More than 10,000 attended her July 2022 show at Germany’s Bardentreffen, broadcast live. Nomfusi’s musical inclusiveness has made her a standout in Europe and the African continent from the Lugano Jazz Festival to Morocco’s Timitar, to WOMAD in the U.K, and Canada’s Roots & Blues. She knows who she is, where she’s come from, where we should be headed (spiritually, emotionally, righteously), and she’s coming to take us all there. As a song-writer, her originals communicate directly, viscerally. She tackles complex and culturally urgent topics, from domestic violence to female desire, in originals that shimmer with maskandi guitar flourishes and soaring melodies, while hinting at everything from house to ‘70s jazz to funk.Īs singer-songwriter, performer and band leader, Nomfusi is most often called out for her fearless high-watt delivery and high style. With a voice rich in emotional vulnerability, and nimble power, Nomfusi conquers every stage and every heart. The last time we invited her she stole the show from us.” – Hugh Masekela E-mail and comments are welcome.“Her voice is bigger than mine, but she’s smaller than my trumpet. The natural talent, dedication, motivation, support, and ass-busting hard work needed to succeed at this kind of life is touched on here, but also touched on is the sheer love of the game. Other scenes will remind you of The Turning Point, White Nights, and even Dirty Dancing. The kids go to a club one night and salsa, and later we see a bunch of Broadway hoofers in a jazz class lead by Priscilla Lopez (original cast of A Chorus Line) that reminded me of scenes in All That Jazz. Beforehand, there are a couple of dance scenes without ballet. The big dance numbers at the end are worth seeing by themselves, including more modern styles. The beauty of movement, the grace of the girls, and the strength and skill of the boys is captured as well as any other movie in the subject you're likely to see. Some parts are surprisingly weak, but then they move on and get back to letting their feet do the talking.ĭid I mention that the only reason to see this is for the dancing? The way it's filmed here is excellent, without actually having to go to a ballet. Don't expect any awards to be handed out in that area. Will everything work out? Will their dreams come true? Will they survive the heartbreaks of love, and the bodyaches of dance? Well, it's the movies, isn't it? Since the cast features some of the youngest and best dancers in the world, the acting comes second. Only in the movies, right? The story is nothing new either. Kind of like, Friends as done by George Ballanchine. By the way, everybody is amazingly good-looking. How'd he get in there? There's even a Russian figure skater (Ilia Kulik) in the cast as a dancer. There's the naive female ingnue (Amanda Schull), the bad girl (Zoe Saldana), the favorite girl (Susan May Pratt), the cocky lead boy (Ethan Stiefel, "hailed as the most advanced male dancer in the world"), the nice guy dancer (Sascha Radetsky), the nice guy non-dancer (Eion Bailey), the gay friend (Shakiem Evans), the pushy mother (Debra Monk), the demanding teacher (Donna Murphy), and the dictatorial company director (Peter Gallagher). Along with the good, you have to take the less than good. It's only a matter of time before they can only teach and choreograph, so there's a unique sense of urgency to start young, study hard, and survive. "A dancer has ten years, maybe fifteen if they're not injured" in order to peak in their career and be the best they can ever be. They work toward and hope for a career in the most demanding pursuit imaginable, facing gifted competition, and placed on a limited schedule. At the end of the year is a workshop performance where they can be seen by most of the people in the industry who could hire them, including the resident company. They pass the auditions to get into the school, but then have to work as hard as possible to move on from there. It's about a school year in the life of three teenage girls who are roommates at a ballet academy in New York. If you have any appreciation for the art form whatsoever, the one to see right now is Center Stage. From Astaire to Kelly to Hines, it's the poetry of motion. Every now and then there's a new movie about dancers, or dancing, or one with a lot of dancing in it.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |