Client News

Tickets Still Available for Thurgood at the Geffen Playhouse June 27th thru August 8th from Al Brooks Tickets

LOS ANGELES— Theater goers can still purchase tickets to the highly acclaimed Broadway play Thurgood, which runs June 27^th thru August 8^th at the Geffen Playhouse, from Al Brooks Tickets (www.albrooks.com). The popular show runs June 27^th thru August 8^th.

Thurgood is the triumphant story of Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall. Tony Award winner, Emmy Award winner and Oscar nominee Laurence Fishburne commands the stage as Marshall, telling the remarkable story of how the boy from Baltimore changed history.

“Thurgood Marshall was a remarkable man with a keen sensitivity to injustice,” says Jeff Brooks, owner of Al Brooks Tickets, a premium ticket source for concerts, theater and sports. “Fishburne’s portrayal of Marshall is outstanding and a must-see.”

The one-man play, written by George Stevens, Jr. premiered at the Westport Country Playhouse starring James Earl Jones. In 2008, the play opened on Broadway at the Booth Theater with Fishburne in the lead.

Fishburne’s performance has earned him a Drama Desk Award and an Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Solo Performance, as well as a Tony nomination for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play.

Al Brooks Tickets is located in the Wilshire Grand Hotel at 900 Wilshire Blvd, Suite 104, Los Angeles, CA 90017 and provides tickets for venues throughout the US and internationally. They can be reached by phone at 800-341-2766 or 213-626-5863, by email at customer_service@albrooks.com or by fax at 213-626-4808. For more information on concert tickets, please access their website at www.albrooks.com.

2010 California International Theater Festival Tickets Now Available Through Al Brooks Tickets

LOS ANGELES— Tickets for the 2010 California International Theater Festival, which takes place July 17^th thru August 25^th in Calabasas, can now be purchased through Al Brooks Tickets (www.albrooks.com).

“The California International Theater Festival is known for its diverse international presentations that are rich in culture,” says Jeff Brooks, owner of Al Brooks Tickets, a premium ticket source for concerts, theater and sports.

This year’s festival, which takes place in several Calabasas locations, will feature productions form around the world, including the American premieres of Stones by the Israeli Orto-Da Theatre Group, Tempting Providence by Robert Chafe (Theatre Newfoundland Labrador from Canada) and The Ring Road by Raymond Zhou from China, along with Around the World in 80 Minutes, an apprentice performance; Essence of China: Beijing Opera De-Mystified (a Ghaffar Pourazar demonstration) and Cabaret: Catch the Light, performed by Michele Lee.

There will also be a Festival Wrap Party with Santa Maria style BBQ and the music of Conjuto Hueypan.

The California International Festival 2010 season is presented by the City of Calabasas with Linda Purl as Festival Director. Purl is an award winning stage and television actress best known as Helen Beasley on The Office, Charlene Matlock from the series Matlock and as Ashley Pfister, Fonzie’s fiancée, from Happy Days.

Al Brooks Tickets is located in the Wilshire Grand Hotel at 900 Wilshire Blvd, Suite 104, Los Angeles, CA 90017 and provides tickets for venues throughout the US and internationally. They can be reached by phone at 800-341-2766 or 213-626-5863, by email at customer_service@albrooks.com or by fax at 213-626-4808. For more information on concert tickets, please access their website at www.albrooks.com.

California Contemporary Youth Ballet Presents Summer Performance

La Canada-Based Youth Dance Company to Perform ‘DanceScapes’

La Canada, CA: California Contemporary Youth Ballet (http://www.caldancearts.com) will be performing their annual Spring ballet concert for the public as they present ‘DanceScapes’, Saturday, June 12 & 13 at the California DanceArts Studio-Theater in La Canada.

Showcasing the ten-member troupe of young dance students, the show features the works of Harald Lander, former choreographer and artistic director of the Royal Danish Ballet, and by CCYB co-Directors Jaclyn Stryker and Heather Toner, and California Contemporary Ballet Artistic Director Erin Holt. ‘DanceScapes’ is a montage of dance numbers that are a mix of classical and unique, traditional and avant-garde, sentimental and fun dance moods and styles.

Erin Holt states “As a company, CCYB breaks through the boundaries of classical ballet and presents a show that is fresh, new, and incredibly inspiring. ‘DanceScapes’ promises to engage and excite all who see it.”

The CCYBallet production of ‘DanceScapes’ will be June 12^th at 6:30pm and Sunday, June 13^th at 3:30pm. Tickets are $15.00 for students and $18.00 for adults. Tickets can be ordered online at www.caldancearts.com. For more information call 818-790-7924.

