If you missed it on PBS, you can watch Bill T. Jones as he talks about his Fondly Do We Hope … Fervently Do We Pray, celebrating Abraham Lincoln, on the Bill Moyers Journal here. Do watch — it’s fascinating.

All photos by Monique Carboni.

If you’re in NY or are coming here at all for the holidays, definitely do not miss FELA! It’s honestly one of the best musicals — if not the best — I’ve ever seen (and I don’t often like musicals!)

It’s a very “real” musical in that it takes place in a night-club in Lagos, Nigeria — called The Shrine — founded by  real-life Nigerian composer, musician, founder of Afrobeat, and human rights activist Fela Kuti (1938-1997). It’s the late 1970s and he and his dancers (mostly female) perform their unique — and fascinating — blend of what seems to me traditional African, Reggae, and funk, and you’re part of the night-club audience!

Through the songs — most of them are actual music by Kuti — Kuti tells his story, and that of his mother, Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, who was killed by the police just months earlier, when they raided Kuti’s compound. Funmilayo was a feminist and human rights activist who was vocal in her opposition to colonialism, and to the corrupt government, and her death, along with the attack on Kuti’s compound, were politically-motivated.

It’s hard to understand the exact political problems in Kuti’s Nigeria — I’d think it would be near impossible to explain something that complicated in a show like this — but suffice it to say the government is corrupt, there’s no accountability of government officials, the police force / Army is murderous, Nigerian citizens are suffering, and Kuti is speaking out against it all through his songs.

The story-line moves back and forth in time, much of it devoted to Kuti’s memory of Funmilayo, played brilliantly by Lillias White (in photo above).

The show is expertly choreographed and directed by Bill T. Jones (photo above by Joseph Moran), who, I feel, does his best work on Broadway. The dancing is so incredibly stunning. I have never seen African dance done this well. Jones must have looked long and hard for those miraculous performers! The play obviously provides a great history lesson, but, seriously, you can go for the dancing alone and be completely blown away.

But, as I said, you’re made to feel you’re part of the Shrine audience — and Kuti (played, on my night, excellently by Sahr Ngaujah — Kevin Mambo alternates with him in the role) will ask everyone to stand up and clap, dance (at your seat!), sing, repeat words after him — it’s a lot of fun. At one point, they re-enact the police breaking into the compound, kidnapping several of the dancers, torturing them, beating Kuti, and throwing Funmilayo out of a top-floor window, killing her. But when the police storm the place, the dancers and cast -members run about the theater, through the aisles, you hear screams, shots. You feel like you’re one of them, and it’s really actually quite frightening for a split second. I actually wished they’ve have done a bit more of that — had not just the compound’s inhabitants running around screaming, but the police chasing them, waving batons, threatening everyone, including you, the “foreigner.” (My friend who I saw the show with, a black man, thought I was a bit off my nut wanting this — this rather authentic re-enaction of police brutality…)

Anyway, brilliant brilliant show — a definite must-see! I also loved Saycon Sengbloh as a female friend, whom Kuti meets during his travels. She mainly sings, and, like White, she’s got a really beautiful, powerful voice.

One last thing: at the end, the dancers and singers all emerge from the wings and carry through the aisles and out onto the stage small tombstones. It’s really cool — there are cameras all about filming live and the scene is supposed to be a political demonstration. Because of the cameras, even though the audience is all seated, everyone still kind of looks like they’re part of the demonstration. Very cool effect. Anyway, Kuti carries a tombstone bearing his mother’s name; the others’ bear words like peace, dignity, etc. At the end, they stack all tombstones atop one another onto a pile in the middle. I noticed as we were putting on our coats to leave that the one in the middle said “I am Sean Bell.” I thought that was interesting because obviously Sean Bell is a contemporary American reference and this took place in Nigeria decades ago. And, the Nigerian police stormed Kuti’s compound and attacked him and his followers for their outspoken political beliefs, whereas Bell was shot and killed by police during a failed prostitution bust because they thought — notoriously wrongly of course — that his friend was reaching toward his waistband to retrieve a gun. One outlash of violence seems so much more politically-motivated than the other. But then maybe the Bell case is political just in the fact that the police had targeted a club in a black part of town in the first place and were looking for criminal activity. Maybe both the Kuti and Bell communities were equally “under siege” in a way. I don’t know … racism in the U.S. these days takes such complicated forms because there are just layers upon layers upon layers of historical oppression.

He would be fun! Or Derek Jeter, or A-Rod, who, by the way, on the night of the second World Series game, my friends and I saw at Blue Ribbon at 6 Columbus, where we went after seeing Morphoses (review of the program B still to come!) He was with Kate Hudson, and an entourage of course. We also saw Wallace Shawn there. Such a cutie — and he got more requests for autographs than A-Rod!

I mean, why are there never any baseball players on the show? Only footballers?

Anyway, this week’s show (which I realize I’m very late with now — don’t even ask; crazy crazy week): my favorites were Aaron and Karina’s Jive, Mya and Dmitry’s Foxtrot, and and Donny and Kym’s Quickstep. I thought Aaron’s Jive was downright professional-looking — I do think those athletic training courses she had him do beforehand so he’d get the kicks and flicks right — helped immensely. I thought Mya’s Foxtrot was very golden-age Hollywood, very glamorous and beautifully danced. And I thought Donny’s Quickstep showed excellent showmanship and very good footwork. I disagree with the judges who were critical of him — I thought he did an excellent job with that QS. And I missed the supposed mistakes!

