Gossip Central

Bettye Lavette: Worthy at the Café Carlyle

Wiry and wise to life’s vicissitudes, soul singer Bettye Lavette took the stool at the Café Carlyle, commanding from that small perch a powerhouse of songs featuring her new album, Worthy. Building up to the title song, Lavette’s set included tunes from Bob Dylan (“Unbelievable”), Mick Jagger and Keith Richards (“Complicated”), John Lennon and Paul McCartney (“Wait”), not one of them a hummable known despite the fame of the songwriters, which made the evening a treat of discovery, providing a glimpse into some soul-searching moments in those artists’ careers. Another tune was inspired by Lucinda Williams: “Don’t Count Me Out Just Yet;” her “Before the Money Came” caused her to admit, “I have the worst time remembering the words because I wrote them.” Bettye Lavette explained her choices: “I recorded these songs because I liked them. They didn’t sell.”

Dance to my Measure: Ballet 422

“Is that how I sound?” exclaimed dancer Tiler Peck, reminding everyone around her at the premiere screening of the documentary Ballet 422 that ballerinas are usually seen and not heard. Peck was not even aware of the cameras because Jody Lee Lipes’ film was meant to be a promotional short; that he was taking sound was news. Lipes had so much rich footage, the decision to make a feature seemed the next big move. The result, an engrossing backstage glimpse into the making of a ballet from dancer/ choreographer Justin Peck’s initial conception through casting, lighting, costuming, and the vital give-and-take between choreographer and dancers up to the staging of the New York City Ballet’s 422nd work, “Paz de la Jolla.” Justin Peck (no relation to Tiler) is part of the NYC Ballet’s corps de ballet, and like Tiler, became part of the 90-dancer group at age 15. Among other revelations is that dancers double in other aspects of the ballet’s creation.

Cuba Arts Journal: Island in Flux

The parting shot as we left Miami for Cuba last week was NBC’s Brian Williams reporting from Havana. Talks were under way, and news crews were on it. Andrea Mitchell was spotted crossing the Hotel Nacional’s grand lobby. Everyone wanted to know how President Obama’s move to finesse diplomacy would land. Already the word was out: while he welcomed an accord with the Americans, Fidel Castro (88), was not going to budge on the values he enforced over the decades of his rule, no matter what. What this means was a subject for discovery, anyone’s guess, as many Cubans must petition for permission to travel, a Kafkaesque process.