California Contemporary Youth Ballet, which is the youth division of California Contemporary Ballet (http://www.ctyballet.org), provides an artistic training ground for young dancers. CCYBallet members perform in many community-based events and annually in their own concert held during the Spring season. Members of the youth company are invited to participate in California Contemporary Ballet productions alongside career company members in the annual Snow Queen Ballet (www.snowqueenballet.com), performed each December. Partnered with California DanceArts (http://www.caldancearts.com), young CCYBallet dancers attend the California DanceArts Career Preparatory Training Program, which is designed to fulfill the artistic needs of serious dance students who seek opportunities that will eventually permit them to make the transition from a pre-professional to a professional dancer career. More information on California DanceArts can be seen at www.danceallsummerworkshops.com. The school’s blog can be seen at http://caldancearts.typepad.com. For more information about California DanceArts and the programs offered by the school, call 818-790-7924, or visit the school online at www.caldancearts.com.

California Contemporary Ballet To Perform In La Lupa Fest’s Teatro Programme

Los Angeles Dance Company To Serve As Non-Profit Fiscal Sponsor of Italian Cultural Arts Festival

Los Angeles, CA: California Contemporary Ballet (http://www.ctyballet.org), is serving as the non-profit fiscal sponsor of the La Lupa Italian Cultural Arts Festival, and will perform their original dance “Napoli” in the Festival's Teatro Programme Saturday, May 15 at the Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum in Topanga, CA. The Teatro Programme is a theatrical event featuring over twenty Italian and Italian American artists

La Lupa Italian Cultural Arts Festival (La Lupa Fest) is a two-day event May 15 and 16, established to broaden the Los Angeles cultural community by creating a festival that enriches and exposes diverse neighborhoods to Italian and Italian-American inspiration, passion, and culture of today. La Lupa Fest is the first Italian Cultural Arts Festival of its kind in Los Angeles, celebrating Italian Culture and Art in a contemporary context, featuring established and emerging Italian and Italian American artists in Theatre, Film, Fine Art, Dance, Music, Poetry and the Culinary Arts.

California Contemporary Ballet Company Director Erin Holt, stated “California Contemporary Ballet has always been dedicated to the art of classical and contemporary dance and our mission is to educate and provide inspired theatrical experiences for dancers and the community around Southern California. We are proud to be a sponsor and participant in the La Lupa Fest and feel it will be a culturally enriching partnership.”

The La Lupa Fest’s Teatro Programme will be held Saturday, May 15, from 8:00-11:00pm and Sunday, May 16, from 7:00-10:00pm. Tickets are $20.00 at the door and $15, if purchased in advance (online purchase). Children under 10 are free. Tickets can be purchased at www.lalupafest.eventbrite.com or for more information call 818-790-7924.

California Contemporary Ballet, (http://www.ctyballet.org) established by Erin Holt, the company’s visionary Choreographer and Artistic Director, is one of Southern California’s burgeoning dance companies. The company is established as a professional company featuring the talent of 5-7 career dancers performing a unique brand of classical and contemporary dance works. They are a non-profit company, providing its members with the opportunity to perform an exciting repertory of innovative and original dance projects performed in concerts, theatre and festivals throughout Southern California.  California Contemporary Ballet is the resident troupe of the California DanceArts Academy (http://www.caldancearts.com) located in the foothills of Los Angeles. The school and company share one goal, "to nurture and encourage students professionally and to develop artists performing for audiences with the creativity, imagination and joy of dance. "  The company’s annual signature ballet titled, “The Snow Queen”, (http://www.snowqueenballet.com) is a delightful winter production each December starring the career members of California Contemporary Ballet, accompanied by the California Contemporary Youth Ballet, and select dancers from the community, resulting in a cast of 60-70 dancers.

California DanceArts Announces Newest Faculty Member

Los Angeles Dance Studio Adds Lynn Bryson Pittenger to Staff     

La Canada, CA: California DanceArts (http://www.caldancearts.com) a long-established dance academy in La Canada, announced that Lynn Pittenger, former ballerina with the New York City Ballet, has joined their teaching faculty.

Ms. Pittenger, has been a recipient of two Ford Foundation Scholarships, one to study with the San Francisco Ballet Company and the other personally awarded by Mr. George Balanchine to attend the School of American Ballet in New York City. It was while attending the New York school that Maria Tallchief selected Ms. Pittenger to perform in lecture demonstrations throughout New York and eastern colleges. After two years of study at the School of American Ballet, Lynn was invited by Mr. Balanchine to join the company of New York City Ballet where her professional career began.

In addition to a successful performing career, Ms. Pittenger directed a very extensive program for over 250 children in the course of 23 years and ran her own school of ballet for over seven years.

Erin Holt, director of California DanceArts, states “Our dance school has always been committed to providing the highest quality of dance and ballet instruction for all ages and that dance should be an enriching part of the life of those who decide to train in it. We are very proud of our teaching faculty and feel that Lynn Pittenger’s past experiences in dance instruction make her uniquely qualified to prepare students at our academy for the world of dance.”

Since 1987, California DanceArts has been dedicated to the purpose of grooming and nurturing the talents of beginning to serious career dance students. The school has established a reputation as a career preparatory school for dancers transitioning to the professional level. Its current location in beautiful La Canada is nestled among several schools and recreational facilities. The school provides three large studio spaces featuring sprung floors designed to prevent injury, 20-foot high ceilings geared for unobstructed jumping, wall mirrors and air conditioning. Director Erin Holt also runs California Contemporary Ballet, a dance troupe that puts on several original ballet productions per year, including the Snow Queen (www.snowqueenballet.com), an original ballet with an original music score. This show is put on every December and recently completed its 12^th season. California DanceArts also is offering several dance intensive workshops for various levels in summer 2010, and more on these can be seen at www.danceallsummerworkshops.com. The school’s blog can be seen at http://caldancearts.typepad.com. For more information about California DanceArts and the programs offered by the school, call 818-790-7924, or visit the school online at www.caldancearts.com.

Still Time to Get Tickets to Eagles at Hollywood Bowl

Al Brooks Can Still Get Tickets for Eagles “Long Road Out of Eden” Tour Will Be at the Hollywood Bowl April 16, 17 and 20

LOS ANGELES: The Eagles will bring their long awaited “Long Road Out of Eden” Tour to the Hollywood Bowl on April 16, 17 and 20. The band then kicks off a North American stadium concert summer tour starting on June 8 in Toronto that will also feature the Dixie Chicks and Keith Urban.

And Al Brooks Tickets, the Los Angeles based ticket broker that has been around since 1919 and is still family owned and operated, has Eagles tickets, both for the Hollywood Bowl dates and also for subsequent dates. Shows after the Hollywood Bowl include dates in Phoenix, Las Vegas, Anaheim, Sacramento, San Jose, Vancouver, Seattle, Portland, Boise, Denver, Ontario (CA), San Diego, and the summer dates starting in Toronto.

“Of course Al Brooks Tickets will have Eagles tickets for our clients and we will have a great selection throughout the run.” stated Jeff Brooks, President of Al Brooks Tickets. “It’s going to be a great show for a bunch of different age groups, both the people that were young in the 70s all the way down to young people today. Great songs like that cross all age barriers. We can get tickets, and it all comes down to our sources – and they are the best in the business.”

The Eagles will be performing all their classic hits from the 70s, as well as songs from their excellent 2008 2-CD release, “Long Road Out of Eden,” the band’s first studio release since “The Long Run” in 1979.

Al Brooks Tickets is located in the Wilshire Grand Hotel at 900 Wilshire Blvd, Suite 104, Los Angeles, CA 90017 and provides tickets for venues throughout the US and internationally. They can be reached by phone at 800-341-2766 or 213-626-5863, by email at customer_service@albrooks.com or by fax at 213-626-4808. For more information on Eagles tickets, please access their website – www.albrooks.com.

Ballet Studio Urges Students to Learn Proper Dance Terminology

California DanceArts Finds New iPhone Application An Important Tool for Student

La Canada, CA: California DanceArts (http://www.caldancearts.com) is urging dance students to understand the French terms, translations and definitions of each ballet exercise as a top priority. The ballet studio has found that grasping the meaning behind each term assists the student dancer in properly executing the steps which ultimately will be used in the variety of movements comprising the choreography of classical technique.

Now Carol Richmond, a Carmel, CA dance instructor, together with a software engineer, have developed an iPhone application for teaching more than 140 ballet terms. The application, called SayBallet, is a way "to get to the students on their own (tech-savvy) level," said Richmond, who has seen even the youngest of her students using iPhones. Using this iPhone app will allow students to learn terms in a fun way.

 

Half of the ballet terms are accompanied by videos, activated by voice. Say "plie” (pronounced “plee-ay”) and the iPhone will tell a translation of the word as “Bend”, followed by a short video display of a girl performing the deep bend. Each term can be selected in French, the way ballet is generally taught. The app is also great for hearing the proper pronunciation of these French terms. Fun quizzes are included for students to test their knowledge which then allows them to achieve higher and higher scores.
 
