Artist Now Trending, Cultural Events, DANCE, Entertainment, Events, NYC On Broadway

8 Dance Performances to See in N.Y.C. This Weekend

AMERICAN BALLET THEATER’S NEW YORK SUMMER INTENSIVE at Frank Sinatra School of the Arts (July 26, noon and 2:30 p.m.). Curious about the next generation of dancers? Two afternoon performances wrap up Ballet Theater’s 24th annual training program, directed by Kate Lydon, for dancers ages 12 to 20. Students of the five-week intensive, under the instruction of former company members including Cynthia Harvey, Leslie Browne, Lupe Serrano and Cheryl Yeager, will perform selections from “Coppélia,” “Don Quixote,” “Giselle,” “La Bayadère,” “Swan Lake,” “The Sleeping Beauty” and August Bournonville’s “Le Conservatoire.”
212-477-3030, ext. 3416; abt.org

BOY BLUE at Gerald W. Lynch Theater (Aug. 1-3, 7:30 p.m.). This East London hip-hop group, last seen at the 2018 White Light Festival, returns to Lincoln Center for an encore of its acclaimed political and virtuosic “Blak Whyte Gray.” Presented this time by the Mostly Mozart Festival, the company explores themes of oppression, identity and transcendence. Michael Asante (also known as Mikey J) is credited with creative direction and music, while Kenrick Sandy (who goes by H2O) is the piece’s choreographer.
212-721-6500, lincolncenter.org/mostly-mozart-festival

YOSHIKO CHUMA AND THE SCHOOL OF HARD KNOCKS at the Invisible Dog (July 26, 7 p.m.). Chuma, a veteran experimental choreographer and conceptual artist, presents the final presentation of “My Diary: Secret Journey to Tipping Utopia.” In it, musicians, dancers and designers interact, but never directly as fragments of sound, text and action — a metaphor for the cycle of life — fluctuate between states of utopia and war. Chuma has been in residency at the Invisible Dog since July 1.
theinvisibledog.org

COMPAGNIE HERVÉ KOUBI at Prospect Park Bandshell (July 27, 8 p.m.). For the BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival, this company led by Koubi, a French-Algerian choreographer, presents his evening-length “What the Day Owes to the Night.” With a cast of 12 French-Algerian and African dancers, this vibrant production combines capoeira, martial arts, hip-hop and contemporary dance; it’s Koubi’s signature work and his second collaboration with street dancers from Algeria and Burkina Faso.
718-683-5600, bricartsmedia.org

JACOB’S PILLOW DANCE FESTIVAL in Becket, Mass. (through Aug. 25). This weekend, the festival hosts the Paul Taylor Dance Company in repertory works and the tap choreographer Caleb Teicher with the composer and pianist Conrad Tao for their collaboration “More Forever” (both performances run through Sunday). In the coming week, “The Day,” an anticipated piece by the cellist Maya Beiser, the dancer Wendy Whelan and the choreographer Lucinda Childs, has its premiere; the production, which features music by David Lang, explores memory and resilience (Wednesday through Aug. 4). Also, A.I.M. by Kyle Abraham offers a mixed repertory program, which includes his own works as well as one by Andrea Miller (Wednesday through Aug. 4).
413-243-0745, jacobspillow.org

MADE IN N.Y.C. 2.0: NEXT GENERATION TRADITIONS at Hearst Plaza (July 28, 1 p.m.). As part of its Heritage Sunday series, Lincoln Center Out of Doors presents this free, mixed bill featuring Redobles de Cultura, a collective of three New York City Afro-Puerto Rican bomba practitioners; Sri Lankan Dance Academy of New York, an intergenerational group based in Staten Island; Michael Winograd & the Honorable Mentshn, a Brooklyn klezmer group; and Inkarayku, an Andean band that performs Quechua folk songs and dance music. This presentation highlights the art and culture of first- and second-generation New Yorkers.
212-721-6500, lincolncenter.org

92Y MOBILE DANCE FILM FESTIVAL at the 92nd Street Y (July 27, 4, 5:30 and 7 p.m.). How often have you lost track of time watching dance videos on your smartphone? Here’s an opportunity to see three programs’ worth — 48 films in all — at the 92Y’s second annual festival celebrating works shot on mobile devices. Its international jury considered more than 100 submissions from 14 countries, including Argentina, Cuba, France, Greece and Japan. The selected films include David Fernandez’s “The Clock,” Rebecca Gillespie’s “The French Girl,” and Roma Flowers and Nina Martin’s “Secondary Surfaces Redreamed.”
212-415-5500, 92y.org

