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Film festival set for Long Beach
LONG BEACH – The second
annual Hope and Freedom Film
Festival returns on Saturday, May
21, and begins at 10 a.m. in the Art
Theater at 2025 East 4th Street in
Long Beach. Admission is free.
The mission of the Hope and
Freedom Film Festival is to help
create a society where all individuals
have equal rights, according to
Festival Director Kevin Johnson.
“The festival encourages submissions
that further the broad
goals of ensuring political, social,
educational and economic equality
for all people,” explained Johnson,
a faculty member in the
Communication Studies
Department at Cal State Long
Beach. “The festival seeks to
reward entries from all skill levels
that use the power of cinema to
inspire hope in the pursuit of freedom
from hatred, discrimination
and oppressive conditions.”
Topics of this year’s films
include the rebirth of the hip-hop
nation, the struggles of transgendered
people and such documentaries
as “Killing Memories,” which
follows five veterans who return to
Vietnam in order to cope with
wartime traumas. Several of the
screenings will be followed by
question-and-answer sessions with
the filmmakers and cast of the
films.
Johnson hopes to generate
awareness and organization for
struggles facing people around the
world today. “This festival’s goal is
to create an environment where
people can come together, have fun,
and celebrate,” he said. “We want
to create a climate of fun and cooperation
that encourages working
together to make society a better
place to live.”
He also hopes the festival will
help to expose area residents to new
ideas. “The festival is an opportunity
for audiences to find a new perspective
on the world. This year,
the festival will highlight a 2010
documentary titled ‘Finding Kind’
about girl-on-girl bullying. Issues
like these are not often covered by
mainstream mass media, and I
measure this festival’s success by
exposure to ideas like these.”
Johnson said he measures the
festival’s success by several variables.
“One thing I hope for is
greater visibility for such documentaries
as happened last year with
‘Humble Beauty,’ an hour-long film
that tells the stories of a group of
talented homeless and formerly
homeless men and women who create
art -- fine arts painting – on Los
Angeles’ Skid Row,” he pointed
out.
The goal for the festival is simple
– to create a good event.
“Eventually,” Johnson said, “our
vision for this event is to have a
double-stage film, arts and music
festival that would extend all the
way down 4th Street from Junipero
to Cherry.”
Karen Volpe, a veteran actress who has appeared in theaters throughout the
country, will star as Fanny Brice in "Funny Girl," opening June 2 at the
Downey Theatre. She previously appeared with the Downey Civic Light
Opera as Ado Annie in "Oklahoma" and Sister Robert Anne in "Nunsense."
For tickets to "Funny Girl," call (562) 923-1714. Group rates are available.
The Downey Theatre box office is open Tuesdays from 1-5 p.m.
National Ballet of Cuba
performing locally
Ballet to perform excerpts
from classical works
of the 19th century.
COSTA MESA – The
National Ballet of Cuba will be at
the Segerstrom Center in Costa
Mesa where they will present
"The Magic of Dance" June 15-
19.
"The Magic of Dance" is a
collection of excerpts from classical
ballet works of the 19th century,
including "Swan Lake,"
"Giselle," "Coppelia," "The
Sleeping Beauty," "Don Quixote,"
"The Nutcracker" and
"Gottschalk Symphony."
The compilation program is
choreographed by Alicia Alonso,
the company's founder.
Formed in 1948, the company
occupies a prominent place in
Hispanic and international ballet
culture. The tiny island of Cuba
has produced one of the foremost
schools of ballet, which has
trained all of the company’s
dancers.
As National Ballet of Cuba’s
artistic director for more than six
decades, Alonso has honed the
company’s style to perfection
which has helped produce many
of the world’s top dancers.
“Brilliant dancers seem to be the
norm in the Ballet Nacional de
Cuba, which regularly produces
international stars,” noted the
New York Times.
Free Preview Talks conducted
by dance critic, columnist and
writer Gary Smith will be held
one hour prior to the performances
on June 15, 16, 18 and 19.
