Talented young dancers from Academy of Dance, Anaheim Ballet, Cal State University, Long Beach, California Conservatory of Dance, Chapman University, Irvine Valley College, Maple Conservatory of Dance, Pacific Coast Academy of Dance and UCI participated in a special master class conducted by Bolshoi Ballet dance coach Victor Barykin, above with pianist Svetlana Sokolova. The photo was taken on part of the set of Bolshoi’s Don Quixote in Segerstrom Hall.
Last week the cast and crew of the action-comedy television series Chuck traveled from Burbank to film scenes in the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall. The Concert Hall was used as a location for some climactic scenes taking place during an eventful night at the symphony. We’ve been sworn to secrecy so we can’t give too much away, but the episode they taped deals with an intriguing international plot about an assassin. To see the Concert Hall’s debut on Chuck, tune into NBC on Monday, May 10 at 8 p.m. The episode is titled “Chuck VS the tooth.” 
Tim Mangan, the Orange County Register’s classical music critic, stopped by the Center today – not to review a performance but to talk to the volunteer docents. The docents give free public behind-the-scenes tours of the campus and its various theaters. They invited Tim to give an inside look into his job as a critic. Tim discussed everything from how he prepares for a concert, which includes reading scores and program notes and listening to recordings, to sharing his philosophy about reviewing – he says he’s listening for quality. The docents loved hearing what Tim had to say and quizzed him on the local classical music scene. Tim will be back at the Center this week to critique Kathleen Battle and Olga Kern and the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra in the Concert Hall. To read Tim’s reviews and more, check out the OC Register’s arts blog at http://artsblog.freedomblogging.com/. For more information on free tours, click here (Tim is pictured above with docents Arlene Steinart and Beth Ruegger.)
Our traveling flip cam caught up with several of the soloists from The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber during a rehearsal in New York City last week. Click on the video above to hear from Broadway’s very own Howard McGillin, Laurie Gayle Stephenson, Kathy Voytko, Kevin Kern and Deone Zanotto during some of their down time. We can’t wait to see everyone here soon! The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber plays Feb. 16 – 21.
Today, third-graders at George Washington Carver Elementary in Santa Ana enjoyed a performance by one of the Center’s Arts Teach artists, Imagination Machine. They performed Who, What, Where. Not only was it terrific fun (especially on a rainy morning), but the students were shown how to create stories using three important ideas – who, what, where. Who is in their story, what is the story about and where does it happen? During the morning they selected ideas by random, from which Imagination Machine’s artists and the children conceived tales that took place in a car wash and on a pirate’s treasure hunt and impersonated a lawyer, an elf, a shark and a valentine.
Howard McGillin, one the stars of The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber which visits the Center later this month, will appear on NBC's Today this Wednesday (Feb. 3) at approximately 10:25 a.m. PST. Theater fans may recognize Howard for his record-setting appearance as The Phantom of the Opera, a role he performed more than 2,500 times on Broadway. On Today, he will be interviewed and the audience will also be treated to a live performance. You can catch Howard on stage while The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber plays here February 16 - 21. 