YOUNG DANCEMAKERS COMPANY at various locations (July 26, 7 p.m.; July 28 and 31 and Aug. 1, 2 p.m.; July 30, 1 p.m.; through Aug. 3). This dance ensemble, which comprises students from New York City public high schools, continues its 24th annual touring season, taking place at different locations across four boroughs, from the 92nd Street Y in Manhattan on Friday to the Kumble Theater in Brooklyn on Tuesday. Since the end of June, the young dance artists have developed original choreography under the guidance of Alice Teirstein and Jessica Gaynor, as well as the 2019 guest artist John Heginbotham, and now present the end result in these free public showings.
youngdancemakerscompany.org

Cultural Events, DANCE, Entertainment

Strippers Are Doing It for Themselves

Around 10 most nights, Nikeisah Newton hops into her car for a 10-minute drive into downtown Portland, Ore., so that she can deliver healthy meals that include ingredients like massaged kale to strippers working the evening shift. “One of the best forms of activism is feeding people,” Ms. Newton said. Her company is called Meals 4 Six Inch Heels, and it’s intended to support a community that she feels has been shunned and taken advantage of for too long.

Ms. Newton, whose ex-girlfriend is a former stripper, has joined a wave of dancers and their allies across the nation who are fighting to reform labor practices; put an end to sexual harassment and discrimination in their workplaces; and stifle the stigma around what they believe is as legitimate a profession as any.

Members of this movement are sharing their experiences with the public through podcasts, books and visual arts; using technology to spread information about their industry; and protesting injustices in the streets. They are also finding ways to care for each other, with meal-delivery services, yoga classes, book clubs, clothing lines with slogans of solidarity, financial planning lessons and comedy workshops.

When you use the word “platform” now in the stripping community, it’s as likely to refer to social media as shoes. At V-Live in Los Angeles, guests are encouraged to use their phones to take videos and photos of the dancers. On a recent evening, a photographer circled the dancers, taking images that they could later buy to use on their Instagram accounts.

The water-cooler conversations in the 1980s and ’90s, with the mainstream movies “Flashdance,” “Showgirls” and “Striptease,” may be coming back, as strippers return to the big screen in September with “Hustlers,” about dancers who steal money from their rich customers.

The film features the celebrities Jennifer Lopez, Lizzo and Constance Wu. Cardi B, a megastar, takes pride in and has spoken positively about her experiences with stripping. Beyoncé’s best-selling album, “Lemonade,” has a song called “6 Inch” about working as a stripper. Magic City and other clubs in Atlanta are well known among hip-hop fans as places where musicians test out new songs.

And across America, the face of stripping, and its audience, is changing. No longer the domain solely of finance bros and the like unwinding after hours, strip clubs these days are also frequented by couples and friends.

“Our audiences in the last 10 years, specific to my home club, have become more diverse, younger, more gender broad,” said Elle Stanger, 32, who has worked as a stripper for a decade and lives in Portland. “It’s not just middle-aged white men anymore.”

SOCIAL MEDIA, TECHNOLOGY NEWS

Instagram Is Hiding Likes. Will That Reduce Anxiety?

What would Instagram be like if people couldn’t see how many likes fellow users’ posts receive?

Less competitive, less pressurized and more personal, Instagram surmises.

The social media platform, which began testing that theory in May in Canada, this week expanded the experiment to include Instagram users in six more countries. As part of the test, users in Australia, Brazil, Ireland, Italy, Japan and New Zealand will no longer be able to see the counts of likes and video views on other users’ posts.

They will still be able to see who liked someone else’s post or viewed their video, but there won’t be a tally. Of course, people can still do a manual count, if they want to take the time. And users will still be able to see like counts and video view counts for their own posts.

[Read more: What if Instagram Got Rid of Likes?]

“We are expanding the test to get a better sense of how the experience resonates with Instagram’s global community,” Seine Kim, a Facebook spokeswoman, said Thursday. Facebook bought Instagram in 2012.

Instagram did not share any information about what the testing with users in Canada has shown, nor would it say how long the testing will take place in each country. It is also not clear how the company is measuring the test results.

In late April, Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram, announced at Facebook’s annual event for developers that the testing would begin in Canada.

“We don’t want Instagram to feel like a competition,” Mr. Mosseri said at the event. “We want people to worry a little bit less about how many likes they’re getting on Instagram and spend a bit more time connecting with the people they care about.”

On Wednesday, Mr. Mosseri announced the test’s expansion to the six additional countries on Twitter.

Entertainment, Film Review

Hustlers’ Trailer: Cardi B Helps J. Lo and Constance Wu Get Revenge

“These Wall Street guys, you see what they did to this country? They stole from everybody. Hard-working people lost everything.” And that’s not all. “The game is rigged, and it does not reward people who play by the rules.”

