3/21/19 O&A NYC WHAT’S HAPPENING THIS WEEK: March 24- March 31, 2019

 

It’s the first weekend of spring and time its time to get out and about! We have Warhol in Meatpacking and Jean- Michel Basquiat in the East Village. Dance from Williamsburg in Brooklyn to Westchester Ave. in Da Bronx. And The Grateful Dead share with kids while the Temptations are honored on Broadway. Here are a few of the many events happening in the city that never sleeps, guaranteed to keep you Out and About.

 

ANDY WARHOL- FROM A TO B AND BACK AGAIN at the Whitney Museum of American Art through March 31. Although this is the artist’s first full American retrospective in 31 years, he’s been so much with us — in museums, galleries, auctions — as to make him, like wallpaper, like the atmosphere, only half-noticed. The Whitney show restores him to a full, commanding view, but does so in a carefully shaped and edited way, with an emphasis on very early and late work. Despite the show’s monumentalizing size, it’s a human-scale Warhol we see. Largely absent is the artist-entrepreneur who is taken as a prophet of our market-addled present. What we have instead is Warhol for whom art, whatever else it was, was an expression of personal hopes and fears.

‘FRIDA KAHLO: APPEARANCES CAN BE DECEIVING’ at the Brooklyn Museum (through May 12). This is not exactly an exhibition of Kahlo’s art — it contains just 11 paintings, from compelling self-portraits to ghastly New Age kitsch — but an evocation of an artistic life through her elegant Oaxacan blouses and skirts, not to mention the corsets and spinal braces she wore after a crippling traffic accident. Do her outfits have the weight of art, or are they just so much biographical flimflam? Your answer may vary depending on your degree of Fridamania, but the woven shawls and color-saturated long skirts here, as well as gripping photographs of the artist by Carl Van Vechten, Imogen Cunningham, Manuel Álvarez Bravo and other great shutterbugs, suggest Kahlo’s real accomplishment was a Duchampian extension of her art far beyond the easel, into her home, her fashion and her public relationships. (Farago)

Hailing from L.A., Luis Flores, Salon 94 at 243 Bowery, crotchets full-length, life-sizelf. Indeed, he calls them “doppels,” and outfits each in an identical uniform based, apparently, on his own wardrobe of blue jeans, dark blue t-shirts and sneakers bought at Old Navy. Singly, Flores’s stand-in can be seen falling from the top of a ladder, or absent-mindedly scratching his balls while checking his phone. Things get even weirder, however, when Flores presents his twin as pairs wrestling with one another. Exhibit runs through March 30.

Birds Of Paradise (A group exhibition for women’s history month) Caribbean Literary and Cultural Center at the Flatbush Library, 22 Linden Boulevard (btw Flatbush & Bedford Avenue) Brooklyn, NY. Curated by Ava Tomlinson and featuring works by Pamella Allen, Sandra Ayana, Ramona Candy, Mary Chang, Sophia Domeville, Laura James, Gina Samson, Cheery Stewart Joseph, Ava Tomlinson and Valerie Williams. The exhibition runs through May 4. 

Nedjemankh and His Gilded Coffin at the Metropolitan Museum of Art: Ever since Howard Carter uncovered the tomb of King Tut in 1922, people have been fascinated by Ancient Egyptian treasures. The Met recently acquired one such object—a gold-leafed covered coffin for a High Priest from Egypt’s Ptolemaic period. It’s on display, along with 70 other Egyptian artifacts from the Met’s collection.

Jean-Michel Basquiat Solo Exhibition: The Brant Foundation announced this week that it will present a solo exhibition of works by the late artist Jean- Michel Basquiat as the inaugural show on March 6 in its new East Village space in New York City. Located at 421 East 6th Street in a century-old, 16,000 square-foot building originally designed as a Con Ed substation, the show is free to the public, but you’ll need a ticket to get in. The show begins on March 6 and tickets can be reserved through May 12, but available dates and times could run out before the show closes on May 15.

STREB at the Streb Lab for Action Mechanics, 51 N. 1st Street, perform weekends through May 12. The shows that STREB Extreme Action puts on at its Williamsburg headquarters (weekends through May 12) have a carnival atmosphere, and not just because eating and drinking are encouraged. Will the Action Heroes, as the intrepid dancer-acrobats are styled, collide as they hurl themselves off a trampoline? Will they get whacked by swinging cinder blocks or huge metal contraptions? Probably not, but they want you to cringe. Their newest machine is the Molinette, a giant bar that revolves like the blade of a windmill.

