Daniel Kepl interviews Barbara Bocher, who has lived quietly for over 60 years in Santa Barbara, but in the late 40s and early 50s, was the youngest member of the New York City Ballet. Her story is about the indifference of NYC Ballet founder George Balanchine to her plight, as she was systematically exploited and verbally abused by Jerome Robbins, America’s famous and closeted Broadway choreographer. We know better now about child abuse and its many manifestions, but Barbara Bocher’s story reminds us how far we have yet to travel in vigilantly combating a resurgence of that shamefully oppressive, Joseph McCarthy-poisoned period in American history. This is a long interview, but an important one, about the beginnings of professional dance in America.
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“In advertising, not to be different is virtual suicide.”
A special screening at the Marjorie Luke Theatre in Santa Barbara on June 4th at 7:00 pm will be followed by a post screening Q&A with Director Kerry Candaele and Susan Anderson from the Santa Barbara Symphony.
Daniel Kepl interviews Ojai-based plein air landscape artist Jeff Sojka (pronounced Soyka) whose work is on permanent display at Ojai’s Trowbridge Gallery, on the eve of his Excellent Adventure to trace the European painting journey of American landscape master Edgar Alwin Payne (1883-1947). Later this summer, and in the company of his seven year-old daughter, Jeff plans to re-visit the locales of Payne’s European painting adventures in the 1920s and re-paint some of Payne’s greatest scenes. Want to help? Go to www.indiegogo.com and type in Sojka.
If the video above is not showing, click the words “JEFF SOJKA” at the top of this post.
A sampling of Jeff’s work:
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“In advertising, not to be different is virtual suicide.”