On June 17 at 6 p.m., a special
encore presentation of a lecture-
demonstration, Inside Dance, will
be presented to give patrons the
opportunity to learn more about
the transformation of dance technique
and style from classical to
contemporary. Local dancers will
perform excerpts and Cyrus
Parker-Jeannette, Interim
Associate Dean of the College of
the Arts at California State
University, Long Beach, will
moderate the discussion. Preview
events are free to all ticketholders.
History
The National Ballet of Cuba is
one of the most prestigious dance
companies in the world and it
occupies an important place in
modern Latin-American culture.
The artistic and technical rigor of
its dancers, and the breadth and
diversity of the choreographic
aesthetic grants this company a
notable place among the greatest
dance institutions on the international
stage.
From the beginning, the artistic
lineage of the National Ballet
of Cuba was based on the classic
and romantic dance tradition,
while at the same time the company
encouraged creative, contemporary
work from choreographers.
Already at this early stage,
the production of complete classic
works like Giselle, Swan Lake
and Coppélia, and the renewal of
the Russian ballets presented by
Sergei Diághilev’s Ballet Russe,
such as Petruschka and Afternoon
of a Faun, was accompanied by
new works from Cuban choreographers.
The revolution in 1959
marked the beginning of a new
era for Cuban ballet. That year, as
part of the new cultural program,
the company was renamed the
National Ballet of Cuba, and has
continued its artistic ascent ever
since, enriching its repertory, promoting
the development of new
dancers, choreographers, professors
and creative talents from
related disciplines, such as graphic
arts and music.
In addition to its robust work
in Cuba, where the National
Ballet of Cuba has been successful
in popularizing the art of ballet,
the company has developed
an annual program of international
tours throughout Europe, Asia
and the Americas.
Alicia Alonso
Alicia Alonso is a prominent
figure in ballet whose choreographic
rendering of great classic
dances have gained international
renown. She was born in Havana
where she started her ballet training
in 1931. She traveled to the
United States to continue her
studies at the School of American
Ballet. Alonso's professional
career began in 1938, on
Broadway, with her debut in
Great Lady and Stars in Your
Eyes. She joined the American
Ballet Caravan, the predecessor
of the current New York City
Ballet and in 1940, she became a
member of American Ballet
Theatre. During this time, she
worked with choreographers
Mikhail Fokine, George
Balanchine, Leonide Massine,
Bronislava Nijinska, Anthony
Tudor, Jerome Robbins and
Agnes de Mille.
Alonso also performed leading
roles in world premieres of
Undertow, Fall River Legend and
Theme and Variations.
In 1948, Alonso's interest in
developing ballet in Cuba led her
to organize the Ballet Alicia
Alonso, now called the National
Ballet of Cuba. After its founding,
Alonso divided her time between
American Ballet Theatre and her
own company. Alonso's choreographic
versions of the great classics
have been performed by
major companies such as the
Opéra de Paris (Giselle, Grand
Pas de Quatre and The Sleeping
Beauty), Vienna Opéra, Naples
San Carlo Ballet Theatre
(Giselle), Prague Opéra (La Fille
Mal Gardée), Teatro alla Scala
(The Sleeping Beauty) and the
Royal Danish Ballet (Don
Quixote).
Alonso has received numerous
awards and distinctions including
the Commendation of Isabel la
Católica Order, given by Spain’s
King Juan Carlos I; Gold Medal
from the Círculo de Bellas Artes
of Madrid; France’s Arts and
Lettres Order - Commander
Degree, Prix Benois de la Danse
for her lifetime artistic contributions
and the José Martí Order,
the most important decoration of
the Cuban Council of State. She
was selected as a Republic of
Cuba Ambassador by the Cuban
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and
recently became a UNESCO
Goodwill Ambassador.
Tickets to see the National
Ballet of Cuba start at $17 and are
available now at SCFTA.org, at
the Box Office at 600 Town
Center Drive in Costa Mesa or by
calling (714) 556-2787.