Faster than a speeding pirouette, the dance world turned around a traditionally studio-based, person-to-person practice into an online smorgasbord of virtual classes, tutorials and programs for anyone, anywhere, anytime. Ever wanted to train with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater? Principal dancers from American Ballet Theatre or New York City Ballet? Now you can. Even... Continue Reading →
The Wild Style of Japanese Hip-Hop
About ten years after the birth of hip-hop in the Bronx, the art form found its way to Japan when young Japanese artists encountered the music and saw breakdancing in New York, taking what they saw back to Japan. In 1983, the film Wild Style, a seminal hip-hop documentary capturing the four pillars of the... Continue Reading →
Helping Y’all People Notice
How Music Wrote the Lives of the Men of Hypnotic Brass Ensemble Ask a member of the seven-piece band Hypnotic Brass Ensemble how they got their name, and you may get a surprise answer. It started as an acronym for the band’s mission: Helping Young People Notice . . . hypnotic. Notice what, though? Music.... Continue Reading →
Art as a Survival Tool Series: III
Good Vibrations Polyrhythms, sound healing and the significance of vibration This blog is the third in a series of five on Art as a Survival Tool, blogs that examine the crucial role art plays in the fulfillment of the human experience. Famed scientist Nikola Tesla once revealed “if you want to know the secrets of... Continue Reading →