Pressed For Time: 12.1008-12.16.08
Food Finds and Trends Dec. 15, 92nd Street Y, Lexington Avenue at E. 92nd St., 212-415-5500; 8:15, $27.
Ed Levine from Serious Eats joins Aquavit chef Marcus Samuelsson (pictured) and recently axed New York mag critic Gael Greene to peer into the crystal ball of the culinary future and speculate wildly whats going to be "hot." Boring, right? No, because Ed Levine is a lovable curmudgeon and prone to saying ridiculous things, Samuelsson is very good looking, and Gael Greene is insane and full of herself.There is no way this won´t be fun, if only to watch Greene say something outlandish, Levine take issue with it and Samuelsson smile at the audience sheepishly as hes caught in the middle.
Bottom Line: Sure the subject matter is interesting; but its the personalities that are the draw here. Be sure to ask Gael why she got canned from New York mag! ------
Skits N´ Tits Dec. 10, The Bowery Poetry Club, 308 Bowery (at Bleecker St.), 212-614- 0505; 10, $5.
Scintillating, titillating, stimulating.Women with boobs and a sense of humor, women with only boobs and manfolk comedians and musicians converge upon The Bowery Poetry Club for a night of WYSWYG performance.There will be skits courtesy of Mike Dobbins and Ann Carr, and there will be titsthose of burlesque comediennes Diane O´Debra, Bunny Love and Steph Sabelli.There will also be things untit and unskit like Ben Lerman´s short film and the band Quintus.
Bottom Line: Listen, who among us doesn´t like skits, tits and things that rhyme? That´s why I like poetry, The State and nudie bars. ------
What is Real: Photography and the Politics of Truth Dec. 12, New York Times Center, 242 W. 41st St. (at Eighth Ave.), 212- 857-0000; 6, $10. The politics of representation ain´t never been so sexy as tonight. A distinguished panel of photographers debates whether the exposure of the photosensitive material known as film in a device known as a camerawhich is then processed, printed, framed, collected, bought and sold really does get at that abstract, pesky, outdated notion of truth, be it Fazal Sheik´s images of war victims or a snapshot of your grandmother. Featuring foxy Princeton prof Eduardo Cadava and photographer and serial panelist Susan Meseilas, among others.
Bottom Line: Though the discussion is not likely to be resolved, it is an interesting and evergreen issue; done right, its a debate thats enjoyable to watch. ------
Pina Bauschs Bamboo Blues Dec. 11, Brooklyn Academy of Music, 30 Lafayette Ave. (at Ashland Pl.), Brooklyn, 718-636-4100; times vary, $25-$85.
You: into modern dance, no patience for the mediocre or untested. Risk-averse. Likes rom-coms.
Her: Heavy-handed German modern-dance legend for the last 40 years, old as the hills, incredibly proficient at creating evocative and emotionally trenchant old school modern dance. Not afraid to use metaphor, flower petals or theatrical aspects or incorporate Indian dance as in this piece.
Bottom Line: I´m not going to lie to you.This isn´t challenging as much as comfortingly familiar. It´s like modern dance for people who liked Wedding Crashers. It doesn´t expand the genre as much as show how good a thing can be while remaining firmly delimited by the aesthetic definitions of its species. ------
Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo Dec. 16, The Joyce Theatre, 175 Eighth Ave. (at W. 19th St.), 212-691-9740; 7:30, $19-$59.
A bunch of dudes in tights and tutus doing "ballet" or "doing" ballet should be kitschy and shitty. But these dudes in tights and tutus are actually amazingly good dancers; so whatever tired irony is dredged up by the concept of the company is sapped. In its place is a balletomane´s fantasy: all the petite allegro and little fouettes that arein straight balletthe province of ballerinas are translated into the impressive drag musculature of these chevaliers.The season, which runs until Jan. 4, includes The Nutcracker (duh) and Balanchine´s Stars and Stripes Forever.
Bottom Line: I take my ballet seriously.There´s a lot of humor here, but it´s all underpinned by stunning dancing.These are dancers first and drag queens second. As they should be.