A Contemporary Evening by The Bolshoi Ballet

A Contemporary Evening by The Bolshoi Ballet

Fathom events, March – On Sunday, March 19, 2017, Fathom Events and Pathé Live broadcast a thrilling and historic program to hundreds of select cinemas throughout the country; and it was a rare treat indeed. “A Contemporary Evening,” a triptych of works dedicated to modern choreography, featuring some of the world’s greatest dancers, direct from the Bolshoi Ballet in Moscow.

 First on the program, and new to the Bolshoi’s repertoire, was “The Cage,” by masterful American choreographer, Jerome Robbins, followed by the young Russian-American choreographer Alexei Ratmansky’s colorful and folklore-inspired “Russian Seasons.”  And finally, “Études” by the Danish choreographer Harald Lander which is considered to be an homage to classical ballet training.
Jerome Robbins’ (1918-1998) ground-breaking “The Cage” is set to Stravinsky’s Concerto in D for chamber orchestra and had its premiere at the City Center of Music and Drama in New York on June 10, 1951. In a 2003 New York Times review it’s viewed as a “sardonic take on Male-female relationships;” and indeed two male creatures are stomped to death and have their necks broken between the knees of a female insect whose web they unfortunately wandered into. AnotherTimes review of Robbins’ ferocious ballet from 1982 opines: “Ostensibly set in a matriarchal insect society in which males are killed after mating, the ballet follows the life of one of the insects, referred to as the Novice, from her birth to her murderous adulthood.”  Mr. Robbins has devised a wide variety of astonishing movement motifs for his collection of insects, including body undulations, brushing of legs, repeated lunging at the floor, stabbing arm motions, and silent screams to create the sense of non-human predacious creatures . The Bolshoi dancers are certainly up to the challenge and Ekaterina Krysanova as the predatory Novice is both lithe and menacing in the role. Mr. Robbins’ underlying theme of male-female relationships may be a bit dated, but the vitality and immediacy of his choreography is as fresh today as it was 66 years ago, and as always, the magnificent Bolshoi is up to the task. Mr. Robbins choreographed works for the New York City Ballet and is best known to popular audiences for his Broadway gems, “West Side Story” and “Fiddler on the Roof.”
The second work on the “Contemporary Evening” program, “Russian Seasons,” by Alexei Ratmansky (b. 1968), premiering at the Bolshoi Theatre, June 2006, and could not be more different from “The Cage” in style, tone, theme and intent. In a 2012 New York Times review by Anna Kisseldorf of this work when presented by the New York City Ballet states, “The ballet touches on many of Mr. Ratmansky’s inclinations: traces of folk dance are given modern makeovers as strange bursts of humor and pathos erupt like tiny fireworks all over the stage. Unison is less of a choreographic conceit than a way to show how a tribe moves with one pulse.”  Mr. Ratmansky’s use of the ballerina is a pleasure to watch. In a vibrant and vital work choreographed for 12 dancers, 3 of the 4 leads are women and refreshingly, they aren’t relegated to “arm putty for tricky partnering or objects to be admired or violated.”  The colorful costumes in red, green, blue, violet and burgundy red (uncredited in the movie program notes) become an integral compliment to the spirited movement of the piece and shimmer in stark contrast to the minimalist mise en scene. From 2004 to 2008 Mr. Rtmansky was the director of the Bolshoi Ballet and as of April 2014 he is artist-in-residence at the American Ballet Theatre in New York.
The final ballet of the evening, “Études,” was choreographed by Harald Lander (1905-1971) and premiered January 1948 at the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen with the Royal Danish Ballet for which Mr. Lander served as artistic director and ballet master.  This exquisite work is a marvel of balletic continuity, visually chronicling as it does the progression of the dancer’s training from emergent student through corps de ballet, and finally to prima ballerina. As a reverential homage to classical ballet, it moves from the ballet studio with students at the barre diligently performing routine pliés then finally to beautifully executed excerpts from the classical ballet repertoire, including performances like the solo “dying swan” scene from “Swan Lake” and other vignettes. The ballet is performed to “piano studies” for music students composed by Carl Czerny which thematically compliments the opening scene of “Études” (“a short, musical composition for practice”) which focuses on ballet students at practice. “Études” is considered an homage to classical ballet training, beginning with students at the barre and ending with spectacular classical virtuosity.
All three works in this superb program are “modern” by definition, but performed by the exquisite classically trained Bolshoi Ballet, they sparkle with classical precision and stunning bravura.
NAMM 2017 – Music Industry Icon Interviews

NAMM 2017 – Music Industry Icon Interviews

Bright Blue Innovations’ coverage of the 2017 Winter NAMM Show included interviews and product announcements that were aired on Comcast, AT&T & Ustream by it video production partner Roadway.Media in February 2017 on Bright Blue Innovation.

Bright Blue Innovation with host Lidia Paulinska, continues their coverage of the Winter 2017 NAMM show in Anaheim, CA. With the assistance of M&E Tech’s Music Editor Peter Chatterjee, the show interviewed several executives and industry leaders in the music industry. This included executives from Gibson, Cakewalk, PRS Guitars, Roland, OWC, Sennheiser, and Neumann. The interviews also included musicians Dr Epiphone, Andy Summers, Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis who received recognition from Roland.

The episode can be found at Roadway.Media as Bright Blue Innovation S2 Ep3 

Met Live – Rusalka

Met Live – Rusalka

Fathom events, March – The Metropolitan Opera’s magnificent production of Antonin Dvorák’s 1901 opera Rusalka was enjoyed by audiences world-wide on Saturday, February 25, 2017.  It was viewed in hundreds of cinemas  throughout the world through “The Met: Live in HD” series, an invaluable cultural treasure presented by Fathom Events.