A worthwhile investment for under $10, this iPhone application allows young dancers to study their ballet terms during a car ride to the studio or waiting for class to begin. California DanceArts Director, Erin Holt, says “This application is a great supplement to any dance education curriculum where students are expected to understand ballet terminology. We hope that students use the app to increase and improve upon the skills taught in their classes and to improve their scores for upcoming ballet examinations.” California DanceArts will be holding their ballet level examinations in May.

Since 1987, California DanceArts has been dedicated to the purpose of grooming and nurturing the talents of beginning to serious career dance students. The school has established a reputation as a career preparatory studio for dancers transitioning to the professional level. Its current location in beautiful La Canada is nestled among several schools and recreational facilities. The school provides three large studio spaces featuring sprung floors designed to prevent injury, 20-foot high ceilings geared for unobstructed jumping, wall mirrors and air conditioning. Director Erin Holt also runs California Contemporary Ballet, a dance troupe that puts on several original ballet productions per year, including the Snow Queen (www.snowqueenballet.com), an original ballet with an original music score. This show is put on every December and recently completed its 12^th season. California DanceArts is also offering several dance intensive workshops for various levels in summer 2010, and more on these can be seen at www.danceallsummerworkshops.com. The school’s blog can be seen at http://caldancearts.typepad.com. For more information about California DanceArts and the programs offered by the school, call 818-790-7924, or visit the school online at www.caldancearts.com.

Erin Holt

California DanceArts

4490 Cornishon Ave

La Canada, CA 91011

818-790-7924

caldance@realwebmarketing.net

http://www.caldancearts.com

http://www.ctyballet.org

James Taylor & Carole King: Troubadour Reunion Tour Will Be a Tough Ticket

King and Taylor Will Sell Out Hollywood Bowl May 13^th – 15^th but Al Brooks Tickets Will Get You the Seats You Want

Carole King and James Taylor’s Troubadour Reunion makes reference to the long history these two legends have at West Hollywood’s Troubadour venue. The tour kicks off in Australia for a run through the Far East before arriving at Hollywood Bowl in May, and includes the May 4^th release of a 2 disc CD/DVD of their 2007 live performance at the Troubadour.

“The Bowl is the perfect venue for Carole King and James Taylor.” said Jeff Brooks, president of Al Brooks Tickets, the Los Angeles based ticket broker that has been around since 1919 and is still family owned and operated. “But all of Southern California knows that and feels that, so this will be a tough ticket. These two made history here at the Troubadour and sent the music world of the 1970’s off into their universe of emotion, feeling and special brand of beauty.”

“Of course Al Brooks tickets will have James Taylor tickets for our clients and we will have a great selection throughout the run.” Jeff continued. “It all comes down to our sources – and they are the best in the business.”

Carole King was a famous songwriter but still struggling as a performer when she teamed up with James Taylor, who had just released his debut album, for the initial Troubadour appearance in November of 1970. When they returned for a two week run a year later, their careers had exploded – Taylor’s Fire and Rain was on the top of the charts and King’s Tapestry album was on its way. In 2007 they returned again, this time for the Troubadour’s 50^th anniversary.

Al Brooks Tickets is located in the Wilshire Grand Hotel at 900 Wilshire Blvd, Suite 104, Los Angeles, CA 90017 and provides tickets for venues throughout the US and internationally. They can be reached by phone at 800 341-2766 or 213 626-5863, by email at customer_service@albrooks.com or by fax at 213 626-4808. For more information on James Taylor and Carole King tickets, please access their website – www.albrooks.com.

Artist and Non-Profit Group Partner on USA Tour for Children and Art

Leisa Collins “Across the USA from the Eyes of an Artist Tour” Promotes Kids Art Projects.

On the eve of her national tour, Across the USA from the Eyes of an Artist, visual artist Leisa Collins (http://www.leisacollins.com) reaffirmed her commitment to children and art education, forming a partnership with Free Arts for Abused Children, (http://www.freearts.org) a group dedicated to providing opportunities for children to learn and create art.  The alliance was inaugurated at the group’s LA headquarters with Leisa presenting an original painting entitled “The Loneliness of Abuse” to the Executive Director of Free Arts for Abused Children, Karrah Lompa.  Leisa created the painting to communicate the emotional isolation and despair suffered by an abused child, and to stress the important role that the arts can play in healing a child.

