This week the arts are in full bloom! Art and dance abound from Harlem to Lincoln Center to Williamsburg; and DJ’s are spinning uptown, downtown and all around town. Here are a few of the many events happening in the city that never sleeps, guaranteed to keep you Out and About.
New York Spring Art Fair at the Park Avenue Armory, 643 Park Avenue, New York, through May 7. Established in 1988, TEFAF is widely regarded as the world’s pre-eminent organization for fine art, antiques, and design. TEFAF runs three Fairs internationally – TEFAF Maastricht, which covers 7,000 years of art history; TEFAF New York Spring, focused on modern and contemporary art & design; and TEFAF New York Fall, covering fine and decorative art from antiquity to 1920.
Lincoln Kirstein’s Modern | MoMA Exhibition
Leonard Cohen: A Crack in Everything: The Jewish Museum (1109 5th Ave at 92nd St New York) April 12 – September 8, 2019. A world-renowned novelist, poet, and singer/songwriter who inspired generations of writers, musicians, and artists, Leonard Cohen (1934-2016) was an extraordinary poet of the imperfection of the human condition, giving voice to what it means to be fully alert to the complexities and desires of both body and soul. Featuring 12 artists and 18 musicians from 10 countries, this exhibition offers a deep and rich exploration of the beloved global icon through the lens of contemporary art.
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)
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.
La Mama Moves! Dance Festival at the La MaMa’s Ellen Stewart Theater and the Downstairs (through May 26). This East Village event continues this weekend with performances by Mia Habib, a Norwegian choreographer whose “All- a Physical Poem of Protest” highlights the protesting body with nude dancers of all ages walking and running in circles, and Colleen Thomas’s “But the Sun Came Up and We Were Here.” In it, she collaborates with Polish, Ukrainian, Belarusian and American dancers to expose a world of political and social unrest. And on May 9, the choreographer Yin Mei presents “Peony Dreams: On the Other Side of Sleep,” a new take on “The Peony Pavilion.”
The Board of Trustees cordially invites you to attend The Joyce Theater Foundation Annual Gala 2019 on Wednesday, May 8, 6:30pm. This year’s gala honors Anh-Tuyet Nguyen, Vice-Chair of The Joyce Theater Foundation and the Australian Consulate-General, New York with Consul-General Alastair J.M. Walton; and features The Australian Ballet alongside guest artists from The Joffrey Ballet.
Elisa Monte Dance at the Flea, 20 Thomas Street, New York, from Thursday, May 9 through Sunday May 12. The critically acclaimed and world-renowned Elisa Monte Dance (EMD), under the Artistic Direction of Tiffany Rea-Fisher, celebrates their 38th Annual NYC Season at The Flea. Rea-Fisher brings EMD to The Flea for their first season as Anchor Partners. EMD, founded by master choreographer, Elisa Monte in 1981, bridges cultural barriers through the universal language of dance. Rea-Fisher, Artistic Director since 2016, reinvigorates modern dance, while using the art form as a vehicle for community service.
Morris and his joyous company return to BAM Wednesday, May 8 through Saturday, May 11 with a tribute to the Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, created at the behest of the city of Liverpool to honor the album’s golden anniversary in 2017. The Beatles music has been arranged and augmented by jazz composer Ethan Iverson.
The Australian Ballet presents a program of works by homegrown choreographic talent Thursday May 9 through Sunday May 12 at the Joyce Theater. Alice Topp’s acclaimed Aurum, supported by The Joyce Theater’s Nureyev Prize, draws inspiration from the Japanese art of kintsugi—repairing cracked pottery with precious metals—and explores damage, healing, and the beauty of our flaws. The dancers’ powerful movement is framed in breathtaking stage design featuring a reflective golden floor and ripples of burnished light.
New York City Ballet at the David H. Koch Theater (April 23-25, 7:30 p.m.; through June 2). The spring season opens with a week of dances by current choreographers, and while some are unavoidably tedious — Mauro Bigonzetti’s Oltremare comes to mind — there are some treasures. As for the good? Justin Peck’s Rodeo: Four Dance Episodes, set to Aaron Copland’s timeless score, and William Forsythe’s playful and exacting Herman Schmerman. And as for the great? Alexei Ratmansky never phones anything in at City Ballet, so it’s time to bask in a delightful pair: Pictures at an Exhibition and Concerto DSCH.
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.
The Intruder: When a young married couple (Michael Ealy and Meagan Good) buys their dream house in the Napa Valley, they think they have found the perfect home to take their next steps as a family. But when the strangely attached seller (Dennis Quaid) continues to infiltrate their lives, they begin to suspect that he has hidden motivations beyond a quick sale. Now playing
Avengers: Endgame (2019): After the devastating events of Avengers: Infinity War (2018), the universe is in ruins. With the help of remaining allies, the Avengers assemble once more in order to undo Thanos’ actions and restore order to the universe.
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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.
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.
We look forward to seeing you Out and About