In the glory days of hip-hop, dance formed an integral part of the culture. Nobody can forget the early days of break dancing or the synchronized moves of Kid ’N Play. Hip hop music has since evolved, and rappers like Fat Joe have been instructing crowds just to “lean back.”…
Have you heard the one about Superman going to shul? Yeah, neither have we, but it is bound to come up during Harry Brod’s lecture about the Jewish roots of our most beloved comic book heroes, The People of the Comic Book: It’s a Man! It’s a Jew! It’s Supermensch!…
The sounds of Black History Month are diverse and historic. The groaning pains of the blues, the creative melodies of jazz, and the inspired vocals of gospel music are all given due respect in this fleeting period of ethnic homage. And this year the Miami Dade Public Library system is…
Dogs are easily bored. You can’t keep taking them to the same old park; they want new butts to sniff, and we’re sure you do too. Coddled collies and spoiled spaniels are hip to the hottest haunt for haute dogs on South Beach: the Doggie Happy Hour at Hotel Victor…
Impressionists such as Van Gogh, Monet, and Renoir found inspiration in the countryside. Andy Warhol and members of the Pop Art movement subverted celebrity and product images to create a witty homage to a consumerist society. What’s left to inspire artists today? Billboards dotting a sprawling cityscape; advertising images monopolizing…
Many people move to Miami for the weather. Our climate is like that of a tropical island; when it isn’t hot and sunny, it’s stormy. Although this fair state feels the vicissitudes of daylight saving time, the other effects of climactic change typically don’t disturb the Magic City. Which is…
The diversity is breathtaking. This year’s Miami Jewish Film Festival sprawls with four venues featuring a batch of motion pictures that seem to cover everything Jewish under the sun. Hitler and Stalin, the Holocaust and Heaven, klezmer and ska, ambitious masterpieces, family dramas, slapstick comedies, and earnest documentaries add up…
America — and by extension Hollywood — has an obsession with innocence and the loss thereof. Every generation has that Moment When Everything Changed, from Pearl Harbor to JFK’s assassination to 9/11. The impact takes awhile to settle in, then people forget again, and future generations are similarly traumatized. But…
The critical consensus has Match Point as Woody Allen’s finest film since Bullets over Broadway. It is not difficult to understand the accolades and affection: It resembles one of his very best movies, 1989’s Crimes and Misdemeanors, down to the plot point in which Martin Landau’s affair with Anjelica Huston…
William Kentridge’s heavyweight exhibit at Miami Art Central ranks best of the season and is a can’t-miss ticket for art aficionados craving a knockout. The display showcases a broad range of the South African’s work dating from 1979, including drawings, animated films, sculptures, and a spectacular series of recent live-action…
A Day and Forever: Ali Prosch makes a jaw-dropping statement with this multimedia exhibition sprinkled with witty doses of flair and drama that portray the lifestyles of the young and fabulously dissolute. Trafficking in hyperbeautiful imagery, at times evocatively laced with autobiographical commentary, Prosch blithely chops Miami’s decadent run-amok egos…
You’d think Cirque du Soleil’s dauntless artistes were superhuman. That is unless you witnessed the heart-stopping finale during this past Friday’s opening-night performance of Varekai and the gymnast who painfully missed his landing. Watching paramedics rush toward his motionless body magically unmasked the 56-strong troupe for what they really are:…
Imagine a ballet with a Billy Joel cover band for an orchestra. That pretty much describes Movin’ Out in a nutshell. The brainchild of two-time Emmy-winner Twyla Tharp — with a little help from the Piano Man himself — Movin’ Out is not your average Broadway show. In fact it…
The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant: With just two productions under their belt, the cast and crew of White Orchard Theater are courageously readying the curtain once again, this time for Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s provocative 1972 play. Set in the bedroom of the show’s title character, this provocative work…
The Aristocrats (Lions Gate) The single joke around which Paul Provenza’s documentary revolves has a standard beginning and ending, like pieces of bread that make a sandwich stuffed with excrement, incest, and whatever other foulness the teller can come up with. Provenza and Penn Jillette recorded more than 100 comedians…
Pop-culture pundits generally fall into two camps: those who think entertainment encourages a nation of knuckle-draggers, and those who say it’s actually making us smarter. In the case of Atari’s The Matrix: Path of Neo, both sides have a point. Like the movie trilogy that inspired it, Path of Neo…
Address Unknown (Tartan) Anyone Can Dance: Nightclub Freestyle (Delta) National Lampoon’s Barely Legal (MGM) Dallas: The Complete Fourth Season (Warner Bros.) Educating Rita (Sony) Flightplan (Touchstone) The Fog (2005) (Sony) God Save the Queen: A Punk Rock Anthology (Music Video Dist.) Hooked (Eclectic) Ludacris: Southern Smoke (Music Video Dist.) My…
The sun is shining, the sky is blue, and a refreshing breeze brings the scent of honey roasted peanuts to your nose. Ah, outdoor festival season. Welcome back; we missed you. Get your leisurely stroll on at the fifteenth annual Aventura Arts and Crafts Festival. More than 200 artists and…
In 1929, after three years of economic hardship and hurricanes, Florida’s citrus industry took a hit from what pest? Who was the first explorer to reach Florida? Walt Disney World opened in what year? If you have an interest in the history of the Sunshine State — and it really…
You won’t need to know the difference between mulch and manure to get your green thumb on and cultivate a conceptually blooming patch of Eden at Bernice Steinbaum Gallery. “Nature Matters,” opening tonight at 7:00, features the work of a quartet of artists — Elsoca, Fabian, Karen Rifas, and Joe…
Blue skies above, green waters below, and a furry friend beside. Now that’s the way to raise money. Lace up Saturday for the annual Paws for a Cause 4.6-mile walk sponsored by the Domestic Abuse Shelter. Bring your friendly Fidos ’round gulfside to the Old Seven Mile Bridge. Sans canine?…
The culinary stock of Coconut Grove is on the rise. Sure the verdant, touristy district still has family-friendly restaurants like Johnny Rockets and Cozzoli’s, but newer establishments, like Berries, Ginger Grove, and Jaguar Ceviche Spoon Bar, are making the trip down Grand Avenue worthwhile for gourmands. If you haven’t yet…
