© Rosalie O'Connor


American Ballet Theater continues it's 2012 season with Swan Lake. The unmistakably enchanting tale of the forbidden love between the beautiful Princess Odette, and the impassioned Prince Siegfried.  Evil sorcerer Von Rothbart captures Princess Odette and turns her into a swan by day, the spell only broken if a young man, like Prince Siegfried, pledges his love and marries her.  If he were to betray Princess Odette she would remain a swan forever.

This romantic tale is gloriously depicted through the late Peter Ilyitch Tchaikovsky’s musical compositions, costumes and set by Zack Brown, choreography by Kevin Mckenzie, and lighting by Duane Schuler.  Do not miss out on the magnificent choreography, extravagant costumes, breath-taking sets, and brilliant music compositions. An all-inspiring must see.

Final performances tonight and tomorrow at the Metropolitan Opera House

CREATURES OF LIGHT

This past weekend, Creatures of Light: Nature’s Bioluminescence, opened at the American Museum of Natural History. The exhibit reveals some of the most magical, wondrous, and truly extraordinary creatures and phenomena found in the natural world and aims to educate us on how and why these fascinating creatures emit light.

However academic, Creatures of Light manages to preserve that other worldly mystery, even cherishes it. Treating its installations as if they were an actual bioluminescent bay of glowing plankton in Puerto Rico, or bright strands of glow worms hanging from the massive ceilings of the Waitomo Caves of New Zealand, and the pitch blackness of the deep sea where angler fish use a luminous bulb of bacteria dangling above their heads to lure prey into its gaping jaws.

The exhibition department has worked hard to create a hushed, dimly lit habitat throughout. Recreating the conditions under which any bioluminescence is actually seen, giving you a pretty good sense of these worlds and there inherent strangeness.

Visitors will surely treasure the experience of exploring the deep sea homes of luminous fish, shuffling through a field of flashing fire flies, investigating caves strung with jewel like glow worms, and wading through a digital bioluminescent bay that glitters underneath each step. Creatures of Light's fabulous simulations are encaptivating and provide an insightful glimpse of a world that we cannot readily sample.

Interesting and unexpected Pina pays tribute to German dancer Philippina Bausch, a visionary among the contemporary dance community who recently passed in 2009. Bausch, the artistic director of Tanztheater Wuppertal, was known for blending art forms, provoking her dancers with enigmatic statements and abstract questions, and brought dirt, water, and rocks onto the stage.

Directed by Wim Wenders, and creatively captured in 3-D, Pina is a collage of dance, unconventional interviews, archival footage and words that manage to describe Bausch and her very essence. Though the 3-D aspect of Pina may seem easy to dismiss, once engaged it soon seems like the only logical way to showcase each dance performance by creating depth so the dancers can fully inhabit the onscreen world. In turn we no longer simply observe but are embedded in Bausch's imagination.

Arresting, spectacular, heart rending and thrilling. This film is one that just begs to be experienced.

HIGH LIVING / IN VOGUE
INTERIOR DESIGN / VIRGINIA TUPKER

YOANN LEMOINE IS

WOODKID

Illustrator turned film director and now musical artist, Yoann Lemoine has his fingers in many pots. Hailing between Paris and New York, the young director has already made a name for himself in music and fashion working with the likes of Moby, Katy Perry, and playful French pop princess Yelle… not to mention his work with Vogue Italia and Diane Pernet of ASVOFF.

Known for his curiosity, Lemoine has taken a hiatus from his work as film director to explore new creative expression through music with the release of his first EP Iron under the pseudonym Woodkid. Featuring four original tracks, Iron is deceptively simple and multifaceted; eclectically mixing piano, acoustic guitar, orchestral elements and tribal drums. Notably, his self directed video for the title track is a majestic ode to the heroic. Featuring a battle ready Agyness Deyn, Iron is full of rich textures, shadows, and feels like art film meets music video.… Whether it's the music that captivates you or Lemoine's strong sense of imagery, Iron will certainly have you looking for more.

This is one massive story that we're neither here nor there on– but you know we love us some Nicola Formichetti– and the 101 image ode to Gaga shows how critical his styling has been to her brand of autre. And what a job he did! Don't believe us? See early Gaga pop vixen with a pseudo freaky side (Love Game, Poker Face). Enter Nicola (Bad Romance, Telephone) and all of those fabulous paparazzi shots. Head to NY MAG to read the Vanessa Grigoriadis penned feature.

Whoever suggested Bruce LaBruce fly to Paris to interview Karl Lagerfeld– bravo! LaBruce is obviously enamored with Karl, in this case, it makes the interview all the better.

What's a Lagerfeld interview sans choice quotes? The Kaiser always delivers! A few new things we learned from this surprisingly candid interview. Karl thinks of himself as "sophisticated down to earth", doesn't do the bourgeois gay marriage thing, thinks cell phones are like switchboards (he prefers fax and handwritten notes), has a penchant for high-class hookers– he doesn't like to sleep with anyone he loves, refers to his sunglasses as his burka and calls Andy Warhol's look repulsive!

If that's not enough to pique your interest– well, you probably don't care for Karl Lagerfeld. Head to VICE to read the interview.

To-go meals feeding four ($60), eight ($120) or 15 ($225) people are available at this West Village burger joint. Packages include burgers, three kinds of fries and a combo of appetizers. T/ 212.243.8226.

KEFI
At his UWS Greek, Psilakis is offering a $49.95 "Football Feast" that feeds 6–8 people and includes pita chips with tzatziki and hummus, Greek salad, meatballs, spinach mac 'n' cheese, spetsofai and a choice of souvlaki or roasted chicken with lemon potatoes. It can be picked up at the restaurant, or delivered at no extra charge. T/ 212.873.0200.

KYOTOFU
This midtown spot is hosting a "Anti-Super Bowl Party" featuring half-off drinks, special $18 finger-food assortments for two and a screening of the film classic Tampopo. T/ 212.974.6012.