No, that’s not an excerpt from Bernie Sanders’s latest stump speech. Rather, it’s spoken by Jennifer Lopez as a New York City stripper who turns the tables on some of her biggest-money customers in the flashy, just-released trailer for her forthcoming film, “Hustlers.”

The real-life revenge tale — it’s based on a New York magazine article by Jessica Pressler — co-stars Constance Wu (“Crazy Rich Asians”) as a single mom whom Lopez’s character teaches how to pole-dance. The impressive ensemble also includes the music divas Cardi B and Lizzo as well as Lili Reinhart, best known as Betty Cooper on CW’s Archie Comics adaptation “Riverdale.”

Unlike earlier stripper-centric movies like “Showgirls” and “Striptease,” this one was adapted and directed by a woman, Lorene Scafaria (“The Meddler”). Lopez produced the film with her business partner, Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas, and manager, Benny Medina, along with Will Ferrell, Adam McKay and Jessica Elbaum of Gloria Sanchez Productions.

“Hustlers” hits theaters on Sept. 13.

Artist Now Trending, Music

Missy Elliott: The Legend Returns

The artist, who’s ready to drop long-awaited new music, redefined hip-hop vocally and visually—and lifting up other artists only burnishes her superstar legacy.

This spring, Melissa Arnette Elliott stood before a mass of Berklee College of Music students and faculty in Boston. She requested a moment to gather herself. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, and tears began to fall freely over her smiling face. She opened her eyes. She began to speak to the graduating class, herself among them, just before being awarded an honorary doctorate.

Dolce & Gabbana orange coat, tweed coat, and plaid pant; Jennifer Fisher earrings; Left hand: David Webb gold leaf ring, Jennifer Fisher gold ring on pinky finger; David Webb rectangular gold-diamond-and-ruby ring (on ring finger), David Webb rectangular gold-diamond-and-ruby ring (on pinky finger); Jennifer Fisher gold cylinder ring and gold tube ring. Iconic Necklace Missy’s Own.

A few days later, I watched Elliott’s speech on YouTube from my living room couch. I scrolled back to when she closed her eyes and counted the seconds until she spoke again. Altogether, there were 20 seconds of what I assumed was silent meditation, perhaps gratitude, in service to a life so successful, it had fashioned itself into this spectacular moment.

Two weeks later, at a recording studio just outside Atlanta, where she’s working on a long-anticipated seventh album, I ask Elliott if she remembers standing there for those 20 seconds. She hadn’t known it had been quite that long. I confirm. I counted to make sure. Her eyelids, painted green and shimmering under the overhead lights, flutter a few times while she thinks about it more.

“I didn’t even realize,” she says. “You know what’s so funny? I wrote a speech and got up there and choked up, and before I knew it, I was like, ‘Oh my God, where’s the paper?’ And it was just crumbled up on the podium.” However, she hadn’t closed her eyes to remember her speech or make a harried backup plan for giving one on the fly. She’s Missy Elliott. She went somewhere else entirely.

“I went to the side of my grandmother’s house where I used to play church. I used to shout and sing all kinds of gospel songs. Ones I had made up, ones that existed in the church…I was at that place.” Elliott considers herself a very spiritual person. For her, “God is real because I went to that place and felt like he had his hands on me from a child.”

READ MORE:https://www.marieclaire.com/celebrity/a28250119/missy-elliott-new-album-2019/?utm_source=pocket-newtab

Health & Fitness, Men's Health

How to Lose Your Gut in 10 Days

Yeah, we know: A headline like “How to lose your gut  in 10 days” screams “bullshit.”

But, truth be told, it’s actually quite possible to burn belly fat  in just a week and a half. The key to success is in the details, and you’ll need to follow them meticulously. But don’t stress: This is a short-lived emergency shred, not a long-term lifestyle plan. So whether you’re prepping for a party or a vacation, we’ve got you covered.

Note: Depending on the circumference of your gut, results may vary.  

1. Go to bed

Exhaustion can give you a gut. “Sleep deprivation disrupts your metabolism, seriously sabotaging efforts to maintain an ideal weight,” says Jana Klauer, M.D., an obesity researcher at NYC’s St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital. Here’s how it works: Fat cells produce a hormone called leptin, which tells the body how much potential energy it has stored. Since leptin production peaks at night, when you’re asleep, sleep deprivation can throw levels of the hormone out of whack. The end result? Your body has no idea how much energy it has banked, so you end up storing fat instead of burning it.