Setting out from Los Angeles, the tour promises to be an action-packed adventure and a captivating view of the American canvas from the eyes of an artist. It will culminate in New York near the end of September. The journey marks the re-emergence of Leisa into the art world after two decades of global travels and social activism.  The daily blog for the tour is www.leisacollinsartwithamessage.blogspot.com.

During the tour Leisa will capture the scenic beauty and people of America in original paintings while teaming up with Free Arts for Abused Children affiliate groups throughout the country on art lessons, kids art projects and other activities to raise awareness and funding for art education.  Her website offers authenticated prints of her painting, The Loneliness of Abuse, with 50% of the profits going to Free Arts for Abused Children to support their ongoing projects for children and art.

“Today in the USA, over 40% of elementary school children don’t have art teachers. With every state in the nation facing financial crisis and budget cuts, art is often one of the first items slashed,” said Leisa.  “This means that the community - that’s you and me - must do more to ensure ALL children are taught the skills of observing, imagining, creating and thinking.”

The first stop of the tour is the famous Grand Canyon in Arizona. Further stops will include Las Vegas, Death Valley, the Sierra Nevada Mountain Regions of Sequoia and Yosemite. Then San Francisco and the Redwood Forest followed by the city of Eureka, California. Then Salem and Portland in Oregon, Snowden in Washington, Boise in Idaho, Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, The Badlands and Sioux Falls City in South Dakota, Minneapolis/St Paul in Minnesota, Green Bay and Milwaukee in Wisconsin, Chicago in Illinois, Lansing and Detroit in Michigan, Niagrara Falls on the US-Canada border, Buffalo in New York, Allentown and Philadelphia in Pennsylvania, Trenton in New Jersey, and the final destination of the tour – New York City.

Based in the USA, but international in scope, Leisa is now combining her activist and artistic skills under the motto of Art with a Message.  The entire tour route can be found on the Art in Action page of her website, www.leisacollins.com, where you can also sign up for her weekly newsletter, Art in the Making.

Free Arts for Abused Children is dedicated to helping abused, homeless or at-risk children, as well as families living in crisis.  Through expressive art programs Free Arts works to increase self-esteem and build positive character by unlocking the imagination and creativity of the victims of child abuse and homelessness.  The Free Arts website is www.freearts.org.

Painter Leisa Collins Re-Emerges into the Art World

Artist is Using Her “Art with a Message” to Push for Social Change

LOS ANGELES: After two decades of social activism that took her to the four corners of the globe and gave her a firsthand view of diverse cultures and social inequities, Leisa Collins (http://www.leisacollins.com), has taken up her paintbrush again and returned to her full-time art career. 

Based in the USA, but international in scope, Leisa is now combining her activist and artistic skills under the motto of “art with a message.”  Her newly released website stresses theimportance of the artist bringing about social change and her “Art in Action” page includes her activities in this regard.  Her website also includes an on-line gallery, featuring semi-abstract as well as realistic landscape and portrait works.  The site comprises a lengthy art commissions page which describes the unique approach that Leisa takes in this arena.  Her website debut last week included her new Art with a Message Blog (http://leisacollinsartwithamessage.blogspot.com/) and her weekly email newsletter, Art in the Making.

Born in Auckland, New Zealand, Leisa embarked upon formal art training at 17, however after only a few months she abandoned the classroom, opting to learn her craft through capturing on canvas the beauty of the countryside. Exploring every nook and cranny of New Zealand, she financed her adventures by selling her work as she went.  She returned to Auckland and set up her own studio and gallery where she held her first of many solo exhibitions which mainly featured her New Zealand landscape works. 

Drawing on her global insight, her newest works are often studies of people. Expressed in semi-abstract swirls, translucent shadows and ethnic patterns, her works convey raw emotion—whether shining the light on social injustice or communicating the power of the human spirit.

“Art is a powerful means of communication,” states Leisa, “and is therefore a potent weapon to bring about change.  Interaction with people and the environment is my artistic inspiration and stimulation. It’s about getting across a message, an emotion, or envisioning a better tomorrow.  Art for me is something that goes far beyond the studio and gallery walls.”

Her artistic influences range from impressionists Monet and Renoir, masters of expressionism van Gogh and Edvard Munch, Picasso, and the message driven works of Francisco de Goya, Andrew Wyeth and John Steuart Curry. She also draws on cultural art forms, especially African and Polynesian.

Leisa is currently creating new works and preparing for her Across the USA from the Eyes of an Artist tour that launches into action on Sep 1st.  Meanwhile she is continuing to work on social issues through her art related projects and receives commission requests from various parts of the world -- a challenge she enjoys immensely.