Last week, The Dance Theatre of Harlem (DTH) presented a classic but eclectic program of four ballets at the Miller Outdoor Theatre. To my surprise, they gave me something I could feel. The performance reminded me that ballet can be fun, art should be communal and a coloratura soprano singing 'Domine Deus, Rex caelestis' is just as electrifying as James Brown singing 'Mother Popcorn.'
'America's not used to seeing a black face in this particular art form,' says 16-year-old Naazir Muhammad about ballet. He should know. He and his twin brother, Shaakir, both practice ballet at the American Ballet Theatre School in New York. Both are aware that ballet is expected to have a certain face. The Dance Theatre of Harlem defies these expectations. Because of this, the company is special in two ways. It is innovative and radical in existing as well as being innovative and radical in dance. Aretha Franklin en point? You never.
The New York Dance and Performance Awards (The Bessies), NYC's premier dance awards honoring outstanding creative work in the field, celebrates a milestone 30th anniversary this year. Today, the 36 nominees for the 2013-14 season were announced at a press conference by members of The Bessies Selection Committee. The nominations (listed below) were selected by an independent committee of 40 dance industry professionals. Produced in partnership with Dance/NYC, Bessie Award categories include Outstanding Performer, Outstanding Production, Outstanding Visual Design, Outstanding Music Composition or Sound Design and Outstanding Revival.
The second season premiere of Showtime's critically-acclaimed hit series MASTERS OF SEX debuted last night, Sunday, July 13that 10 p.m. ET/PT and is now available to watch in full below!
In honor of the highly-anticipated second season of MASTERS OF SEX which premieres this Sunday at 10 p.m. ET/PT, SHOWTIME has teamed up with director Tatia Pilieva (“First Kiss”) for her second social experiment short piece, titled “Undress Me.” The video features 20 strangers, paired into couples, from a myriad of ethnic backgrounds, ages and sexual orientations as they meet for the first time, undress each other and get into bed. Structured similarly to the groundbreaking research by Dr. William Masters and Virginia Johnson in 1957, the black and white film celebrates intimacy, shedding light on human sexuality. To view the video, please go to: http://s.sho.com/UndressMe.MASTERS OF SEX stars Emmy® and Golden Globe® nominee Michael Sheen and Lizzy Caplan and chronicles the unusual lives, romance and pop culture trajectory of real-life pioneers of the science of human sexuality, William Masters and Virginia Johnson.
This morning, SHOWTIME was honored with 24 Emmy nominations across nine series and docu-series.
Deadline writes that stage and screen actress Marin Ireland will play a recurring role in season two of Showtime's drama series MASTERS OF SEX. Ireland joins an impressive list of previously announced guest stars for season two, including Tony winner Christian Borle, Betsy Brandt, Sarah Silverman, Keke Palmer, Courtney B. Vance and Rene Auberjonois. Season two will premiere on Sunday, July 13th at 10 p.m. ET/PT on Showtime.
SHOWTIME will present full season catch-up marathons of its highly-anticipated drama series RAY DONOVAN and MASTERS OF SEX during Fourth of July weekend, ahead of their second season premieres
SHOWTIME will present full season catch-up marathons of its highly-anticipated drama series RAY DONOVAN and MASTERS OF SEX during Fourth of July weekend, ahead of their second season premieres
In advance of the second season premiere of MASTERS OF SEX on Sunday, July 13that 10 p.m. ET/PT, SHOWTIME has released the full-length trailer for the critically-acclaimed hit series. Check it out below!
Following a successful opening week of Festival 2013, Dance Theatre of Harlem returns with an all-new program. DTH gave its first professional performance at Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival in 1970; since that date, DTH and the Pillow have enjoyed a longstanding and fruitful artistic relationship. The company, led by Artistic Director Virginia Johnson, performs Donald Byrd's smooth yet power-packed contemporary ballet Contested Space, which features a plethora of solos and duets. past-carry-forward, created for DTH by Tanya Wideman-Davis and Thaddeus Davis, conveys the spirit and significance of the Harlem Renaissance. The cornerstone of this dynamic evening is the late choreographer Ulysses Dove's moving, elegiac ballet Dancing on the Front Porch of Heaven, danced to "Cantus in Memory of Benjamin Britten" by Arvo Part. The company appears in a special seven-show engagement in the Ted Shawn Theatre at Jacob's Pillow, July 9-13.
