Miami City Ballet dancers in Twyla Tharp’s In the Upper Room. (Photo by Gene Schiavone) By Tara Mitton Catao This past weekend, Miami City Ballet closed its second program of the 30th anniversary season with well-attended performances at the Kravis Center. The strong and varied program was nicely balanced, flowing smoothly from one work to the next as well as highlighting … [Read more...]
Vega SQ brings rapturous sound to Flagler series
The Vega String Quartet: Yinzi Kong, Guang Wang, Domenic Salerni and Jessica Shuang Wu. Vega is the name of the brightest star in the constellation Lyra. And while the young Vega String Quartet, which played the Flagler Museum series Jan. 26, may be only on the road to that distinction, they do produce a rapturous, rounded sound, and that is perhaps their signature. Now in … [Read more...]
‘Everest’ brings tragedy home with frightening power
How do you make Mount Everest laugh? Make a plan, of course. Plenty of intrepid climbers have made plans to summit the world’s highest mountain, and most live to tell about it. There have been more than 5,000 successful ascents as of 2013, but about 240 people have died on the mountain. Many of their corpses are still frozen on some godforsaken peak, ominous additions to the … [Read more...]
Zehr brings standout Aurora to Boca Ballet
A leading Florida-born, Boca Raton-trained ballerina made a three-show stop at Boca Ballet Theatre for the company’s mounting of The Sleeping Beauty this past weekend, and demonstrated how to put the “prima” in prima ballerina. But even though Bridgett Zehr’s performance as Aurora in Tchaikovsky’s beloved ballet was nothing short of sensational Sunday afternoon, there were … [Read more...]
Timely and absorbing, ‘Selma’ brings man and movement alive
At an advance screening of Selma in Boca Raton this week, there was something in the air that deviated from the normally passive experience of moviegoing. A communal energy hung as thickly as smog in the air-conditioned auditorium. Some of it was hopeful: Audience members clapped along to the protest songs on the movie’s soundtrack, shook their fists when appropriate, and … [Read more...]
Timely and absorbing, ‘Selma’ brings man and movement alive
At an advance screening of Selma in Boca Raton this week, there was something in the air that deviated from the normally passive experience of moviegoing. A communal energy hung as thickly as smog in the air-conditioned auditorium. Some of it was hopeful: Audience members clapped along to the protest songs on the movie’s soundtrack, shook their fists when appropriate, and … [Read more...]
Naharin work brings fresh energy to Ailey troupe
By Tara Mitton Catao The dancers of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre were on full throttle as they worked the crowd at the Kravis Center on Monday night with a seasoned and savvy flair. The program, of course, included the infectious Revelations, which is Alvin Ailey’s most well-known work. Even after 50 years of regularly closing the show, this signature work managed … [Read more...]
‘Slava’ brings humanity, humor to gentle Arsht show
MIAMI — With its slow-paced rhythms and emotive music, Slava’s SnowShow moves from scene to scene so carefully, so gentle, it feels like the show of a melancholy snail. The wild thing is how it still manages to turn grownups into children and little ones entertained more than an hour. Not to be compared to high-tech shows such as Cirque du Soleil (where mind-blowing tricks and … [Read more...]
Pulse brings considerable artistry to Gardens
Introducing the chamber music group Pulse in its Palm Beach County debut, Alan Bowman, director of the Music at St. Patrick’s series at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Palm Beach Gardens, described this pianist, violinist and clarinetist as a virtuoso trio – and indeed they are. Pianist Maria Radiushina won the Horowitz International competition in Kiev, clarinetist Margaret … [Read more...]
Lost-dog tale treats its humans with generosity
If you believe, as I do, that the world is divided between dog people and non-dog people, then you know which one you are. We dog people are mighty and cliquey, often only hanging around each other. Like right-wing conservatives or Celine Dion fans, I know that non-dog-lovers exist -- I just don’t run in the same circles. If you’re one of these non-dog-people, you may watch … [Read more...]