Batsheva Dance Company at BAM Howard Gillman Opera House, 30 Lafayette Avenue, Brooklyn from March 27 thru 30. In “Venezuela,” the latest work by the Israeli choreographer Ohad Naharin, the same dance is performed twice, almost—after the whole thing starts over, at around the forty-minute mark, many things change, most obviously the casting and the music. In both versions, there is skipping, Latin ballroom dance, sexually aggressive rapping, women regally riding men who crawl, and solos of wild and breathtaking virtuosity. But, where in the first iteration sheets of fabric carried by the dancers are white, in the second they take on colors that happen to be those of the Palestinian flag. The sameness and the difference are intended to unsettle us.

Ballet Hispanico at the Joyce Theater, 175 Eighth Ave., at 19th St. from March 26 thru March 31.  For nearly fifty years, this troupe has examined Latinx identity and culture through dance. For its Joyce season this year, it shifts the angle of vision to the overlap between Latinx and Asian identities. In his piece “El Viaje,” the Taiwanese-American choreographer Edwaard Liang focusses on Chinese immigration and the China-to-Cuba diaspora. In “Homebound/Alaala,” the Filipino-American choreographer Bennyroyce Royon considers the idea of home in the culture of the Philippines, which was colonized by Spain. Annabelle Lopez Ochoa’s “Sombrerísmo,” a stylish work originally made for six men that is as much about machismo as it is about sombreros, gets an all-female cast.

The Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance (BADD) presents its 19th annual celebration of women in dance, comedy, music, poetry and performance, including works by queer and trans women. Among the featured artists are Marga Gomez, Nélida Tirado, Alicia Bauman-Morales and Davalois Fearon Dance. Festival continues Friday, March 22, 29 and Saturday March 23, 30.

Voice of My City: Jerome Robbins and New York at New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center. From Fancy Free—his breakout hit ballet in 1944—to the musical West Side Story on stage (1957) and screen (1961) and the ballets N.Y. Export: Opus Jazz (1958) and Glass Pieces (1983), Robbins explored the joys, struggles, grooves, routines, and aspirations of New York. And in recreating the city around him on stage, Robbins found a place for himself. Voice of My City traces Robbins’ life and dances alongside the history of New York, inspiring viewers to see the city as both a muse and a home. Running now through March 30th

Harkness Dance Festival at the 92Y marks the hundredth anniversary of the birth of dance innovator Merce Cunningham with a month of performance and visual arts. The opening weekend (performances on Friday and Saturday) is devoted to Cunningham dances. Subsequent weeks offer world premieres by companies founded by erstwhile Cunningham dancers: Douglas Dunn (March 8 and 9), Dylan Crossman (March 15 and 16), Jonah Bokaer (March 22 and 23) and Ellen Cornfield (March 29 and 30). (James Klosty’s photographs of the Cunningham company are on view at 92Y through April 2.)

FORBIDDEN FRUIT: The Golden Age of the Exploitation Picture at the Film Forum at 209 West Houston Street through March 30. In the years when Hollywood was harnessed by the Production Code Authority, a new breed of mercenary impresario brazenly depicted every Hays Office taboo (primarily sex, drugs and childbirth), draping their films in a banner of moral uplift. More carny showmen than movie moguls, wily entrepreneurs like Kroger Babb and Dwain Esper exhibited these films “roadshow” style, with garish lobby displays, live lectures, and souvenirs. New restorations presented by Kino Lorber in association with Something Weird and the Library of Congress.

Buddy: A tender tribute to tail-wagging treasures. Man’s best friend receives a cinematic pat on the head in Buddy, the latest documentary by veteran Peru-born Dutch director Heddy Honigmann. Observing how six service dogs provide crucial daily help and companionship for their grateful owners, the ruminative, accessible affair proves as soothing to the viewer as the faithful pets are to their humans… Aided by the fluent, unobtrusive editing of the experienced Jessica de Koning.

Buddy Trailer

In the new Jordan Peele‘s horror film Us a family is haunted by an unexplainable and unresolved trauma from her past and compounded by a string of eerie coincidences, Adelaide feels her paranoia elevate to high-alert as she grows increasingly certain that something bad is going to befall her family. After spending a tense beach day with their friends, the Tylers (Emmy winner Elisabeth Moss, Tim Heidecker, Cali Sheldon, Noelle Sheldon), Adelaide and her family return to their vacation home. When darkness falls, the Wilsons discover the silhouette of four figures holding hands as they stand in the driveway. Us pits an endearing American family against a terrifying and uncanny opponent: doppelgängers of themselves.

