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Somehow, by some chain of thought about an hour ago, I was reminded of the dance number from Broadway Melody of 1940 done by Fred Astaire and Eleanor Powell to Cole Porter's "Begin the Beguine." Don't remember what got me there, but I got there. I realized I'd never seen it outside of the compilation-film That's Entertainment, where it is edited down and partially covered with narration. So I looked for it on YouTube -- there were five or so uploads of it, none of them all that good (either edited down, narrated, or badly copied - in one case, videotaped with a camera off of a TV screen!), but one of them is passable, and here it is:



And I realized again that I haven't seen enough Eleanor Powell, and knew pretty much nothing about her. I only knew the number above where she looks to be the best damned tap partner Astaire ever had (after making this film, he supposedly told Fayard Nicholas he'd never work with Powell again 'cause he made her work too hard) and two numbers from Broadway Melody of 1936 included on the Singin' in the Rain DVD, one of which is terrific (the "Broadway Rhythm" finale) and the other features Powell, a hoofer, in balletic choreography completely unsuited for her (as well as a hideously unflattering costume) which she still pretty much sells.

The Wikipedia entry on her notes that Broadway Melody of 1940 is available on DVD (okay, up it goes to the top of the Netflix queue!) but that almost nothing else of hers is, though a box set may be forthcoming "by the end of this year." In the meantime, here are a couple more short numbers from that film. First, Powell and Astaire again . . .



Now, Astaire, Powell, and George Murphy (a good dancer, but shouldn't be forced to be next to Powell and Astaire, dancing in unison, poor dope) . . .



And from Broadway Melody of 1938, a much longer number -- I love the way the person who uploaded this to YouTube (a non native-English speaker) describes this: "In This Clip You See Sophie Tucker Singing A Great Song, And After That You Can See Eleanor Powell." That about sums it up. If you're not interested in Sophie Tucker (shame!), Powell starts dancing at 3.22 in/5.11 to go:



We worship you, O Eleanor Powell.

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Two things to guide people to, of one kind or another:


As I've mentioned, I've done the lights for Rachel Cohen's new piece Suite at The Brick, and I enjoy Rachel's work immensely and think I've done a good job on the light (it's been a while, I'm rusty, and there are limits within the space and equipment available, as always, but people have been effusive about it, so I guess it works for others as well as it does for me).

We don't have nearly as much dance at The Brick as we would like, and I'm not sure the normal "dance audience" (whatever that is) is all too aware of the space, or maybe even Williamsburg - though it seems to me there's been a helluva lotta dance going on in Williamsburg for a couple of years now . . . Rachel said she had considerably more house immediately in her last show at WalkerSpace, so I dunno.

The show had an pretty good house opening night, and a small one last night. We have more advance tickets sold for every show left in the run, but if you're interested, I think it's worth it. The two pieces are each alternately very funny, very beautiful, and very exciting.

It's been great fun lighting both pieces on the bill - Suite, the longer, new one, is loosely based around film noir images, which are of course my favorite. All the Much I Have Not Went, an older piece done as a curtain-raiser, has some lovely reflective costumes that allow me to do a bit of a tribute to the lights of Alwin Nikolais (in particular Noumenon), which I spent a good deal of 1995 recreating on tour.

Here's the info:


Racoco Productions presents


Suite


A collaboration among a choreographer, a candymaker, and a jazz composer, Suite's film noir characters negotiate sticky situations in a world made entirely of chewing gum and taffy.

Melding theater, dance, sculpture, and candy-making, an international ensemble of actors, dancers, and clowns explores the connections between people and how their boundaries are stretched, pulled, twisted, and torn.


directed by Rachel Cohen


with a score of original music and arrangements by composer Rafi Malkiel and costumes made from salt-water taffy


performed by
Katie Brack, Rachel Cohen (13th, 19th, 21st), Elodie Escarmelle, Adrian Jevicki, and Michelle Vargo (12th, 14th, 15th, 20th)


preceded by


All the Much I Have Not Went (2002)


Three female superheroes of limited power, and suffering from OCD, meet in a support group for consolation, commiseration, and conflict.


performed by
Katie Brack, Elodie Escarmelle, and Kelly Kocinski


at The Brick
575 Metropolitan Ave, Williamsburg, Brooklyn
(L to Lorimer/G to Metropolitan)


Thursday-Saturday, April 12, 13, 14, 19, 20, 21 at 8.00 pm
Sunday, April 15 at 4.00 pm
$15.00 ($12.00 students and seniors) - TDF vouchers accepted


tickets available at www.theatermania.com or by calling 212-352-3101


special $50.00 VIP tickets Thursday, April 19, include post-show reception and concert by The Rafi Malkiel Ensemble


Visit The Brick HERE


For more about Mr. Malkiel and his music, please visit www.rafimalkiel.com


*****


And on a different note, for those enraptured by cute animal stuff, like me (and it seems, about 96.72% of internet users), [livejournal.com profile] rosmar linked to one site I have in my occasionally-posted blogroll, and you might already know, and another I didn't know existed.

The latter collects all (it would seem) of what have come to be known as the LOLCAT images flying around the Intarweb, and can be found here at SeeHere.

The other is a blog/site where shots similar to these are added on a daily basis, and is here at I Can Has Cheezburger?


Enjoy!

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