The Dancer - Degas, Toulouse-Lautrec and Fourain - at the Portland (OR) Art Museum

This landmark exhibition, appearing exclusively at the Portland Art Museum, February 2 - May 11, 2008, explores the complex image of the dancer in the work of three artists intrigued by various manifestations of dance in fin-de-siècle Paris: Edgar Degas (1834-1917), Jean-Louis Forain (1852-1931), and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864-1901). The Dancer presents an international roster of more than 110 works of art, including rarely seen paintings, pastels, drawings, prints, and sculptures from collections in Europe and the United States.
As cultural icons of fin-de-siècle Paris, the dancers, as well as their audiences, proved fascinating subjects for artists who sought to depict modernity. Decades later, not only do these remarkable works illustrate the differences in social classes between patrons and performers, and among the dancers themselves, but they evoke a sense of being a spectator of one of the favorite forms of diversion in turn-of-the-century France.
The Dancer will include loans from the collections of many distinguished institutions, including the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, the Kimbell Art Museum, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Musée d’Orsay, the National Gallery of Art, Washington, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art, as well as from private collections in the United States, France, Spain, and the United Kingdom.
A highlight of the exhibition will be a tour led by Dr. Annette Dixon, Curator of Graphics for the Portland Art Museum, team leader for this exhibition and a former member of the Board of Directors of the Alliance Française de Portland, tout en français, Friday evening March 7, from 6-7PM.

Eric Vincent Tournée aux Etats-Unis - 2008

The French singer-songwriter, Eric Vincent (http://www.eric-vincent.com), will be back in the USA in the Fall of 2008 for a new tour on campuses. The tournée will begin at the end of September and will last until Thanksgiving. If you are interested in a concert and/or a workshop session, to help the promotion of French in your College, University or High School, we recommend that you contact Marie-Claude Barbin, as soon as you can, indicating what date would be best for your program.

She will be very happy to discuss schedules, prices and any other questions you may have about the organization of a concert.

Recent Concert News Release:
November 19,2007: - Eric Vincent Concert in Chapel Hill, NC - To see the slide Show click on: Slide Show - Chapel Hill NC Concert.

PS : Teachers of French might enjoy noting that Eric is featured in the following textbooks:

• "C'est Comme Ca" (Valette & Valette)
• "Sans Bornes" (Holt Rinehart & Winston)
• "Si on chantait avec..." (Didier/Hatier)
  
  

You can also see Eric Vincent in the video sponsored and distributed by AATF : Reflets Français.
You can also get Eric Vincent CD's on line.

THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY, directed by Julian Schnabel, is the remarkable true story of Jean-Dominique Bauby (Mathieu Amalric), a successful and charismatic editor-in-chief of French Elle, who believes he is living his life to its absolute fullest when a sudden stroke leaves him in a life-altered state. While the physical challenges of Bauby's fate leave him with little hope for the future, he begins to discover how his life's passions, his rich memories and his newfound imagination can help him achieve a life without boundaries. Here's an excerpt from a review in the International Herald Tribune of 4 Dec 2007 -

Julian Schnabel has made three feature films: "Basquiat," "Before Night Falls" and now "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly." All are biographical, examining the lives of real people, and in each case the protagonist struggles with a condition of literal or metaphorical imprisonment. Jean-Michel Basquiat, Schnabel's younger colleague in the New York art scene of the 1980s, is trapped by addiction and by his outsider status. Reinaldo Arenas, the gay Cuban poet whose memoir was the basis of "Before Night Falls," is censored, harassed and locked up by successive dictatorships.
Jean-Dominique is played by Mathieu Amalric, an actor whose twitching, antic physicality makes the character's immobility all the more painful. But "The Diving Bell," true to its hero and its literary source, is neither morbid nor mawkish. Propped up in a wheelchair, able to communicate only by blinking his left eye (the other, in one especially nightmarish scene, has been sewn shut to prevent infection), he remains a sensualist, a bon vivant and a keen literary wit.

Working with the brilliant cinematographer Janusz Kaminski, he uses light and color to convey the world of sensations from which Jean-Dominique is exiled, but which he appreciated all the more acutely for that reason. And so, curiously enough, a movie about deprivation becomes a celebration of the richness of experience, and a remarkably rich experience in its own right. In his memoir Bauby performed a heroic feat of alchemy, turning horror into wisdom, and Schnabel, following his example and paying tribute to his accomplishment, has turned pity into joy.

"The Diving Bell and the Butterfly." MPAA rating: PG-13 for nudity, sexual content and some language. Running time: 1 hour, 52 minutes. In French with English subtitles. In limited release.

 

For more information on schedules, cities and showtimes contact Jennifer Freeman.

 

Now playing in New York City and Los Angeles

 

Come to Quebec - 2008!

In May of 2008, Paul Azzara and the Alliance Française de St. Louis will be hosting a group of 20 to 30 AF members who will have the opportunity to experience this beautiful, French-speaking Canadian city like a true native.
Here is Paul's description of the trip:
The Alliance Française de St. Louis is going to Quebec City in 2008 and we'd like you to consider joining us. Here's what this wonderful trip is all about.
Over an extended weekend, we'll see Quebec from the ground up, exploring the dramatic old town on foot and traveling to the environs to get a real feel for what the city has to offer. We even have a dinner planned in theoldest restaurant in North America so, if you've ever considered visiting this intriguing provincial capital in Canada, I'd suggest that this could be your time.
Our headquarters in Quebec will be the beautiful Hotel Clarendon, a tradition in the city since 1870 and believed by many to be the finest hotel in Quebec. The Clarendon is situated in a quiet neighborhood right in the heart of the old city, and I sincerely believe we could not have found a nicer place to stay. Check out the Hotel Clarendon for yourself at Hotel Clarendon. I know I've just scratched the surface in telling you about our trip but I hope I've tempted you enough to get you to inquire about it and, hope¬fully, to make the decision to join us. To find out more, either drop me a return email with your questions or call me at the Alliance. I can't tell you how excited I am about this wonderful traveling adventure and do hope you'll consider joining us.
Fill out the Registration Form and send it to the Alliance Française de St. Louis at the address shown on the form.
Please contact the Alliance Française de St. Louis at 314-432-0734 for more information or contact Paul Azzara directly at Alliance Française de St. Louis

Specialty French Films Available for Local Showing

Veronique Courtois, an Alliance member based in Santa Monica, CA, has recently bought two unique French films and is interested in working an arrangement for local Alliances to present them to their members.
The first one is called ANOTHER WOMAN and it is selected at the San Francisco Gay & Lesbian FF as well as Outfest in Los Angeles. I plan to release it on DVD for December 1, 2007. I also just bought a beautiful French woman's film called LILI & THE BAOBAB by Chantal Richard with Romane Bohringer.

Ms. Courtois writes "I'm trying to have it selected in film festivals in the fall and will release it on DVD in the Spring of 2008. The website is www.lili-et-le-baobab.com. I'd be happy to offer these films for screenings at the different Alliances Francaises in the US for a very reasonable price. Please don't hesitate to contact me if you need more information. I taught French film and French studies for 15 years in Boston before moving to Los Angeles and working in film distribution (notably for Strand Releasing). I'd be happy to send you screener copies of these two films if you were interested.

For more information, please contact her directly at:

Veronique Courtois

CASQUE D'OR FILMS

8424 A Santa Monica Blvd, #731

W. Hollywood, CA 90069 U.S.A.

Tel: 310-963-5473

www.casquedorfilms.com

 

Federation of Alliances Françaises - USA       Tel: 800-6 FRANCE       E-mail: federation@afusa.org
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