Dubbing samba the “movement of resistance,” Ana Laidley, creative director of the professional group Samba N’ Motion, rejects stereotypes of Brazilian culture through the steps she choreographs. Read more...
Photo: (Courtesy of Lucia Vianna) Through dance and music, Samba N’ Motion and Bola da Vez stitch together historical and cultural events of Brazil. Both groups were formed by Ana Laidley (center), and they will perform at the UCLA Art Council Amphitheater.
In the corridor of a greenroom at The Echo before their show, Adam Pallin and Zoe Silverman, who prefer to be referred to by their first name when representing their electro-pop band, ASTR, were casually kicking back, eating strawberries and shooting home videos. Read more...
For Ryan Nealon, singing onstage is a breath of fresh air. Alongside his band Moonlight Express, the second-year ethnomusicology student has projected his voice from a recording studio in Melnitz Hall to JazzReggae Festival auditions this past spring. Read more...
Photo: UCLA student band Moonlight Express meshes funk, jazz and pop genres. The band, founded by second-year ethnomusicology student Ryan Nealon, recently released its first single, “Love in Blue.” The band is preparing for performances at the Fowler Museum and Kerckhoff Coffeehouse this fall. (Courtesy of Ryan Nealson)
Discreet and unassuming, Adam, half of the electro-pop duo ASTR, got on stage and started tapping on his synths. Before the show, the crowd at The Echo buzzed with excitement; however, it wasn’t until Zoe came on stage that the audience began to go wild. Read more...
Photo: (Leyla Kumble/Daily Bruin)
There’s no time like the summertime to catch up on new music, whether it’s at the beach in the sun, in the car stuck in typical L.A. Read more...
Photo: (Courtesy of Interscope Records, ATO Records, RCA, Ultra Records and Drag City)
As longtime choral conductor and director Donald Neuen prepared for his departure from UCLA this past spring, the Choral Excellence Association at UCLA began to see signs that its programs, and possibly the department, might be leaving with him. Read more...
Photo: After the retirement of longtime choral conductor and director Donald Neuen, the choral program at UCLA faces a series of cutbacks, including classes, the graduate school’s program in choral conducting and UCLA’s Choral Outreach Program. The Choral Excellence Association at UCLA has formed an online petition asking administrators to rethink their decision. (Courtesy of Peter Dai)
It has become somewhat “vogue” to be a feminist lately. After Beyoncé’s self-titled album was released last December along with music videos such as “Partition” and “Drunk in Love,” although it sells sex more than feminism, the trend started. Read more...
Photo: Jennifer Lopez’s music video for “I Luh Ya Papi” retaliates against male objectification of women by featuring muscular, scantily clad men. But rather than bringing a solution to sexualized objectification, the video only perpetuates it further. (Courtesy of Capitol Records)
