Valerie-Jean Miller - Page 5

This Past Sunday, December 23rd, 2018 was the perfect Christmas entertainment for so many families, including me, that was filled with fun before, during and after this fabulous show. If you haven't gone to see it, you still have this next weekend to experience a fun-filled pre-show, star-studded filled-with-fun and laughs performances including a special appearance by the one-and-only Kermit The Frog! It is guaranteed to entertain and satisfy your entire family, especially children. It is the perfect way to enjoy a family outing for the Holidays.

Lythgoe Family Panto and the Laguna Playhouse present a fun and enjoyable version of Beauty and the Beast for the holidays. The English tradition of Panto, meaning it is an interactive, audience-participating show, is written by Kris Lithgoe, Directed by Sheldon Epps, Choreographed by Mandy Moore, with Musical Direction by Keith Harrison. With that impressive roster, it is a sure-fire evening of silly humor, great production numbers, unexpected songs and a meaningful message perfect for the holiday season.

Northridge, CA On Wednesday, December 16th, 2018, at the Soraya Center for the Performing Arts Theatre in Northridge, CA, a very special group of children, who have been chosen by the Moscow Ballet, will be dancing on stage alongside the ballet company's professional dancers in their prestigious and unique version of The Great Russian Nutcracker as part of their Dance-with-Us Program. There is no other interpretation like theirs in the world. The 'Dove of Peace' section of the Ballet is exclusive to the Moscow Ballet Company, and is a magnificent sight to see. Two of the Principal dancers, during the overture of Act II, partner in unison to create a white dove of peace, with a 20-foot wing span, who leads the main characters into the Land of Peace and Harmony, popularly known as the Land of the Sweets.

Miami City Ballet has continuously performed The Nutcracker for 28 years. This time around, they have new, exquisite costumes and elaborate sets and graphics, to go along with Tchaikovsky's diverse and timeless Nutcracker Suite score. This particular Nutcracker Ballet, using George Balanchine's choreography, is based upon E.T.A. Hoffman's "The Nutcracker and The Mouse King." Though the story and characters are similar to other versions seen, there are some differences in the plot and characters.

Artistic Director Pat Taylor's JazzAntiqua Dance and Music Ensemble is a beautiful jazz/dance and soulful enterprise that is so exuberant and exhilarating to watch, that, and this is also because the four jazz musicians who play throughout are just beyond brilliant, you forget every one of your troubles and feel compelled to join in to rejoice the human spirit through music, dance, poetry and the spoken word.

Natalia Hills, Artistic Director/Choreographer and Creator of Tangueros del Sur's "Romper el Piso," or "Break the Floor," is from a long line of generations of tango dancers. She was an original member of the phenomenal Broadway Show "Forever Tango," which garnered many accolades in the mid-nineties. She founded this company in 2009. They have performed all over the world, most lately this year in Greece, performing in 18 of the most ancient theaters in Greece. Her mission through this performance is to show the evolvement of Argentine tango from the Afro-Argentine beginning to the many influences of different musical cultures and artists that shaped the dance elements that you see today, but still to pay homage to the roots of the dance and to keep the origins sacred and preserve the essence of tradition.

Richard Kaufman Conducts New West Symphony featuring Dennis James on Pipe Organ and soprano Kristi Holden Younes and Soraya Nazarian Center for the Performing Arts (The Soraya) Saturday, November 3 at 8:00pm What a Holiday treat! A wonderful combination of an authentic classic silent and gripping movie, 'The Phantom of the Opera,' (Universal Studios, 1925) played on a jumbo screen coupled with live organ expertise and opera singing, the original score, the superb New West Symphony and the conduit that blends it all together, the Conductor, Richard Kaufman.

'Sutra' is Alonzo Kings' newest full length work, presented at The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts; three years after their last appearance in Los Angeles. Originating in San Francisco in 1982, LINES Ballet is at the forefront of artistic innovation and is well-respected and famous for collaborating with musicians and visual artists all over the globe to create unique and forward-looking contemporary ballets.

Out-of-the-box creativity, fantastic agility, flexibility and control describes the Jacob Jonas Dance Company. From the first few movements in their first piece of the evening, it was clear this was going to be a visual treat. There were five different dance pieces presented; all World Premieres. Three choreographed by Jacob Jonas, with two other diverse choreographers contributing to the concert; Donald Byrd and Omar Roman De Jesus. Each piece had a different theme and flavor.

Kirsten Vangsness has a most fertile imagination. Her creation, a new play called Cleo, Theo & Wu, is a wild and crazy spaceship-ride through the annals of time as a way for her character Lucy to empower her own life back on earth. The World Premiere, Directed by Lisa Dring, and written by Kirsten Vangsness is a verbal wonderland of dialogue that is smart, funny, poignant and immensely clever and fast-paced.

Produced and Presented by Cheryl Baxter-Ratliff and Allen Walls, in association with Break The Floor and held at the Saban Theatre in Beverly Hills, CA, there was an overwhelming turnout within the Dance Community to this event. There were reportedly 1,400 people attending. It was a spectacular evening! The all -inclusive 8th Annual WORLD CHOREOGRAPHY AWARDS. Because this is the 8th Annual Awards Ceremony, I feel a change has evolved regarding categories up for Awards. Wider acceptance of all forms of Dance, Interpretive Movement, new forms of technology and genres not considered previously. All-Inclusive is a modern term, but it's great to see that the WCA is embracing and incorporating so many more possibilities that qualify for our consideration.

