As young boy, my grandmother took me to the smoke-filled betting floors of Dania Jai-Alai. That was more than 30 years ago, and I miss those hazy, teary-eyed hours spent following her around. I haven’t been back to Jai-Alai since, but Jai-Alai has, in many ways, come back to me. Jai-Alai Books, winner of a […]
Article · January 13, 2015 by Neil de la Flor
Every January, Tigertail Productions produces SpeakOut—a performance, series of community workshops and poetry slam focused on LGBTQ teens led by a nationally recognized LGBTQ poet. This year Arab-American spoken word poet Andrea Assaf will be in residence, and she’ll lead school and community workshops, a poetry slam for LGBTQ youth and a reading for a […]
Article · January 12, 2015 by Neil de la Flor
My resolution for 2015: never miss another FUNDarte event, ever! Although this may be impossible, I’ll work my socks off to keep it. “Antigonón” by Cuba’s Teatro El Público. For four nights (January 22-25), FUNDarte – in collaboration with The Miami Dade County Auditorium – presents Teatro El Público’s Antigonón, a tragically absurd and poetic […]
Article · January 5, 2015 by Neil de la Flor
It’s that time of year again when the boys (and girls) from the Borscht Film Festival, a Knight Arts grantee, come out to play (on the big screen) at the Arsht Center’s Knight Concert Hall. It’s also the time when the community comes together for a few rounds of machete fencing. (More on that later.) […]
Article · December 18, 2014 by Neil de la Flor
Artist Shaneeka Harrell takes on the role of Cassius Clay (a.k.a. Muhammad Ali) in a new dance theater work that is currently under development at Inkub8 (a Knight Arts grantee) as part of Thought Loom’s Synapse Performance Project (also a Knight Arts grantee). Shaneeka Harrell embodying Clay as part of the Weird Miami Bus Tour. […]
Article · December 15, 2014 by Neil de la Flor
Now that Basel is over, it’s time to get back to Sandbox at the Miami Theater Center (a Knight Arts grantee) for “Mi Casa Su Casa,” a multidimensional, cross-disciplinary performance installation produced by GodoyPradera Projects. GodoyPradera Projects. This will be the third iteration of “Mi Casa Su Casa” created with the hope of bringing together […]
Article · December 12, 2014 by Neil de la Flor
I survived Miami’s big art week, but I was left with a nagging desire for radical change within the art world. I’m tired of seeing women and their anatomy used as objects (subjects) of sexual desire or pleasure, who are often bound up and/or forced to pose like robotic Barbies. I’m tired of seeing art […]
Article · December 8, 2014 by Neil de la Flor
Last year, I interviewed artist Belaxis Buil. Her responses, like her explosive personality, overwhelmed my senses. She is the proverbial force of nature to be reckoned with, and that makes me happy. Her work challenges the viewer and makes him or her sit up and listen, even if it makes us feel excruciatingly uncomfortable. Belaxis […]
Article · December 4, 2014 by Neil de la Flor
Katie Wiegman’s “On Board,” partially funded by FEAST Miami and the Knight Foundation, is an interactive series of spontaneous, pop-up interactive dance performances co-created by the audience. The performances will take place on the boardwalk on Miami Beach from 5-6 p.m. on December 4th, 6th and 7th. The audience will be given verbal and written prompts […]
Article · December 1, 2014 by Neil de la Flor
Art Basel is one of the most adrenalized and splendidly exhausting art events of the year. It’s the Black Friday of the art world, and the unofficial launch of the ‘season’ in Miami. The Miami Beach Convention Center alone receives about 75,000 visitors over five days, and that doesn’t include the tens of thousands of […]
Article · November 27, 2014 by Neil de la Flor
Despite the incessant coughing and overtly assertive scent of floral perfume filling up the Arsht Center, soprano Kelly Kaduce (Cio-Cio-San/”Butterfly”) and mezzo-soprano Caitlin McKechney (Suzuki) delivered an extraordinary performance in “Madama Butterfly” on the opening night of Florida Grand Opera‘s 74th season. “Madama Butterfly.” Brittany Mazzurco On the surface, Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa’s libretto […]
Article · November 17, 2014 by Neil de la Flor