Friends Eden and David on the banner of the Midsummer Nights Swing website! I can hardly believe it, but this Saturday is already the final night of Midsummer Nights Swing for 2010! This year, Lincoln Center organized an amazing line-up of bands and dances for their annual Midsummer Nights Swing festival. Lots of standout…
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The LXD Episode 3: Robot Love Story (mini-review)
While episode 1 focused on b-boying, and episode 2 featured kung-fu / parcour, episode 3 of the web dance series "The League of Extraordinary Dancers" turned to the precise and less flashy danceform known as "popping." The main character in this episode is "Sp3cimin," played by robotic dancer "Madd" Chadd Smith. The popping that Chadd…
Better Humans through Technology?
I have no idea why I'm thinking about this. Perhaps its feeling my mortality as I pass my 41st birthday. But I've been pondering how humans may soon be substantially changed over the next 10-20 years as more and more technology gets implanted into us. Some recent news along these lines: FDA approves telescopic implants…
Country Music: Many who like hip-hop like this (Facebook doesn’t lie)
Perhaps Facebook might want to tweak their "like" algorhythm a bit. Just sayin. Or maybe there's a wider market for "hick-hop" than I know?
Musical Funeral Today for Benny Powell at Saint Peters Jazz Church
Today at Saint Peters Church on the Upper Eastside there will be a jazz-filled funeral for renowned trombonist Benny Powell starting at 7pm. Jazz and swing fans are invited to come by and pay your respects, and hear some incredible music while you are there. Benny was born March 1, 1930 in New Orleans, learned…
My Birthday “Mad Hatter” Picnic in Prospect Park
I had a wonderful day yesterday celebrating my birthday with friends in Prospect Park for a “Mad Hatter” picnic party. A dozen or so of some of my favorite people gathered for some relaxing, noshing, games, kite-flying, and frisbee tossing as the afternoon turned into the evening. I can’t think of anything else I’d rather…
If I have learned one thing in my 41 years on this planet, it is this…
DON'T POSTPONE JOY. Seen at Luna Park in Coney Island.
Transmedia / transatlantic hip-hop music video integrates Second Life, Twitter, Skype & YouTube
Here's a creative and fun music video by Philly-based hip-hop artist Legrand that is exemplary for a number of reasons. First off, fun song! Secondly, created as a collaboration between Legrand and a group of 20 students at the Tokyo campus of Temple University, it's an interesting example of what can be accomplished using fairly…
Talk on history of of b-boying by Ken Swift and Joe Schloss now online (video)
HHTF Humanities Series: Ken Swift (Pt 1) from Clyde Valentin on Vimeo. The nice folks at the Hip-hop Theater Festival have released online a video of the really interesting conversation between b-boy pioneer Ken Swift and hip-hop historian Joe Schloss that took place a few months ago at NYU. I learned a lot from attending…
Review of Episodes 1 & 2 of the Legion of Extraordinary Dancers
So I got to see the two first episodes of the Legion of Extraordinary Dancers today on Hulu. Announced in December of last year, the "LXD" has been billed by director John Chu as the world's "first online dance adventure." Finally today we got to see what the heck Chu has been talking about, and…