Us Trailer


The New York International Music Festival at Carnegie Hall, (March 24- 27 from 10am- 6pm) aims to present young musicians with an experience that offers the opportunity for musical growth while creating lasting memories. The event ensemble has more opportunities than ever to explore one of the world’s greatest cities and experience a musical adventure like no other.

Music of the Grateful Dead for Kids- The Rock and Roll Playhouse (RRPHKIDS) at Industry City, 274 36th St., Brooklyn, a family concert series hosted at Industry City, allows kids to get down to songs created by the most iconic musicians in rock history. This week, kids get their groove on the the music of The Grateful Dead. 

Ain’t Too Proud follows The Temptations’ journey from the streets of Detroit to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. With their signature dance moves and unmistakable harmonies, they rose to the top of the charts creating an amazing 42 Top Ten Hits with 14 reaching number one. Through friendship and betrayal amid the civil unrest that tore America apart, their moving and personal story still resonates five decades later.

Choir Boy, the Broadway premiere of Oscar winner Tarell Alvin McCraney’s acclaimed drama at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre261 West 47th Street, centers on the Charles R. Drew Prep School for Boys, which for a half a century has been dedicated to the education of strong, ethical black men. One talented student has been waiting for years to take his rightful place as the leader of the school’s legendary gospel choir. But can he make his way through the hallowed halls of this institution if he sings in his own key?

Macy’s Herald Square Flower Show at 151 W 34st Street, between Sixth and Seventh Avenues. The Flower Show dates are Sunday, March 24 through Sunday, April 7, 2019. New Yorkers and out-of-towners alike flock to this floral-filled exhibition, where jaw-dropping arrangements decorated to fit a specific theme are on display for two weeks. The subject for 2019’s installment at the megachain’s Herald Square location is Journey to Paradisios. Translation? It’s a cosmic dream offering revelers an out-of-this-world representation of outer space. Flower arrangements are designed to show off the “mystery of the cosmos,” so we imagine there will be nods to comets, stars, planets and more astrological wonders.  

Holi In The City on Saturday, March 30 from 1-8pm at Stage 48, 605 West 48th Street, New York- NYC’s Biggest Festival of Colors Party. Welcome to the happiest day party in New York City! The Festival of Colors celebrates the coming of spring, the joy of friendship, and equality for all. This Indian Festival happens ever year, not only in India but throughout the world. Join us on Saturday March 30th. These are day & night events and all nationalities and ethnicities are encouraged to participate! Make sure to wear white because this party gets colorful.

FrankieFridays is Brooklyn’s best kept  house music secret! The party takes place every Friday at The Happiness Lounge, 1458 St. Johns Place (bet. Utica Avenue and Rochester Avenue).  The party rocks the best dance classics and soulful house music masterfully mixed by New York City’s own DJ Frankie Paradise. The predominantly mature gay crowd are there to get down, and create a warm inviting atmosphere for all. Reasonably prices drinks and a small admission price (feels more like a donation) of $5 before midnight and $10 after makes this the don’t miss Friday night dance party. 

Martha Graham Dance Company April 2- 14 at the Joyce Theater: Martha Graham’s relationship to feminism was as complex and conflicted as the heroines at the center of her dance dramas. But, as Martha Graham Dance Company commissions new work to present alongside its founder’s repertory, it’s clearly a good idea for it to hire women dancemakers. The company’s programs at the Joyce, April 2-14, bring back pieces made for the troupe by Annie-B Parson and Lucinda Childs. There are also two premières. One is by Maxine Doyle, a creator of the immersive show “Sleep No More,” and Bobbi Jene Smith, a gutsy alumna of that show and of Batsheva Dance Company; it borrows themes from the myth of Demeter and Persephone. The other is by Pam Tanowitz. 

New York City Center: For 50 years, Dance Theatre of Harlem has inspired the world with a revolutionary vision of a multiethnic ballet company. Co-founded by the great Arthur Mitchell and Karel Shook, the company performs ground-breaking works with power and grace. The 17-member, multi-ethnic company performs a forward-thinking repertoire that includes treasured classics, neoclassical works by George Balanchine and resident choreographer Robert Garland, as well as innovative contemporary works that use the language of ballet to celebrate African American culture. Following Arthur Mitchell’s sudden passing in September, we dedicate the 50th Anniversary Season to him, his life and legacy.

We look forward to seeing you Out and About

About OutandAboutnycmag

Out & About NYC Magazine was founded to offer the arts and lifestyle enthusiast a fresh new look at New York City. We will showcase the established and the emerging, the traditional and the trendy. And we will do it with élan, and panache with a dash of fun.
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