“Much ado about NYC!” City guide to 2014 summer.

    Summer in New York is full of flavor and fun. There is something exciting taking place every week and everywhere. Anyone can be a participant or a spectator. Seek your adventures at http://socialeyesnyc.com/manhattan/

Much ado under the stars.

Shakespeare in the Park is a truly enchanting 52nd annual New York adventure. If you like something different, this is it. The event is Free to the public and needless to say it is always very well attended. This summer, Hamish Linklater and Tony® nominee Lily Rabe are set to return to the Park as the wise-cracking, would-be lovers Beatrice and Benedick in the beloved romantic comedy MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING.

The famous Delacorte theatre transforms into Sicily of the old days and the heat of the summer amplifies the intrigue and passion only Shakespeare could describe. Ultimately it’s a colorful tale of love, comedy, and madness. This is a truly exciting performance under the city’s star studded sky. If you’ve never had this New York experience, you haven’t lived in New York. For more info and to get FREE tickets go to: http://publictheater.org/en/Tickets/Calendar/PlayDetailsCollection/FSITP/Much-Ado-About-Nothing/?SiteTheme=Shakespeare

Shall we dance?

    

NYC is a home to many cultures. June 19-28, 2014 is Dance Week. This exhilarating event showcases a number of dance and fitness studios in the format of a Festival. This is a wonderful opportunity to learn about different styles of dance from tap and ballet to ballroom and swing. This event also creates an opportunity to explore a healthy lifestyle by trying disciplines such as yoga and Pilates.

Everyone is welcome to participate and take a step into the world of dance and fitness.

For more information and schedule of events go to http://nycdanceweek.org/about-us.

Calling all Sea Creatures

    

    One of the best celebrations of summer is the famous Mermaid Parade in Coney Island taking place on June 21^st. This colorful multicultural event is a wild showcase of representatives of all the five boroughs of New York City. The community comes together in wild costumes to celebrate Art, community, Spirit, self-esteem and simply joy. Thousands of people are drawn to the famous boardwalk in a kaleidoscope of costumes. This self proclaimed holiday represents the West African Water Festival, Summer Solstice celebration, and Greco Roman theatre. More info on this can be found at http://www.coneyisland.com/programs/mermaid-parade

All that JAZZ

Last July, on a hot summer evening I wandered into a little Jazz Club in Greenwich Village with a friend. Bar Next Door is a charming and cozy hideaway in the heart of the Village. As the music started, the velvet evening filled with energy and rhythm. The passion and sentiment came alive. One of the musicians announced that he was getting married next month in Paris and devoted a song to his fiancé.

As we listened to the music and watched the band play, everyone in the room felt that love, true love was alive and well. One of performers in the band that night was Misha Tsiganov. His jazz piano was infectious and exhilarating. Before we left I couldn’t resist and started a conversation with him. Thanking him for a great musical experience and feeling rejuvenated, we said good night and left into the bright lights of New York’s tourist crowded streets.

A few months later fate brought Misha to Art House Restaurant in Brooklyn, where we met again. That evening Misha was playing an enchanting medley of Latin Jazz with a beautiful singer from St. Petersburg named Irina Zubareva.  The music transported the audience to the sunny beaches of Brazil and infused the soul with sensuality.  They performed several jazz standards and other unusual interpretations to the crowds delight.

About a week later I had the pleasure to talk to Misha about his life and music. As an Artist I always wonder where inspiration comes from and what makes others do what they do. Are music and rhythm all around? Once, watching Spartacus Ballet at the Bolshoi Theatre as a very young child, I took notice of a world famous conductor. I was mesmerized that this man manifested music out of the whole orchestra but I was also sad that he never learned to play a single instrument himselfL

One of the questions I asked Misha was about the genre that he chose. In Russia, Jazz was somewhat taboo like many other western styles of music.  He told me that studying and performing Classical masterpieces, he was always taught to play note- for- note the music of the composers and also to interpret their feelings as they were experienced in the centuries before his time.

Jazz, on the other hand, offered a multitude of interpretations, expression of emotions and new found freedom. Misha is an incredible musician, listening to him play, the world dissolves and you become one with his melody. He is a composer as well. Of course his compositions are JAZZ. To him it’s all about being a self expressed artist and not just someone’s messenger, he carefully jokes. He wants his audience to feel what he is feeling; love, passion, sadness, irony, fear.

Over the years Misha has played with the finest stars of the International Jazz scene. He played and recorded with legends like Chico Freeman, Joe Chambers and many others. He feels honored to be a part of these superb collaborations. His musical talent has matured and developed on the best stages with the masters.

Currently, Misha’s dream is to fulfill his own musical visions. He is great at being a supporting artist playing in the best of bands, but ultimately, it’s his own “voice” that needs to be heard. If you ever get a chance to hear Misha Tsiganov the Jazz Master, it will be an experience you won’t forget. 

For more information, schedules and venues go to www.mishajazzmusic.com

Diana Sorkin

www.dianasmurals.com