Ailey Barbie

Yes, she is real. No she will not be dancing at The Opera House. I'm not sure she's old enough.

Merry Christmas to all!

Alan Helms on Lar Lubovitch and Co.

A late arrival to Aisle Be Seeing You is Alan Helms' review of the Lar Lubovitch Dance Company from Bay Windows. The tardiness of this posting is no reflection on Alan, it's more a reflection of my holiday muddled head. Here's a bit:

"Placed in historical context, Lar Lubovitch presents an interesting case. For
two hundred years Western dance was exclusively narrative, and then Balanchine
appeared on the scene. Though Balanchine occasionally created story ballets
(notably Nutcracker and Don Quixote), his works were largely
abstract, and with the slow, stubborn persistence of the genius that he was, he
gradually created the audience he needed to appreciate his radically new work.
Ever since, most choreographers have either specialized in dance that tells a
story or dance that is basically about movement, which is to say dance about
dancing."

Read all of Bon Anniversaire.

Happy Hanukkah!

Stan Getz to blame for world financial crisis...

I suppose the good news is that Paul Desmond, John Coltrane and Sonny Rollins are all off the hook . . .

http://www.stangetz.net/world_financial_crisis.htm

Find us on Facebook!

The Celebrity Series is on Facebook! There are 3 ways to find us in this tiny, but close-knit community:

1. Our Facebook page

2. Our Facebook group

3. The Facebook home of Aisle Be Seeing You!

Art? a joke? a face?

How long can you watch . . . this.

I may now have proof that I no longer live in the world in which I grew up.

Globe and EDGEBoston review Lar Lubovitch Dance Company

Two reviews of the Lubovitch Company's performances this past weekend have appeared to date.

Thea Singer, Boston Globe

Kilian Melloy, EDGEBoston

Lar Lubovitch Dance Company, "Concerto Six Twenty-Two," 12/12/08

Celebrity Series December/January box office hours of operation

Below are our box office hours through December and January:

Monday, December 22 - OPEN 10am to 4pm

Tuesday, December 23 - OPEN 10am to 4pm

Wednesday, December 24 - CLOSED

Thursday, December 25 - CLOSED

Friday, December 26 - CLOSED

Monday, December 29 - OPEN 10am to 4pm

Tuesday, December 30 - OPEN 10am to 4pm

Wednesday, December 31 - OPEN 10am to 2pm* (*Note early closing)

Thursday, January 1 - CLOSED

Friday, January 2 - CLOSED

Monday, January 19 - CLOSED

Regular box office hours of 10am to 4pm, Monday through Friday ongoing from January 5, 2009 (except January 19 as above).

These hours of operation apply to the CelebrityCharge line - (617) 482-6661 - and all subscriber business. Tickets and information will be available on our web site anytime throughout December and January. 

Deborah Jowitt talks to Alvin Ailey (in a daydream)

"Our own building?"

Dance critic Deborah Jowitt wrote about the ongoing Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater anniversary season in yesterday's Village Voice. Here is a sample:

"Here’s my daydream. I’m walking along 8^th Street and meet
the ghost of Alvin Ailey. He looks gorgeous—just the way he did when I
ran into him over 30 years ago in the same place. “Alvin,” I say, “did
you know that on the opening night of your company’s 50^th
anniversary season—in honor of it—the top part of the Empire State
Building was bathed in gold light?” He looks astounded, thinks I’m
kidding (the dance grapevine must not work well where he is). “And,” I
add, “they’ve created a special Alvin Ailey Barbie® doll; she’s posed
in her box as if she’s doing those upflung leaps in Revelations’ ‘Take Me to the Water’ section, and she’s wearing the correct, flouncy white dress for it.” He falls on the pavement laughing. But you know what? He’s thrilled."

But, Deborah, you left out possibly the most astounding development of all, "Did you know the company now has it's own building? In Manhattan (and I don't mean Manhattan, Kansas) no less?"

My guess is that Ailey would be gratified that his company is surviving, surprised that it thriving, and astounded that it is, essentially, the most successful dance company in the world. But I guess that's Ms. Jowitt's point. Read: Lights Up! Alvin Ailey's Gang Turns 50.