I disagree with the judges on Michael and Anna’s Foxtrot, and Kelly and Louis’s Salsa. I thought Michael did much better last week with the Samba, and in this week’s group Paso — I think the Foxtrot just isn’t him. He didn’t look fluid and elegant and didn’t really have the rise and fall right, though it looked like he was trying hard — and the judges likely recognized that. I thought Kelly looked totally stiff in her Salsa though! She got better as the dance went on, but she looked really nervous and almost seemed like she was just going through the motions in the first third of it. When she did that twisted dip, Louis almost didn’t catch her and had to find his footing. But by the last third of the dance, she’d found her confidence and it was much more all-out. Funny thing is that this seems to be what she does every week, so I didn’t really see improvement on that front, though I still like her.

I also didn’t like Joanna and Derek’s Rumba. She looked like a paper-doll trying to be sexy, if you ask me. Everything seemed superficial — both the emotions and the hip action.

And I didn’t like Mark’s Samba. I didn’t really think it was a mess like the judges said but I don’t think it’s a dance that naturally looks good on him. He did much better with the group Paso. But I can see why he was the one to be booted last night.

I didn’t actually see the show last night (was out seeing FELA! on Broadway, which was excellent! Definitely go see it if you’re in NY — it’s such a “real” musical — you’re really taken back to the 70s, to Nigeria, to Fela Kuti’s nightclub, to the police brutality, to the music and dance, to his world; you really feel like you’re there, which, to me, doesn’t often happen with musicals. And it has Bill T. Jones’s mark of choreographic excellence all over it!) Anyway, regarding DWTS, I missed Derek and Mark singing. How were they?

Above photo by Kathy Willens, Associated Press.

The new Bill T. Jones work inspired by Abraham Lincoln, which I can’t wait to see when it makes its way to New York, premiered over the weekend at the Ravinia Festival in Illinois. Here are three early reviews.

Above photo by Sally Ryan, from the NY Times.

If you haven’t already seen, there’s an excellent slide show of photos of dancers and choreographers that have appeared in Vanity Fair over the past decade or so on the magazine’s website. Of course you know I would have to post this one (by Bruce Weber by the way), but there are also some really beautiful ones of Darci Kistler and Peter Martins, Bill T. Jones, Alvin Ailey dancers, and some oldies from New York City Ballet, just to name a few. Check it out here.

Last night at Barnes & Noble, Lincoln Square, Mikhail Baryshnikov talked briefly with New Yorker dance critic Joan Acocella about his new book of photos of the Merce Cunningham Dance Company, Merce My Way. (I love the title, by the way).

The talk was brief (about half an hour) but pretty good. But, honestly, I had a very hard time getting over my anger at Barnes & Noble. I arrived early in order to get a good seat up front, knowing (hoping at least) it would be crowded. But on my way in, I was stopped by a B&N employee. She said they were giving “preference” to people who purchased his book, which cost $36. She pointed me to the cash register, set up, conveniently, right next to the entrance.

I was so mad. There was such a crowd already, it was pretty clear “preference” meant that unless you were buying a book, you weren’t getting in. And in this economy, $40 is a lot to spend when you’re not expecting it. Honestly, I found it a really sleazy, unfair corporate practice to take advantage of his fame like that to sell books. A lot of people must have come from a ways away to see him, and you’re not really going to walk away if you’ve traveled. People were standing around looking like they didn’t know what to do, hesitantly withdrawing their wallets and picking up a book. “We’re a couple, can we get in on one book?” I heard someone ask the people at the door.

I mean, this was advertised as a regular talk / author reading event, which are always free. Nothing in the adverts (at least the ones I saw) said anything about having to purchase a book. As Ron Hogan (of the pub / book blogs Galley Cat and Beatrice) tweeted me (and damn, was I a mad tweeter last night), “seriously. if bookstores want to pull that crap, let them charge $40 IN ADVANCE and include the book w/admission.”

Just as I was getting mad about missing Bill T. Jones (who was giving a talk downtown) for this b.s., I saw my friend Monica Wellington (who I met through Philip). They’d agreed to let her buy the Joan Acocella book instead, which was less expensive. She told them at the door we were together, so they let me in. Thank you thank you, Monica!!

Anyway, the talk was pretty good, albeit short (about half an hour). I’d never heard him speak before, other than giving a brief sound byte on a pre-recorded interview. He is, as expected, charming and smart, though he talks very slowly, thinks hard about his words as if he’s always too far ahead of himself, struggles with English, and digresses frequently. None of which were a big deal, and his digressions often led to entertaining little tidbits.

Continue reading ‘BARYSHNIKOV TALK GOOD BUT I AM PISSED AT BARNES & NOBLE’

Please excuse the blurry photo; I took it on the escalator last night at Barnes and Noble, where I went after Paul Taylor (review soon!) Thankfully I decided to visit the bookstore; I hadn’t known about this, even though I’m on B&N’s events mailing list…

So, this Tuesday, March 10th, Joan Acocella (New Yorker dance critic) will be in conversation with Mikhail Baryshnikov at Barnes & Noble, Lincoln Square (66th and Broadway) to discuss Baryshnikov’s new book of photos of the Merce Cunningham Dance Company, Merce My Way.

But same night same time, Bill T. Jones is giving a talk at Skirball. Now what?