Consider a full night’s rest an integral part of any weight-loss regimen. Getting sufficient sleep will prevent lags in energy and help reduce carb cravings, adds Klauer. It’ll also help build gut-busting muscle. “Sleep deprivation causes a drop in the production of human growth hormone,” says Klauer. (This ensures the fat your body stores will make a beeline for your waistline.) “After a good workout, you get more deep, slow-wave sleep; and it’s this cell-repairing stage of sleep where up to 70% of daily growth-hormone secretion takes place in young men.” Meaning, even if you’re getting in your time at the gym, you still need to hit the sack to complete the biological process that makes muscles pop.

Get seven hours a night.

2. Power up with protein

Protein is the main component of muscle tissue, so it should be the primary focus of your muscle-building diet. Aim for 1.5g per pound of your targeted bodyweight during an emergency shred like this. Always have a form of protein in every meal to ensure muscles are being fueled with amino acids throughout the day and blood sugar levels are stabilized. Under normal conditions, you should eat about 1g per pound of bodyweight. Always consume protein post-workout.

3. Have a carb strategy

We’ve heard it all before: “Carbs are the enemy.” Well, not really. Completely slashing your carb intake will certainly help with dropping the pounds (and fast) but you’ll also be left feeling cranky, tired, and lethargic. “Carbs are essential for life as our brain and central nervous system require them to work properly. Forgoing carbs can force your body to metabolize muscle for energy,” says Tim McComsey, R.D., P.T. It all comes down to using carbs correctly, not cutting them completely. “To get lean, a balance of the right amount of carbs in the morning and post-workout is ideal,” he says.

4. Lift for nine days

Most people believe cardio paves the way for six-pack abs, but lifting is really the crucial element. For the next week and a half, you’re going to lift for nine days.

Perform your lifting workouts at night, as interval training will be a part of your morning routine.

Here are your splits:

Day 1: Legs
Day 2: Chest
Day 3: Back
Day 4: Shoulders
Day 5: Arms
Day 6: Off
Day 7: Legs
Day 8: Chest
Day 9: Back
Day 10: Shoulders

5. Do seven days of intervals

If your goal is to burn fat, intervals better be part of your program. Besides being a quick method to get in a great workout, intervals are extremely effective for transforming your physique. By incorporating intense periods of work with short recovery segments, intervals allow you to keep the workout intensity high while still maintaining form. The magic of high-intensity interval training lies in its ability to keep you burning fat even after you leave the gym. In short, your body isn’t able to bring in enough oxygen during periods of hard work. Therefore, you accumulate a “debt” of oxygen that must be repaid post-workout in order to get back to normal. The result: Your metabolism is revved for hours after you leave the gym.  

Perform interval workouts in the morning on an empty stomach. Here are 8 of our favorite fat-burning intervalsOpens a New Window. .

Day 1: On
Day 2: On
Day 3: Off
Day 4: On
Day 5: On
Day 6: Off—perform a paced run at 60 minutes
Day 7: On
Day 8: On
Day 9: Off
Day 10: On

6. Get laid

Testosterone, perhaps the most widely known hormone, is responsible for helping lifters put on more muscle and recover faster from workouts. Other hormones such as growth hormone, insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1), and hCG also play a huge role in recovery and seeing jumps in size and strength (not to mention your mood and sex life). Increasing your hormone levels to the optimal numbers involves balancing your lifestyle, perfecting your nutrition, and training at the right intensity. Too much stress in day-to-day activities can release more catabolic hormones (like cortisol), which break down muscle and make it tough to build the physique you want. “Our best evidence identifies regular exercise, a good night’s sleep, and plenty of sex as our best bets at increasing our muscle-building hormone king (aka testosterone),” says Yoni Freedhoff, M.D., family physician and assistant professor at the University of Ottawa.

7. Use a supplement stack

There’s no secret elixir or magic pill, just the basics.

Supplement with caffeine (200mg pre-workout) and beta-alanine (2g in the a.m., 2g post-workout).

A 2008 study at the College of New Jersey examined collegiate football players on a 30-day schedule of beta-alanine supplementation. The players were randomly divided into a supplement or placebo group three weeks before preseason football training camp. Performance was measured on the first day of camp by a 60-second anaerobic power test and three line drills. Throughout the duration of camp, logs recorded resistance training volumes, and subjects completed questionnaires on feelings of soreness, fatigue, and practice intensity. The group that took the beta-alanine supplements had a lower fatigue rate and a higher training volume throughout the exercises.

Researchers in the UK found athletes who ingested caffeine had a rate of perceived exertion that was 5.6% lower than athletes who were given placebos. The researchers also found that caffeine improved overall exercise performance by 11.2%. Imagine getting 11% more out of every workout, just because you had a shot of caffeine before you hit the gym.