Hard to compare any other performance to this one. "Revisited," meaning reverse role changes that were made in the casting of this, putting another dimension into significance from the original version, plus updated costuming and scenics, and "Rejoiced," because it was performed, live, in front of your eyes and ears, by The L Philharmonic and The L A Dance Project, at The Walt Disney Concert Hall in Downtown Los Angeles, California.

A CELEBRATION OF LIFE The Los Angeles Memorial/Tribute for Alan Johnson at The Performing Arts Center October 14, 2018 Alan Johnson was truly a man of many talents. On Sunday, October 14th, 2018, friends, all of whom are either dancers, choreographers, directors or actors, or all combined, that have had the honor to work with or befriend him, gathered at The Performing Arts Center in Los Angeles, CA, owned by Joe Malone and Nanci Hammond Malone, two superb dancers/teachers that donated their facility for this event, to honor, reminisce and celebrate Alan's wondrous life and career.

OMG!! Raunchy, Irreverent, full of belly-laughs, snorts, insane giggling and possibly peeing your pants, this Musical stars Jesse Merlin and Amanda Conlon as Hannibal Lecter and Clarice Starling in SILENCE! THE MUSICAL, a satirized tribute, fully choreographed and revisited, to the iconic movie 'The Silence of the Lambs.' with Music & Lyrics by Jon Kaplan & Al Kaplan, Book by Hunter Bell, originally done Off-Broadway, this newest version compares to The Book of Mormon, in references, 'inside' jokes, campy impersonations and an array of talented performers milking it for all it's worth. A terrific ensemble puts their all into every moment, which is indelibly seared into your memory because of a movie everyone has seen and continues watching to this day.

A wonderful, young and gifted company, full of enthusiasm and modern moves, the LA Ballet Company delivered a surefooted performance at the Alex Theatre, October 6th, 2018. There are two more performances coming up; one at Royce Hall, UCLA, October 13th, and another at Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center, October 20, of this same program.

Skateboarding has been around a long time. When I was a teenager, living in Miami, besides attending school, tons of dance and other training, I was a surfer, and, out of necessity (there aren't really many rideable waves on Miami Beach) also a skateboarder and skiff or skim boarder. It has evolved into an Olympic sport and grown into a a thriving industry. It is a young person's sport, although not limited to any age, as witnessed at the Ford Theatre on Saturday, September 29th, 2018. Blending and fusing free-form Jazz, with an assemblage of top-notch musicians, a prolific rapper with an inventive vocabulary, and an array of skateboarding hot-shots and seasoned professionals performing their expertise, it made for a stellar, high-energy, exciting evening in the outdoor theater with the lush, natural backdrop and surrounding landscape, part of L. A. County Parks, and the series Ignite @ The Ford.

A clever, funny, unique, surprising, prolific, abundantly verbiaged and delightful play, with all-in for the ride actors playing their parts to the hilt. Written by Sam Henry Kass and Directed by Ronnie Marmo, the tightly polished performances never miss a beat, with good timing and delivery on the comedic moments (there were many) and ample depth in the serious moments. The players, the latter two playing copious parts, are Deborah Geffner as the Mother, Mercedes Manning, the Daughter, Hansford Prince, the Actor, and Julia Valentine Larsons as the Actress. The entire cast embodied each role with aplomb. And what crazy characters they are!

TooManyBodies.Org: Artists United to make America safe again Wednesday, September 26, 2018 marked the launch and premiere of an extremely well-done and effective music video entitled 'Too Many Bodies.' It addresses gun reform through music and dance, combining the song 'Place Called Us,' composed by Alex Mackey with very moving and expressive choreography by Nancy Dobbs Owen. Directed and Produced by Reena Dutt, as well as co-Producers Puppett, Danielle Phelan and Penelope Wong, it gives an unusual portrayal of a school shooting; beginning immediately after the shooting, and by means of going back in time, recreating the moments before and afterwards with quite a potent effect. You Hear two Gunshots, and see mostly darkness except for a young woman's face...

Quite the novel way to expose the damages of abuse. It is both sad and funny as the Cast of THE RESCUED plays out an afternoon at a certain dwelling and backyard on a street in Anytown, USA. Julia Marie Myatt, the Playwright, has crafted a different way of viewing how verbal, physical and mental abuse can affect someone their entire lives, and yet as these characters begin to share their backgrounds and stories with each other, it begins to help them heal and deal with the disappointments and tragedies of life and find contentment and acceptance in the present.

The Rainbow, as a symbol, is realized through the KESHET CHAIM DANCE COMPANY with Special Guest Artists, DANCE STUDIO 84 ~ Rainbows speak directly to our hearts and souls. They bring the promise that the troubles of today will surely come to pass, and if you hold strong to your faith and vision, there will be new beginnings, new prosperity. On a foggy September evening up atop Mulholland Drive, at a beautiful location, environment and atmosphere, at the lovely Gindi Auditorium of The American Jewish University, 'Keshet @ 36, an Anniversary Celebration' took place to commemorate 36 years of art and entertainment.