ARTS
Alice in Californiland
AXIS dance revises their performance of the magical strange dance-tale of a young girl s journey. https://www.axisdance.org/
Broadway on AirBnB
Promotional-sponsored performances by a variety of talents: Tittus Burgess, cast members from
Moulin Rouge, Mrs. Doubtfire, and more, plus dance, yoga, tarot and circus classes. $10-$50. www.airbnb.com
Broadway Performers
For Broadway fans, Tony-winning performers perform new concerts, and classic shows are streamed as well. https://www.broadwayworld.com/
A Christmas Carol: On Air
American Conservatory Theatre s annual staging of the Charles Dickens classic novella is this year a radio play with dozens of performers. (Free tickets for frontline, essential and arts workers) https://www.act-sf.org/
Sometimes I ve wondered what it would be like to live maybe a hundred years ago and be celebrating Christmas without all the commercialized holiday hoopla that we have today. I
“I beg you to call to mind the table covered with your last Christmas gifts…” Thus we read in E.T.A. Hoffmann’s Christmas fantasy “The Nutcracker and the King of Mice.” Since this story first appeared in 1816, Hoffmann’s Nutcracker tale has appeared in many forms, most famously in Tchaikovsky’s ballet. Masterful jazz artist Duke Ellington in turn created an impressive jazz interpretation of Tchaikovsky’s classic musical work, one which is up-tempo and brassy.
…the Eric Felten Jazz Orchestra performs Tchaikovsky’s Christmas classic brilliantly in the Ellington style with jazz riffs, loud brass, flashy saxophone work, and riveting drum solos.
From the secular world to the Church
These musical traditions are plentiful and diverse in style. In synchrony with the expectation of a Savior, greet the return of light to our dark winter and the return of light.
An entire repertoire of secular songs, such as noels and carols, was born in the Middle Ages in Central European, Iberian, Romanesque and Anglo-Saxon countries.
The liturgy often borrowed them to ensure the participation of the faithful. They found their way into choirs initiated by the Lutheran Reformation, Catholic hymns and motets.
From Josquin des Prés to Olivier Messiaen, composers have also drawn from this heritage and enriched it with works of religious or secular inspiration, vocal or instrumental.
DAVID COOPER PHOTO
Performers will sport masks crafted by the RWB wardrobe department to blend into the period costumes. The show’s original choreography has been revised so physical distancing can be maintained throughout the performance.
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas whenever ballet companies around the globe unveil their annual productions of The Nutcracker, a perennial classic that lights up the holidays each year while making spirits bright.
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas whenever ballet companies around the globe unveil their annual productions of The Nutcracker, a perennial classic that lights up the holidays each year while making spirits bright.