Lincoln Center Education, the education cornerstone of Lincoln Center and a global leader in arts education and advocacy, announced updates to the Next Stage event today, May 30, 2014 focused on music, and in partnership with the New York Philharmonic.
Tony Award winner Christian Borle is joining the season two cast of the acclaimed SHOWTIME drama series MASTERS OF SEX. Borle will recur in the guest starring role of Frank (Francis) Masters, William Masters' brother (played by Michael Sheen). He joins an impressive list of previously announced guest stars for season two including Betsy Brandt, Sarah Silverman, Keke Palmer, Courtney B. Vance and Rene Auberjonois. Production on season two is currently underway in Los Angeles, and will premiere on Sunday, July 13th at 10 p.m. ET/PT on SHOWTIME.
Following the record-breaking attendance of Festival 2013, Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival announces the full 2014 Festival free and ticketed event schedule. Jacob's Pillow is a National Historic Landmark, home to America's longest-running dance festival, and a recipient of the National Medal of Arts. Noted dance writer Jennifer Dunning has called the Pillow "the dance center of the nation, possibly the world."
Veteran actors Courtney B. Vance and Rene Auberjonois have joined the season two cast of the acclaimed SHOWTIME drama series MASTERS OF SEX. Vance will recur in the guest starring role of Dr. Hendricks, the head of an African-American hospital in St. Louis whose goal is to racially integrate his hospital, and Auberjonois will be guest starring as Dr. Papanikolaou, a former professor of Dr. DePaul (guest star Julianne Nicholson), who she and Johnson hope will endorse their screening program that uses the test named after him: the Pap smear. Production on season two is currently underway in Los Angeles. Season two returns on Sunday, July 13th.
Lincoln Center Education, the education cornerstone of Lincoln Center and a global leader in arts education and advocacy, announced updates to the Next Stage event on May 30, 2014 focused on music, and in partnership with the New York Philharmonic. Violinist Midori, originally announced as moderator, with regret has withdrawn to attend to a minor but time sensitive health issue. Her replacement as moderator will be Dr. Aaron A. Flagg, Professor of Music, Dean of the Hartt School and Senior Advisor to the President on External Relations at the University of Hartford. Joining Dr. Flagg will be three panelists: Sarah Johnson (Director, Weill Music Institute at Carnegie Hall), Angelica Negron (composer and New York Philharmonic Teaching Artist), and Paola Prestini (composer and Creative Director of Original Music Workshop).
The Hollywood Reporter has revealed a first look at the second season of Showtime's drama series MASTERS OF SEX. Production on season two is currently underway in Los Angeles, and will premiere on Sunday, July 13th at 10 p.m. ET/PT on SHOWTIME. Check it out below!
On Friday, April 25th, the new Dance Theater of Harlem, now in its second year, presented three ballets. Pas De Dix, a set of dances taken from the last act of the full-length ballet Raymonda, choreography by Marius Petipas and originally staged for DTH by Frederic Franklin, offered this young company the opportunity to delve into the world of the classics. The dancers worked diligently to execute the steps and the feeling required for such a work. In the second variation Nayara Lopes was fresh and sweet, while Linsey Croop demonstrated qualities both strong and cute in the in the fourth variation. In general, however, while potential was evident, the dancers lack the experience and maturity to make the most of this ballet. I expect that in a few years they will be giving more assured, even exciting performances.
Dance Theatre of Harlem's 2014 run at Jazz at Lincoln Center, the second New York season after a nine-year absence, drew to a satisfying close on the afternoon of Sunday, April 27th with a well-chosen triple bill. The beloved troupe, America's first African American ballet company, was forced to go on hiatus in 2004 when it announced its $2.3 million debt. Now under the able artistic direction of Virginia Johnson, who was a DTH principal ballerina for 28 years, the resurrected national treasure is dedicated to carrying on the mission of founders Arthur Mitchell and Karel Shook to 'present a ballet company of African-American and other racially diverse artists who perform the most demanding repertory at the highest level of quality.'
Emmy-winning comedian and actress Sarah Silverman is joining the cast of season two of the acclaimed SHOWTIME drama series MASTERS OF SEX. Silverman will recur in the guest starring role of Helen. Production on season two is currently underway in Los Angeles, and will premiere on Sunday, July 13th at 10 p.m. ET/PT on SHOWTIME.
Videos
