Tough Cookie Dance

We saw two brief but brilliant dances by the Tough Cookie Dance Co. this past weekend in Brooklyn. Looking forward greatly to their next big show, October 18-19, 2013. https://www.facebook.com/toughcookiedance

Documentary Film: The Oath

Description found online:
Two men who were part of the Al-Qaeda terrorist network look back on their past with strongly mixed feelings in this documentary from director Laura Poitras. Before the September 11, 2001 attacks on New York and Washington, D.C., made Osama bin Laden and his jihad against the West known to nearly every American, Abu Jandal was one of bin Laden's bodyguards, and he helped recruit Salim Hamdan, who served as bin Laden's personal driver. Jandal was able to escape prosecution and fled to Yemen, where he now makes a living driving a taxi. Jandal still regards America as a sworn enemy, but also views his days in Al-Qaeda with little nostalgia, and he anticipates no hopeful future before him. Jandal also feels deep regret over the fate of Hamdan, who ended up in the United States military prison at Guantanamo Bay and was tried as a terrorist, despite his insistence he was bin Laden's chauffeur and nothing more. Hamdan's family and legal team struggle on his behalf without any illusions about his likely fate, and when Jandal speaks out to the press in his old friend's defense, Hamdan sends him a sharply worded letter asking him to stop. The Oath was an official selection at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/10012282-oath/

Music Lecture: Bobby Sanabria & Quarteto Ache

A introduction to the rhythms of Latin music and the introduction of Latin/African/Jazz music in NYC during the 20th century. Two of note: the 5 beats of "shave and a haircut - two bits" and the very fast triplet which is clapped (or accented on drums) on 2, 3.

A large migration in the 1920's of Puerto Ricans, who had been listening to more developed radio programs from Cuba, arrived in NYC and lived in Harlem/East Harlem. American-born musicians also were influenced and became stars of the genre, like Tito Puente.

"American Sabor: From the Palladium to the Bronx" on April 17, 2013 at the New York Public Library of the Performing Arts.

Music: The Harlem Quartet

The Harlem Quartet performed three pieces by three composers at Merkin Hall (Tuesday April 16, 2013).

First: A sleep-inducing Mozart String Quartet No. 15 in D minor, K. 421. It would have been a beautiful piece to take a nap with. The Merkin Hall staff had forgotten to turn on the air conditioning, so it might not have been Mozart's fault. We folded inward as Mozart's delicate phrases repeated and danced around us.

With the air finally turned on, The Adventures of Hippocrates by Chick Corea was a delight. A perfect example of what young listeners must be enjoying in contemporary re-imaginings of classical music.

The last piece was Franz Schubert's Quartet No. 14 in D minor "Death and the Maiden," D. 810. Intricate, dramatic and intriguing -- and only a little but like death or a maiden.

Film: Creative Nonfiction

So maybe this is an acquired taste.  But I want Lena Dunham.  "Lena, You dazzle me with your audacity."  I want her to become as famous as Woody Allen.  I want her to have her own TV show.  Until further notice, I am a fan. -dp

This description from the web:

Creative Nonfiction

"2009. USA. Directed by Lena Dunham. Before Girls and Tiny Furniture there was Creative Nonfiction, a funny and formally ambitious metafictional account about writing and non-romance at a liberal arts school. Dunham, a 2009 New Face, stars. 59 min."

Also this description:

"A young woman purposefully blurs the lines between fiction and real life in this independent comedy drama. Ella (Lena Dunham) is a college student who is edging into a relationship with Chris (David Unger), a sweet but nerdy guy who lives in her dorm. Ella can scarcely take her mind off Chris, even though they both feel uncomfortable acknowledging that they're boyfriend and girlfriend, which means she's been neglecting the screenplay that's supposed to be her semester project for a writing class. Stuck for ideas, Ella begins acting out the story that she's roughed out for the script, and as she spends more time impersonating a disturbed high school student having an obsessive relationship with her teacher, life and art start to merge in strange and unexpected ways. Creative Nonfiction was the first feature film for writer, director and star Lena Dunham, and was chosen as an official selection at the 2009 South by Southwest Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi"

Film: Medicine for Melancholy

Written and directed by Barry Jenkins, this is an exquisite movie. From the first scenes of visual storytelling, you feel the hand of a master at work. The romantic drama slowly and purposefully builds using minimalist dialogue and intensely intimate camera work. Private, personal melancholy (a broken romance) is deftly interlaced with historic issues of blackness/slavery and contemporary issues of San Francisco housing problems. Each issue, on its own, would be enough to elicit melancholy. For our main character Micah, sexual tension and anger rest only a scratch beneath actor Wyatt Cenac's beatific grin and loveable sense of humor.

The acting is sophisticated and satisfying. Brilliant camera work and unusual colored lenses also make this a movie I'll want to watch again. Bravo. -dp

This description from the web:
"Fate (and alcohol) brings two people together in this independent romantic comedy-drama. Joanne (Tracey Heggins) and Micah (Wyatt Cenac) wake up together one morning after a drunken one-night stand, the result of attending a late-night party at the home of a mutual friend. It becomes clear they don't know each other very well and after sharing breakfast, Joanne isn't interested in getting to know Micah any better."

Music: The Attacca String Quartet plays Haydn 4/11/13

What is a Haydn string quartet?

I decided this:

Haydn is present as an aural representation of intellect and breath.

The structure is repetition, variation and surprise.

The performers are in a matrix of discovery, drama, support and balance.

It is also an intricate lace created from four colored strands; a living history.