New York, N.Y. In the opulent setting of the Grand Ball Room of the Essex House, several hundred glitterati gathered to toast the leadership of David Bender and Barbara Meister Bender — and bask in the musical brilliance of 10 years of operatic talent. One decade old, the non-profit organization they founded, Career Bridges, already [...]
Tag Archives: New York News
NYC Gay Pride Parade 2011 Unlike Others: Marriage
New York, NY. A sea change in New York Although I have attended the NYC Pride Parade since 1983 – many as a marshal – this one was different. As the lesbian on motorcycles thundered into view down Fifth Avenue I did something I had not done in 28 years. I burst into tears. After [...]
Surprise at Tribeca Festival: Best Film on Haiti Ever
New York, NY. Sitting through the world premiere of When the Drum is Beating at the Tribeca Film Festival this week, I thought to myself, at last: the definitive movie on the real Haiti. The red carpet was far from the abject poverty that is much of Haiti, but the quiet dignity and strength of [...]
Gay Community’s Rosa Parks Faces Death, Impoverished, Alone
New York, NY. I know dementia. My father and grandmother both died with it. But they had both resources and families to protect them – and neither were living cultural and historical treasures. None of which can be said for the civil rights activist who probably threw the first punch in the Stonewall Riot that [...]
French Artist & Legend CharlElie Couture in New York City
New York, N.Y. We first met French Contemporary Artist CharlElie Couture at the French Embassy in New York for the Wynton Marsalis ceremony in the fall of 2009. He impressed John Lee and me as a tremendous thought leader in the arts – as well as a very global citizen. We wanted to learn more about this legendary singer, [...]
Indo-American Arts Council Fete Recreates Mughal Court in NYC
New York, N.Y. The Indo-American Arts Council threw a purposefully decadent, fun-filled party last week for the new book Islamicate Cultures of Bombay Cinema by Ira Bhaskar and Richard Allen. The Mughal Empire was the Islamic imperial power that ruled a large portion of Indian subcontinent which began in the early 1500′s, invaded and ruled most of Hindustan (South [...]
Meet the Amazing Aroon Shivdasani of NYC’s Indo-American Arts Council
New York, N.Y. Indo-American Arts Council founder and executive director Aroon Shivdasani has lived all over the world but has called New York home for about half her life. Her vision is to make Indian culture accessible to Americans across a broad spectrum, encompassing film, music, dance, theater, fine arts, sculpture – any medium in which the Indian [...]
Brooklyn Steppers March Forward, Giving to Community, Gaining in Process
Brooklyn, N.Y. In high school I had been manager of our marching band in Ohio. It was a grueling task, but rewarding to see my friends play and march so well. The program took much space and resources, and I was surprised last year to discover that there was a marching band in Bedford-Stuyvesant in [...]
