has failed to craft policies that could help integrate Muslims into mainstream French society. Referring to the ZEPs, he said, “They don’t teach civics properly. Many Muslim students are not given the chance to understand democracy.”

As for the student, he was under police protection as of late May.  A more recent update could not be found.

Big Apple Circus Embraces Autism! Tuesday, November 17, 2015 at 11am

Big Apple Circus has joined with world-renowned Autism Spectrum Disorders experts to adapt The Grand Tour for families with members on the spectrum and create a joyful experience for all. The adapted show includes the same world-class artistry as the full performance with a shorter running time, adjusted lights and sound, a calming center, pictorial social narratives, and specially trained staff and volunteers to assure a memorable event for everyone! 

The Grand Tour transports audiences to the Roaring 1920s, the advent of the modern travel era, when the most adventuresome began to tour the world in ships, planes, trains, and automobiles. With every seat less than 50 feet from the stage, audiences will be awed by the world-class entertainers as they perform breathtaking acts from the four corners of the globe. Clowns, jugglers, acrobats, and aerialists from Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, and North and South America appear with ponies, puppies and more; the troupe sets off on its own whirlwind adventure, accompanied by the live, seven-piece Big Apple Circus Band at each of more than 100 performances. 

This special performance, a 75-minute abbreviated show, will take place on Tuesday, November 17, 2015 at 11am. All tickets to this performance are half price ($12.50-$37.50). For tickets, please visit: www.bit.ly/BACEA15.

"Thank you so much for taking the time to alter the regular show to accommodate children with
special needs. This was the first circus that we were able to take my niece Gianna to and it was all thanks to Big Apple Circus! Thank you again!" - Preston House
"I did notice some of the changes, like the house lights and the clown doctors, but I was really impressed with how subtle the other adjustments were. I felt like nothing was lost in the performance quality, so for some acts I actually wondered how it was different from the standard show. Congratulations!" - Ladan Hamidi Toosi, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs

For wheelchair or special seating needs, please call customer service at 800.922.3772.

For more information about accessibility at every Big Apple Circus performance, please visit:  www.bigapplecircus.org/accessibility.

The Grand Tour runs from October 21, 2015 to January 10, 2016. To purchase tickets or for more information, visit www.bigapplecircus.org

Seeing Free Speech Through Pictures: An Interview with Photographer Michelle Zapata

Last week, we featured an article about the e-mag Creativity Is Risky: Free Speech in a Charlie Hebdo World, published by Manhattan resident Sally O’Dowd to raise awareness about the persecution of writers and cartoonists around the world.

A tribute to the 11 Charlie Hebdo journalists murdered in January by two Al Qaeda terrorists, Creativity Is Risky reminds us how easy free speech can be whittled away. While writers in the West are curbing Internet searches for fear of government retaliation, Saudi blogger Raif Badawi is getting lashes in Jeddah.

While the magazine’s articles cover a wide range of intersecting issues related to free speech, the original photography is a story in and of itself. Creativity Is Risky art director and photographer Michelle Zapata guides us through it. You’ll never take graffiti for granted again.

What got you involved in this project?

I was completely crushed when I heard the news of the Charlie Hebdo tragedy. These murders were such a violation of freedom of speech, freedom of expression, freedom in all its ways. When talking with Sally about her editorial direction, I saw the opportunity to showcase an objective visual that could be touching and also deep in its creative expression.

What was your creative vision?

I wanted to combine various elements and viewpoints from different communities while taking people on a virtual walking tour of New York City. Such is the beauty of the Freedom Tower as it stands tall behind Washington Square Park – the focal point of our cover –or the photo of the Muslim prayer rug at the Met, which accompanies Sally’s piece about multicultural understanding and tolerance. Further downtown, graffiti became a big player.

Why graffiti?

For many years, graffiti has widely been considered vandalism – less so today but the stigma is still there. It is one of the rawest forms of expression and art. In the height of the fight against graffiti, people were arrested, beaten, fined and in some instances artists had physical fights with each other. We have since come a long way. We now have places internationally that are dedicated to showcasing these amazing artists. From coast to coast, communities celebrate this form of expression. This was an art form that many people paid for dearly to pave the way to acceptance and appreciation. In this way, graffiti is like Charlie Hebdo’s satire.

Different snippets from a mural appear throughout the magazine. What’s the story behind that? 

That was a terrific find! The mural is north of Houston and signed by a Mr. Must Art. Two NYU students who said they were on their way to the library stopped to let me photograph them reading Charlie Hebdo.

