Doug Baum

The Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Gustav Dudamel, played magnificently July 16, 2019 as they first featured award-winning Pablo Ferrandez in Antonin Dvorak's Cello Concerto in B minor, Opus 104 in a most passionate and stirring performance. The piece was written by Dvorak about his sister-in-law, who never acknowledged her affection for him, giving this piece an extraordinary range of emotions that Ferrandez fervently played, seeming to feel every note and every nuance with his body and his soul. He is an extraordinary musician, and fully captivated the audience; so much so there were numerous encores of appreciation. It was a moving, heart-felt performance, and I would go anywhere to hear and watch him play again, play anything, as this performance was exalting. Part two of the evening was a reprise, or rather reworking of the performance L. A. Dance Project originally performed at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, which I reviewed, in 2018. (https://www.broadwayworld.com/los-angeles/article/BWW-Review-ROMEO-JULIET-at-Walt-Disney-Concert-Hall-20181106)

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 special night filled with ballet at Bryant Park, featuring a master class led by American Ballet Theatre's Cynthia Harvey and Richard Toda, a discussion with ABT Principal Dancers Sarah Lane and Herman Cornejo, and performances with CONTINUUM Contemporary/Ballet, Doug Baum & Artists, and Da' Von Doane & the Artists of the Shift!

The Great Camel Experiment of the Old West, Sherry Alexander, introduces us to a little known event in the mid-1800s that could have changed the American history of the old West. Taken from the diaries and official documents written by the men involved, her book chronicles the true story of the 'purchase of camels and importation of dromedaries for military purposes'. Readers follow the camels' journey from their arrival in Texas to their use throughout the Southwest. Twenty-two sidebars, three appendices, and twenty-one color photographs mainly taken during live reenactments by Texas Camel Corps make this ebook exciting as well as informative.

On Monday and Tuesday, January 11 and 12, the worlds of ballet, modern, contemporary, tap, jazz, and Broadway converged on the stage of Cedar Lake for Dance from the Heart | MEN, a four performance / two day festival of dance benefiting Dancers Responding to AIDS (DRA) a fundraising program of Broadway Cares / Equity Fights AIDS.