As the days get longer and spring flowers turn to the lush green of early summer, my various cultural communities explode with outpourings of music and art. First there are all the wonderful spring concerts presented by the community choruses here in Brooklyn: the Brooklyn Community Chorus, Brooklyn Women’s Chorus, Grace Chorale of Brooklyn, Brooklyn Contemporary…
Author: victoriab • CurlyV
Designer | Artist | Writer | Blogger | Maker | Collector | Cultural Omnivore
A Human Being Died That Night
BAM’s Fishman Space was transformed into a cell in Pretoria Central Prison tonight, and although I willingly bought my ticket to this play, I can’t say I was looking forward to experiencing it. As it turned out, I sat riveted for 80 minutes while I struggled — along with the characters in the play —…
Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet
I just returned from BAM after attending one of Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet’s farewell performances. I had only recently discovered this tremendously talented company and it saddens me that they have decided to fold. I understand this company was founded and funded by a Walmart heiress, and that this troupe actually had health and dental insurance…
The Rake’s Progress
A bearded lady. A deal with the devil. A fabulously surreal set. Wonderful music. A love story. A tragedy. A cautionary tale. That is The Rake’s Progress by Igor Stravinsky, which I had the pleasure of seeing live at the Metropolitan Opera last night. The plot of this opera is a morality play in its most…
Station Eleven
“No more Internet. No more social media, no more scrolling through litanies of dreams and nervous hopes and photographs of lunches, cries for help and expressions of contentment and relationship-status updates with heart icons whole or broken, plans to meet up later, pleas, complaints, desires, pictures of babies dressed as bears or peppers for Halloween….
Sowing the Seeds of Hope: An Evening with Dr. Jane Goodall
I spent a lovely evening at BAM hearing Dr. Jane Goodall speak about her life and her work. I was hoping she would speak about her childhood and the path that lead her to where she is now, and she did. It was very inspiring. Her mother encouraged her interests from a very young age,…
Ghosts
I saw the April 10 staging of this play and I found it to be riveting. Lesley Manville was a huge part of that, as was the compelling story. I sometimes hesitate to see Ibsen plays at BAM because they present them pretty often, and sometimes they seem repetitive. Not so for this one. I…
Third Rail by Shakedown Dance Collective
Imagine that you are on the subway during your normal commute. Suddenly you hear music, and the passenger seated next to you starts dancing in his seat. The woman across from you joins him. The car becomes alive with the joy of sound and movement. You miss your stop. You don’t even care. The Shakedown…
The Feinberg Brothers
If you ever have a chance to stop by the Old Stone House in Washington Park in Park Slope, Brooklyn, it is worth the visit. This reconstructed house dates from 1699 and played a key role in the American Revolution and the Battle of Brooklyn. If you are lucky enough to be there when The Good Coffee House…
The Country of Ice Cream Star
“Be a foolishness of life, how we forget our hurts in sleep – like they unmade there, taken back into the time before. We wake in stupid innocence. Then all pains flash to memory, and every cruelty be fresh.” — Sandra Newman, The Country of Ice Cream Star
Semele
Las Vegas has been the gateway to several of my fondest Western outdoor adventures. I dislike parts of Vegas, but then again, I am fascinated with the city as well (in a this-is-so-cheesy-but-I-can’t-take-my-eyes-off-of-it kind of way.) It’s odd to have this flashy raunchy place connected in my mind with such classic gorgeous hiking trips. It’s…
Iolanta/Bluebeard’s Castle
On Wednesday, February 18, I saw the perfect doubleheader at The Metropolitan Opera: Peter Tchaikovsky’s Iolanta and Béla Bartók’s Bluebeard’s Castle. I sometimes attend the Live in HD screenings at BAM, but I attended this one live at the opera house. Anna Netrebko was wonderful as the blind princess, Iolanta. I was surprised at how…
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