This enormous piece of art serves as a metaphor for many themes in the magazine.  The bird is a natural complement to Sally’s epigraph celebrating the “deathless inspiration” of the phoenix and its capacity for vision – the very same traits shared by writers and artists. The baby represents hope, while phrases such as “the world is ours” and “love, peace and universal blessings” remind us to respect other people’s right to free speech while also reminding us that we have the power to choose how we want to live with one another. The many faces and eyes in the mural, coupled with the phrase, “keep your eyes open” serve as a metaphor for government surveillance, which we talk about in the latter part of the magazine.

We noticed the prevalence of the Protect Your Magic sticker and the Protect Yo Heart stencil.  Are stickers and stencils emerging as another street form? Yes, stickers are becoming quite popular among young artists because they are inexpensive to produce and easy to place around town. Stencils have been used for years although they are still considered vandalism. We happened across “Protect your magic” and “Protect yo heart” throughout the day – we couldn’t have dreamed up a better way to summarize the magazine’s free speech mantra. We continue to find the Protect Yo Heart stencil in a variety of colors all over the city. For us, it’s a good omen.

What is the message you want people to walk away with?

The only way to eradicate ignorance is through education, and that was Sally’s main goal. She wanted to educate people about the threats to free speech in general and also ask people to know the facts underlying a satirist’s work. It was my hope to illustrate and support the stories with interesting visuals that would make people think beyond the obvious, which is exactly what satire aims to do. All of the images I shot for Creativity Is Risky were with the idea of bringing awareness to an unjust situation. If we silence our creativity or forms of expression because of someone’s discontent we will limit our divine potential.  Let’s stop placing limits on our freedoms and celebrate our expressions of it! Let’s learn acceptance and tolerance worldwide. Let’s evolve.

How can people support your message?

People can find the magazine at www.sallyodowd.com and click on the link to Creativity Is Risky: Free Speech in a Charlie Hebdo World. They can share the entire publication or a specific article. They are welcome to comment on Sally’s site and share their views on their social channels using #freespeech and #creativityisrisky hashtags. Sally tweets from @sallyodowd and her public Facebook page is Sally On Media – those are good places to stay up to date on the issue.

For more info and to share content, please visit O’Dowd’s blog, Twitter andFacebook.

Big Apple Circus presents Circus of the Senses, specially adapted performances for those with disabilities

Big Apple Circus returns to the Big Top at Lincoln Center for the company's 38th season with the World Premiere of its all-new show, The GrandTour, and presents Circus of the Senses:a specially adapted performance that enables children and adults with vision or hearing impairments and other disabilities to experience the joy and wonder of the circus. Through the use of audio headsets, Braille descriptive programs, American Sign Language interpreters, and a special "touch session" after the show, anyone and everyone can enjoy Big Apple Circus' The Grand Tour! 

The Grand Tour transports audiences to the Roaring 1920s, the advent of the modern travel era, when the most adventuresome began to tour the world in ships, planes, trains, and automobiles. With every seat less than 50 feet from the stage, audiences will be awed by the world-class entertainers as they perform breathtaking acts from the four corners of the globe. Clowns, jugglers, acrobats, and aerialists from Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, and North and South America appear with ponies, puppies and more; the troupe sets off on its own whirlwind adventure, accompanied by the live, seven-piece Big Apple Circus Band at each of more than 100 performances.

Matinee performances of Circus of the Senses will be presented (75-minute abbreviated shows):

  • Wednesday, October 28, 2015 at 11am
  • Thursday, October 29, 2015 at 11am 

A "touch session" after the performances offers a unique opportunity for pre-selected groups of visually impaired children to go into the ring to meet the artists and literally feel a clown nose, a juggler's clubs, or the silky coat of a performing dog.

"The touch session was awesome! To put touch to the animals named and movement to acts
helped to solidify the experience. They LOVED it!" - Lucienne Carrier

SERVICES FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH VISION OR HEARING IMPAIRMENTS

Wireless audio headsets, which utilize a state-of-the-art infrared transmission system, feature a play-by-play description of the action in the ring by Big Apple Circus Founder Paul Binder and Creative Director Karen McCarty. American Sign Language interpreters are strategically positioned in spotlights to translate the auditory aspects of the performances. Audience members also have their choice of a large-print or Braille descriptive program, each of which describes the acts and environment in detail. 

"The ASL interpreter was so personal and made a point to connect with each child before the performance. Thank you so much for allowing us to participate in such a great event!"

