TWO IDOLS, A SONG, AND SOME MONEY TRANSFERS
by Todd Reisz and Rory Hyde
'Dubai Idol,' as the event is popularly known, gets a blurb in the local UAE papers around this time of year. The articles raise readers' eyebrows, cause grins and evoke a warmth, perhaps out of self-righteous pity, toward Dubai's most visible invisibles -- the South Asian men who build, clean and guard Dubai's buildings. The event's official name is Camp Ka Champ ('Champ of the Camp'), 'camp' here referring to the labor camps in dusty sections of sprawling Dubai. The champs (a duo) are chosen through several weeks of auditions and public performances. The jury is chaired by Shobana Chandramohan, a well-known former radio disc jockey and locally celebrated singer who often sings for large-scale events and weddings in Dubai's wealthier Indian communities.
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YOUNG D'ARTAGNAN ON SCHUBERT, CHEMISTRY, AND GRACE
by Laurence Vittes
The hot young French pianist David Fray was born in Tarbes, close to the pilgrimage town of Lourdes and the border with Spain. The Pyrenees mountains, lying along the border between France and Spain, can be seen from the town. It is the region of France from where Dumas's great French hero, D'Artagnan, was born.
Although David will make his Hollywood Bowl debut* with Beethoven (the Third Piano Concerto -- watch for my review next weekend), his newest CD is a provocative all Schubert affair (Moments Musicaux, Impromptus and the Allegretto in C minor) which has caused ripples in the musical press for the breadth and flexibility of its vision. I called him in Paris to find out what the fuss is all about.
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A TALE OF TWO BIENNIALS: SANTA FE AND DENVER
by Leanne Goebel
Sixteen years ago, Santa Fe had a vision to establish a contemporary art museum with the focus of bringing the latest and greatest in the contemporary art world to the oldest city in the West. They created a Kunsthalle (non-collecting art museum) with a mission to host a contemporary art survey biennial. Biennials at SITE Santa Fe have been curated by Francesco Bonami, Rosa Martinez and Robert Storr, all of whom then went on to be invited to curate subsequent American pavilions at the Venice Biennale. Dave Hickey received a MacArthur "Genius Grant" after curating the 2001 SITE biennial. Klaus Ottman, Lance Fung and now Sarah Lewis and Daniel Belasco (both proteges of Robert Storr) are also on the list of curators who have put their vision of the contemporary art world on display in the high desert of the "City Different."
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REMEMBERING DENISE JEFFERSON
by Michael Kaiser
The dance world lost a giant on July 17 when Denise Jefferson passed away. I would venture to say that hundreds of thousands of dance lovers, who may not even know her name, have great reason to celebrate her memory.
Denise, the director of the Ailey School, was one of the four pillars of the Ailey organization for decades. Along with Judith Jamison, Sylvia Waters and Masazumi Chaya, Denise provided a rock-solid foundation for the organization. It is not surprising that more than 85% of the dancers who currently perform with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater received training at the school. And many more of her students went on to important careers with other major dance companies.
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