August 25, 2008
Los Angeles, CA
Last night we watched the new casino royal and when James bond and the love interest are getting ready for the big poker game, he comes into the bathroom and asks about the dinner jacket that is laid out for him with an indigent line about how he already has a dinner jacket. She replies, there are dinner jackets and there are dinner jackets, and this is the. Latter.
That is how I feel about this performance in which I am currently sitting through at the Hermosa beach playhouse. Our dearest brother is performing here tonight which is why we have stopped the unpacking frenzy, showered and appeared. Little did I know, that this evening, which is supposed to be a showcase of choreography work is more akin to a display of why these people should have gone to art school. If they had, they would have enough sense to not display their talents on stage in a formal setting. They would understand the difference between dinner jackets.
The audience here is nearly all friends and family of the performers. The performance ranges from the strange, as in what the F* such as a guy doing kunfu in slow motion, 3 bad stand up comics, a hip hop group, belly dancers, American idol reject in a dress that is too short singing and teenage girls doing ballet that would make you cry tears of blood. There are street performers who are better than what I am watching on stage here.
Now, if this event was not billed as a showcase of choreography works, but more as a showcase of community arts and artists, then I think it would have been fine. Why pretend that you are of the latter kind of dinner jacket when you are clearly a blue tuxedo jacket circa 1974 bought from goodwill?
As I write this, I wonder if I should be kinder and appreciate the event for the effort the performers have put into it. After all, they might now know the difference? But as precious time slips away, I think that yes, its nice that they are trying, but perhaps they should not wait until the day when they understand the difference as to what is fit for public consumption before they subject others to it.
As my high school English teacher once told me, you got to have standards with out it, there is no taste.
By the way, Don’s brother Tony was great! There are use of geometry in the piece that was interesting and unique. In him, I see the promise of a great dancer, only with more training and time.