- Sarah Stone, Massachusetts Newborn Hearing Screening Program

"The audio descriptive headset is an essential component of the Big Apple Circus experience
for students with visual impairments. [...] My students were able to come back to their schools and
tell their sighted friends what they "saw" at the circus! Fun, beautiful, amazing, awesome."
- Janett Ulwick Sacca, Vistars

"The descriptive headsets are a godsend. With those headsets and the wonderful job the two narrators do, Kirk does not miss a single bit of the show. He and his three brothers discuss all the details of the Circus of the Senses for weeks afterward. This is one event where he does not feel left out and that is
so very important!" - Eileen Brouwer

Tickets for Circus of the Senses are $12.50 ($10 for groups of 10 or more). To get tickets, please visit www.bigapplecircus.org/circus-of-the-senses to fill out a ticket application form. Please note that submitting the ticket application form does not guarantee tickets. Tickets will be distributed on a first come, first served basis to eligible groups. Priority is given to children with vision and hearing impairments and their chaperones. No ticket requests will be taken by telephone.

There will be an evening performance of the full show on Wednesday, October 28, 2015 at 6:30pm, at which audio headsets, Braille descriptive programs, and American Sign Language interpreters will also be offered. Tickets to the Wednesday evening performance are available at bit.ly/BACCOS-E15.

Circus of the Senses is also offered at performances in Queens and Boston.

For more information about accessibility at every Big Apple Circus performance, please visit: www.bigapplecircus.org/accessibility.

Circus of the Senses performances are supported in part by the Frank J. Antun Foundation, Lily Auchincloss Foundation, Community Foundation of Orange and Sullivan, Roy A. Hunt Foundation, James T. Lee Foundation, Shelley and Donald Rubin Foundation, The Rudin Foundations, Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, Shubert Foundation, AXA Foundation, Bank Leumi, Moody's Foundation, and with public funds from the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature, and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council.  Additional support was provided by Big Apple Circus members.

The GrandTour runs from October 21, 2015 to January 10, 2016. To purchase tickets or for more information, visit www.bigapplecircus.org.

"Awe-Inspiring!" - The New York Times
"There's no shortage of thrills...Fun for all!" - New York Post
"The Finest Up-Close Circus in America." - Variety
"America's Best Circus for Children" - Parents Magazine 

Four-time Big Apple Circus ringmaster John Kennedy Kane returns to introduce a variety of stunning performers: clowns Joel Jeske and Brent McBeth; third-generation circus animal trainer Jenny Vidbel with her pony and dog acts; aerialist Sergey Akimov; international juggling sensation Alexander Koblikov; ninth-generation circus performer Chiara Anastasini with hula hoops; the Dominguez Brothers defying the law of gravity with their thrill-filled act featuring the Wheel of Wonder; Chinese hand balancers The Energy Trio; the African acrobatic troupe Zuma Zuma; and the Dosov Troupe soaring on the teeterboard.

The GrandTour, conceived and created by Joel Jeske, is directed by Mark Lonergan (artistic director of Parallel Exit, the three-time Drama Desk Award-nominated physical theater company) with associate director and choreographer Antoinette DiPietropolo. Musical direction by Rob Slowik with clown material created and directed by Joel Jeske. Set and lighting design by Maruti Evans, costume design by Oana Botez, and props design by Katie Fleming.  

As a nonprofit performing arts institution, the Big Apple Circus is committed not only to thrilling audiences in the ring, but also to bringing the joy and wonder of circus into the community. Big Apple Circus creates direct, shared connections inside its one-ring Big Top AND in hospitals, nursing homes, and schools, in its New York City home and in cities across America.

"These performers, many from circus dynasties, preserve an important tradition, reinforced by the nonprofit Big Apple Circus's commendable community-service activities, notably the
Clown Care program, which entertains hospitalized children. This company ... doesn't only have awe-inspiring acrobatic skills; it has a lot of heart, too."

- The New York Times, 2014 Critics' Pick

Big Apple Circus Clown Care® brings the joy of classical circus to hospitalized children at 15 leading pediatric facilities across the United States. Performers collaborate with doctors and staff to design a program to fit the needs of each hospital. Members of the Clown Care team bring the healing power of humor to children with acute and chronic illnesses, visiting nearly 225,000 young patients every year.  

Big Apple Circus Embraces Autism provides performances with modified lighting and sound as well as a staffed calming center, to meet the needs of children on the autism spectrum. Inclusion is a core value at Big Apple Circus, which is dedicated to delivering the finest circus entertainment to everyone, regardless of physical or cognitive ability, or economic circumstance. 

Circus for All!® distributes free and subsidized tickets to schools and nonprofit organizations serving low-income children and families, enabling many of them to experience the excitement and wonder of the circus for the very first time.

Circus After School®teaches kids life skills such as teamwork, responsible risk-taking, and perseverance, through a structured program of learning and performing circus arts. 

For more information, visit www.bigapplecircus.org