Anti-boredom shot: John Coltrane's music, classical ballet dancers, crooner James Love and the local jazz high priests Atman Ensemble

Noir sounds intriguing enough to me.

A ‘sultry jazz noir ballet’ said their press materials, ‘exploring the smokin’, cabaret style celebration of the Greenwich Village jazz scene of the 1950’s…’

Mmm!

I’m there, I thought… and it’s gonna be outdoors at that gorgeous venue called the Ford: balmy, sexy, and I hope, lasting very long. I’m actually gonna picnic for this event: a whole bottle of plum tea, wine, crackers, cheese. No cell phone. Weekend bliss.

Pss pss… wanting to get out of the usual movie weekend and/or assorted spastic/compulsive visits to the mall? Why don’t you plan for yourself something cool-cat, something unusual and bold? Say, a picnic totally old-fashioned at The Ford, basket and blanket included, glassware, silverware, plus two tickets for the intriguing show “Behind the Red Door” mentioned above. Don’t take calls, be important and all for yourself.

If you go with someone, take your companion inside and congratulate yourself for feeling like the Romans must have felt around the time of Rome’s splendor: walking into an open air amphitheatre, looking down on the stage and getting the tickles the spectator gets right before the beginning of an exquisite show.

As you and your partner in crime sip the last bit of your drinks, the lights go down and you know what will follow: dancers appear (a dozen of them from the highly regarded City Ballet of Los Angeles, bodaciously choreographed by that beloved local dance gem called Robyn Gardenhire) and while obeying strictly on-pointe positions, they will re-interpret thru movement, the sultry sounds of jazz legend John Coltrane.

Your eyes will thank you…

"Those fishnets, those dancers bodies..."

Those fishnets, those dancers’ bodies (your eyes will tell you while you unconsciously suck your gut: ‘those dancers’ bodies’). Guided by the lighting plot, your pupils roam and land in all the right spots: the curve of that perfectly strained muscle, the shiny fabric denouncing the perfect anatomy behind it moving gracefully, defying gravity as it soars.

Goddamn, you have to thank me. I just rescue you from one more anonymous and boring ‘average weekend’ where you head straight to Blockbuster after finishing your work week. Well, actually you have to thank the amazingly versatile dancers and musicians behind this show if you decide to attend.

Shows at the Ford are rather affordable comparing just about every other venue nowadays. If you miss it, well, certainly it couldn’t have been the cash.

You must pardon my obscure intro, but since noir means in French just that I figure I could try getting away with it.

Now, for the bare bone –and much delayed- facts:

“Behind the Red Door”

City Ballet of Los Angeles and the Ford Amphitheatre present BEHIND THE RED DOOR on Friday, October 6 at 8:00 pm. This smokin’, cabaret style celebration of the Greenwich Village jazz scene of the ‘50s features twelve dancers of City Ballet of Los Angeles alongside jazz musicians and crooner James Love. Live on stage will be the acclaimed Atman Ensemble who performs the music of John Coltrane. The first half of the evening highlights two classical pieces from the company’s repertory performed to LIVE classical music, “In Life We…” set to Leonard Bernstein’s “Sonata for Clarinet and Piano,” and “American Immigrant” to Bach’s “Suites for Solo Cello Nos. 7,8,9.”

Tickets are: $20 and $12 for students & children under 12, available at www.FordAmphitheatre.org or 323 461-3673.

This swinging concert and contemporary jazz noir ballet, choreographed by company Artistic Director Robyn Gardenhire, presents a unique merging of precise, classical ballet where dancers in high heels and pointe shoes boldly traverse “Giant Steps,” the innovative musical composition by John Coltrane. The dances take on a whole new expression influenced by Coltrane's music, which runs the gamut from ecstatic, fast-paced numbers to tender lyrical ballads. “Behind the Red Door” was originally choreographed and presented as a developing work at the Henry Fonda Theater in 2005 and has been expanded for the Ford Amphitheatre presentation.  “American Immigrant” will feature audio interviews by NPR’s Roy Hurst of over 20 immigrants from different cultures (including KPFK 90.7 FM’s Sonali Kolhatkar & Sergio Mielniczenko and a Polish/Jewish holocaust survivor) now living in Los Angeles speaking about their mother country’s food, politics, poetry, and the personal loss and joy of relocating to the U.S. with large-scale projections of their portraits by acclaimed L.A. photographer, DJ and filmographer (Keepintime: Talking Drums and Whispering Vinyl, 2000) Brian Cross.