The Florida Grand Opera’s elegantly executed version of George Bizet’s generally lackluster The Pearl Fishers features two up-and-coming singers performing the role of Leila—sopranos Sydney Mancasola (who performed February 28 and March 1, and has two more performances on March 3 and 6) and Emily Birsan (who will perform the role on March 7, 12 […]
Article · March 2, 2015 by Neil de la Flor
I entered curious and vaguely intrigued, but reserved about going in. On an uncharacteristically chilly Miami night, I invited my husband to watch “Now Now Oh Now,” an interactive theater experience from Rude Mechs, an Austin-based theater ensemble made up by Robert S. Fisher, Thomas Graves, Hannah Kenah, Lana Lesley, E. Jason Liebrecht and Shawn […]
Article · February 26, 2015 by Neil de la Flor
Carla Forte’s The Holders reveals the sad fate of domesticated animals in our culture. Her film crew gained access to Miami-Dade County Animal Services shelters and captured the lives of dogs and cats abandoned by their owners – or “holders” – and the shelter workers who care for them. Premiering at the 2015 Miami International […]
Article · February 23, 2015 by Neil de la Flor
Pioneer Winter and his organization, Grass Stains, won a 2014 Knight Arts Challenge grant. Over chicken souvlaki wraps and fried calamari, we spoke about his aspirations for Grass Stains and how it will benefit the community. The Grand Step Project by Stephan Koplowitz at New York Public Library, 6/17/04. Neil de la Flor: What’s the mission […]
Article · February 12, 2015 by Neil de la Flor
Four Cervezas de los Muertos, an order of guacamole and chips, a beef quesadilla and 80 bucks later, my friend and I headed over to The Carlton Hotel for “Jacqueries.” Produced and presented by Knight Arts grantees FilmGate and Grass Stains, “Jacqueries” was “a political heist story told through movement — an inside-out experience of conspiracy, […]
Article · February 9, 2015 by Neil de la Flor
Alma Dance Theater presents “Only Ladies Sing the Blues” at the Banyan Bowl Amphitheater at Pinecrest Gardens on Friday, February 6th. “Only Ladies Sing the Blues” is a gendered performance that takes its cue from the wide range of music created by women. Choreographed by Marissa Alma Nick, the work incorporates music by Sharon Jones […]
Article · February 5, 2015 by Neil de la Flor
Thanks to Octavio Campos, I danced Merengue on a countertop in an abandoned outdoor bar in Wynwood and learned the value of being and becoming a culture instigator. Octavio Campos. FilmGate Interactive kick off party. Photos by Carlos Andrews Cuervo Campos headlined the kick off party for the FilmGate Interactive Festival, a festival that celebrates […]
Article · February 2, 2015 by Neil de la Flor
If you missed ScreenDance Miami from Tigertail Productions, you missed a week of extraordinary dances made specifically for film and camera. The week-long festival highlighted filmmakers from New York, Memphis, Montreal and Spain, as well as South Florida-based choreographers, dancers and filmmakers who exhibited work at PAMM, The Screening Room, Inkub8 and the Miami Beach Cinematheque. […]
Article · January 29, 2015 by Neil de la Flor
The Florida Grand Opera‘s uberly relevant Così fan tutte, exquisitely directed by Bernard Uzan, grabs you from the beginning and never lets go. It was a fantastically fun, semi-farcical romp through librettist Lorenzo Da Ponte’s tale of relationships, wife-swapping, the futility of fidelity and, most importantly, our desperate need for human connection. Dorabella, Fiordiligi, Ferrando […]
Article · January 26, 2015 by Neil de la Flor
FilmGate Interactive. FilmGate Interactive, a Knight Arts grantee, returns with another week-long event “at the crossroads of film, technology and interactive storytelling.” The festival, which runs from February 1-8, is the brainchild of Executive Director Diliana Alexander. Alexander, whom I interviewed last year, spoke with me again about the creative value the festival will generate […]
Article · January 21, 2015 by Neil de la Flor
The third annual Filmgate Interactive, a Knight Arts grantee, is Florida’s only transmedia conference that blurs genres and weaves film, technology and interactive storytelling together. The festival, which runs from February 1-8, features more than 10 screenings, five performances, three interactive exhibits and 10 workshops throughout Miami Beach and Greater Miami. “The Invisible Season.” “The […]
Article · January 15, 2015 by Neil de la Flor