When does the whole feelgood juggernaut roll into Boston's stately domain, you ask? April 28-May 3 at The Opera House.

Just Another Arts Administrator/Auto Mechanic

Golden Dragon Acrobats return (yep, even the chair guy)

In case you missed them last time they visited (there might be a couple of you out there), Golden Dragon Acrobats are returning to Symphony Hall on Sunday, February 8. And yes, the chair guy will be in the show again (of course he will!).

Emerson String Quartet reviewed

To date two reviews of Friday evening's concert by the Emerson String Quartet have seen the light of day. In no particular order, David Weininger, a critic linked to frequently in this blog, reviewed for the Boston Globe. Read Approaching Dvorak on Their Terms. You can read MIT's Joyce Kwan on the concert on the web site of The Tech: Always Skillful, Often Breathtaking.

Ailey Update: Hope Boykin's 'Go in Grace' gets premiere

Go in Grace was premiered Friday night

Ailey dancer Hope Boykin's new work, Go In Grace, had its premiere performance on Friday night. The piece features the venerable a capella singing group Sweet Honey In The Rock. As photographer Andrea Mohin's shot, which accompanies Alastair Macaulay's New York Times review, attests, the members of Sweet Honey In The Rock are not hidden in an orchestra pit during the piece, but are front and center (that's Ailey dancer Rosalyn Deshauteurs in the foreground).

Read A Simple Story With a Complicated Greek Chorus.

Boston gets to see Go in Grace (and all the other Ailey offerings) at The Opera House on April 28.

Ailey Gala - And What a Gala! - Kicks Off City Center Run

Linda Celeste Sims danced an excerpt from "Cry"

It was officially Alvin Ailey Day in New York City yesterday. A celebration of a truly remarkable legacy and an ongoing success story, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater's 50th Anniversary Gala got the ball rolling on what promises to be a memorable City Center engagement in New York and an equally memorable tour. The gala had it all: moving tributes to Ailey himself, a sampling of great dance with live music, Jessye Norman singing Fix Me Jesus, even OPRAH was on hand. It doesn't get any better or any more deserved.

Read Alastair Macaulay's review in today's New York Times: One Foot in the Present Season, One Foot in the Past.

The only problem I have is that we have to wait until April 28 for it to come to Boston. It will be worth the wait.

Harwich piano seen and heard: the (silly) mystery continues

Here by perhaps slightly less than popular demand is the latest on the Harwich piano saga (previous post). I'm not sure what else anyone wants to know about this except, of course HOW DID IT HAPPEN, but here is the piano captured on video and actually "played." I promise you, except for an announcement that the mystery is solved, this will be the last post on the tragic and mysterious tale of the Harwich piano.

Video: Lar Lubovitch, First Choreography, 1962

Lubovitch brings his Lar Lubovitch Dance Company to Boston's Tsai Performance Center and the Celebrity Series December 12 & 13.

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater Gearing up for City Center Run

Alvin Ailey in 1955

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater opens its annual run at City Center in New York this Wednesday and continues through January 4. This being the company's 50th anniversary season things will be a little different. Grander. There have already been quite a number of related events and products launched in 2008. How does a set of Ailey Hallmark Cards, a Calendar, and an limited edition commemorative Movado watch and a - wait for it - Ailey Barbie Doll, sound? Well, the party is just getting started.

There was a bit of reminiscence around Mr. Ailey from The New York Times yesterday. Here is a sample:

"GARTH FAGAN, choreographer:

One of the quintessential moments of my whole life was a night at his apartment with Alvin and Romare Bearden. They were telling me about the wonders of being a successful artist of color. We were having drinks, which helped the discussion. When I formed my company, Alvin supported me, financially and emotionally, from the start.

When he was very ill, we had a Joyce season going on, and I went to see him. I said: “Alvin Ailey, you will do anything not to come and see my show. Get out of bed!” We laughed like anything. He was a most gracious man."

Read Remembering Alvin Ailey.

The party comes to Boston April 28 to May 3 at The Opera House.