Did you read Melissa’s column, The Beat, in today’s Weekend section?
You know how sometimes you’ll hear a name or a word or a phrase you never heard before—or haven’t heard in a long time—and suddenly it’s EVERYWHERE. Somebody else uses it or you see it on a billboard or your Scrabble partner pops it on the board.
That’s how it is for me and George Michael, whose tour-ticket prices Melissa discusses in her column. Who’s heard of him lately? But suddenly G.M. shows up on “Eli Stone.“ Then he shows up on “Men in Trees” (not literally, mind you, but he’s been mentioned on the show several times). Then he shows up on tour.
I had to chuckle at the $250 ticket price Melissa quoted. On “Eli Stone” the other night, one character referred to him as “pop superstar George Michael.“
“Melissa,“ I said, “I think when it comes to ‘superstar,‘ that ship has sailed.“
“Cynthia,“ she replied, “That ship sailed back in the ‘80s.“
Actually, music-lover that she is, she might have nailed the exact year. But that was earlier this week, and a lot has happened in the interim.
Speaking of music, I see the Eagles took out a full-page ad today. They’re not leaving anything to chance, eh?
And speaking of chance—check the smooth transition here—I was blown away by Richmond Ballet’s performance of “Chance Favors the Prepared Mind” Tuesday night. The ballet premiered six new works by six choreographers.
I enjoyed them all, but what struck me about “Chance” (choreography by Todd Rosenlieb) was that I was watching guys partnering guys (what one of Richmond Ballet’s star performers wryly refers to as “dude on dude”). Here you have not only demonstrations of startling athleticism, but you’re seeing male dancers do things they ordinarily don’t—as in catching one another in mid-air and so forth.
As my dancing friend “Jailbait” points out, it’s not so easy when you’re used to being the guy in the duo and suddenly you’re having to follow, not lead (yeah, I know, ballroom terminology. But you know what I mean). I’m sure it’s NOT easy, but it looked just amazing. Kudos to Rosenlieb and those Richmond Ballet boys.
As I said, it was all good for me, but another quick shout-out to “Morning Overtures” by uber fight-choreographer David Leong, chairman of VCU’s theater department, and Patti D’Beck, recently of Broadway. Having the dancers play families, broadcasters, office workers and so forth—using them to portray everyday folk just trying to get by—was hilarious. And hey, those dancers can act!
The New Works Festival runs at Richmond Ballet’s Studio Theatre through Sunday.
P.S. I got a kick out of the fact that “Chance” was commissioned with support from Car Pool. Who said carwashes aren’t artistically inclined?
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