 

The New York Times had hailed this stunning production as “a shockingly dark, sexy drama,”  an unlikely description of an opera, especially one based upon “The Little Mermaid” fairy tale.  The Times goes on to observe, “the mysterious look of the production, fantastical and ominous, combines with sensual singing by a handsome cast to create a romantic energy rare at the Met — or at any opera house.”

 

The visually rich production, the work of Mary Zimmerman, is indeed fantastical, with shimmering sea-green flowing costumes on the water nymphs against a background of a huge harvest moon projection and the huge Met stage dominated by an ominous giant snake-like Monterey pine which seems to quietly terrorize like a monstrous atrophied boa constrictor.

 

The superb cast is lead by the Lovely Latvian soprano Kristine Opolais who offers us a vocally lustrous and beautifully rendered performance as Rusalka, the water nymph who longs to become human and makes the mistake of falling in love with a handsome human prince, played by the compelling tenor Brandon Jovanovich.  The vocally and physically imposing American bass-baritone Eric Owen powerfully commands the role of Rusalka’s father, the Water Gnome. The wonderful cast is completed by the performance of Jamie Barton as the evil witch Ježibaba who interprets the villainous role to perfection. There’s a theatrical tradition that occasionally calls for a villain to display hints of humor and irony, and Mr Barton doesn’t disappoint.

 

Conducting the Met orchestra was the renowned maestro Sir Mark Elder who interpreted Dvorák’s Romantic score with much spirit and passion.

 

Rusalka at the Met was delightful and a memorable operatic experience not to be missed.

CES 2017 – TV & Smart Home

CES 2017 – TV & Smart Home

Bright Blue Innovation’s coverage from the CES 2017 tradeshow on for Television and Smart Home products was Broadcast on Comcast & Ustream in February 2017 by its media partner Roadway Media. 

Bright Blue Innovation Host Lidia Paulinska shows highlights from the CES 2017 focusing on the smart home technology. Products shown are from the areas of Smart Living, Security, Appliances, and TV& Audio. Companies featured include: LG, Lenovo, Singled, CoWay, Hisense, Polaroid, Casio, Voxx, and Klipsch.

The episode can be found at Roadway.Media – Bright Blue Innovation S2 Ep2

MGM 1952 Musical Comedy – Singin’ in the Rain

MGM 1952 Musical Comedy – Singin’ in the Rain

Fathom events – Singin’ In The Rain is an iconic 1952 Metro-Goldwin-Mayer musical comedy film directed and choreographed by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen.  It stars Kelly, Donald O’Connor, and a 19-year- old Debbie Reynolds.  The film offers a light-hearted view of Hollywood in the late 1920’s.  Kelly, O’Connor, and Reynolds portray song and dance performers of the silent screen era who are caught up in the often hilarious transition to “talkies.”

 

“Rain” is chock-full of joyful music, vibrant dance, and side-splitting comedy and remains one of America’s most popular musical comedies. It was accorded only modest praise when it premiered 27 March 1952 at Radio City Music Hall in New York, but has since gone on to attain legendary status. Most critics consider it to be the best movie musical ever made, and it ranks as the fifth-greatest American motion picture of all time.

 

Kelly, O’Connor and Reynolds ably handle the often extraordinary demands of the music and dance, while Jean Hagen hilariously portrays a talentless, air-headed silent film star named “Lina Lamont” whose horrible voice and lack of talent make her unsuitable for the transition to “talkies.”  Roger Ebert, who believed there was no movie musical more fun than Singing’ In The Rain, once described Lina Lamont’s voice “like fingernails on a blackboard.” Ms Hagen was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her hysterical portrayal of this fading silent screen star.

 

Singin’ In The Rain is a light-hearted, happy movie about making movies. This was Debbie Reynold’s first major role in which she had to keep up with the two veteran hoofers, Kelly and O’Connor, and she succeeded admirably. Kelly and O’Connor had dancing styles unique for that period with moves more robust and acrobatic than, for example, the Grandmaster, Fred Astaire, whom the great premiere danseur Mikhail Baryshnikov once praised as being the best dancer in the world, himself ranking among the very best.

 

In celebration of the films 65th Anniversary, Fathom Events has offered we fortunate movie-goers, a rare opportunity to enjoy this treasure on The Big Screen.  As an enduring classic, Singing’ In The Rain conveys as much joy and pure fun today as it no doubt did for audiences 65 years ago. Kelly, O’Connor, and (most recently) Reynolds  are no longer with us, but their legacy of joy and happiness lives in our hearts.

 

CES 2017 – Lifestyle Products and Mobile Accessories

CES 2017 – Lifestyle Products and Mobile Accessories

Bright Blue Innovatio’s coverage from the CES 2017 tradeshow on for Lifestyle products &Mobile Accessories was Broadcast on Comcast & Ustream in February 2017 by its media partner Roadway Media.

The Bright Blue Innovation Host Lidia Paulinska shows highlights from the CES 2017 focusing on the connected lifestyle. Products shown are from the areas of BabyTech, Mobile Electronics, Wearables, and Mobile Accessories. Companies featured include: Moshi, Zagg, SanDisk, BGZ, STM, PI Labs, Casio, Polaroid, and MyCharge.

The episode is available on-line at Roadway.Media as Bright Blue Innovation S2 Ep 1