Thursday, July 29, 2010

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Dance Downtown Zydeco and ExperienceLA's Final Dance Video Challenge: 60s Dances

We've been rather fortunate this summer in LA. The weather (so far) has been relatively comfortable, and the evenings nearly downright perfect. So what better way to enjoy the last Friday of July 2010 than dancing under the stars at the Active Arts at the Music Center's Dance Downtown series, where the featured dance style is Zydeco? I know it's where I'll be. Zydeco was also the subject of our latest video contest for July.

And now, our final video contest is "60s Dances." Read on to find out more about this contest and how you can enter to win. (Photo courtesy of Music Center, credit Alex Pitt)

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Comic-Con Weekend 2010

"Do or Do Not..." mug,
new Star Wars Hallmark line.
While it's a little out of scope, it was only a short road trip to find our way to Comic-Con in San Diego this past weekend.  Here's the low-down on my adventure to the land of "popular arts" (if it makes any of the nerds feel better about my attendance, I did buy comic books and a graphic novel at the Darkhorse Comics booth).

[Updated] This Week's Giveaways & Discounts: OC Fair, Glee, RENT, and More!

At ExperienceLA.com we know that some of the best experiences begin with one of our ticket giveaways.  We have giveaways for the OC Fair, VIP Passes to see Jane Lynch Launch her Sue Sylvester figure at Madame Tussauds, and a discount for New Filmmakers LA - Enter all of our promotions at http://bit.ly/xlapromo:

Friday, July 23, 2010

Maria Bermudez returns to LA with exciting Flamenco show

Still trying to figure out your plans for the weekend? Something that's sure to add a little sizzle to the mix is Maria Bermudez Flamenco: Sonidos, Gitanos and Chicana Gypsy Project at the Ford Ampitheatre. (In photo: Bermudez and Baillaor Juan Ogalla (male dancer); taken by Miguel Angel Gonzalez)

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Hollywood Bowl: The Swell Season, She & Him, and The Bird and the Bee

Summer nights in Los Angeles are perfect for picnic outings and outdoor music.  One of the best places to experience this is at the Hollywood Bowl.  On Sunday July 18th I headed out to the Bowl with my friend Jeff to enjoy KCRW's World Festival event featuring male/female songwriting duos: The Swell Season, She & Him, and the Bird and the Bee.  I didn't think about nice Los Angeles summer nights when I had purchased the tickets months ago the moment I heard that one of my favorite band - She & Him (with the endearing and beautiful Zooey Deschanel and the ever-so talented M.Ward) - would be playing.   But I was definitely basking in the lovely weather, good times with a great friend, and awesome music.  We hope you can make it out the Bowl this season too!

Metro Tip:  Take the shuttle from Hollywood/Highland station.  Free with a Metro pass ($4 dollars without). 

Here are some videos from the evening:
The Swell Season - "Drive All Night" (Bruce Springsteen cover)


She & Him - "I Put A Spell On You"


-Charity Tran

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Still time to enter for tickets to Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at the Music Center

There's still a week left to get your video entries submitted to us for our Zydeco dance video challenge (also mentioned on Culture Spot L.A. and About.com's L.A. Travel section). One winner will be randomly selected and announced at the upcoming Dance Downtown Zydeco night, Friday, July 30 at 6:30PM. (Photo courtesy of Music Center, taken by Alex Pitt)

Tweet to Win! Meet Tennis Star Sam Querrey on Friday!

Tweet and you can win! We have a last minute giveaway to meet Tennis Star Sam Querrey in Santa Monica this Friday!

Details: Two (2) lucky winners and their guest will be invited by American Express to hang out at the Santa Monica beach this Friday, July 23rd with Sam Querrey ahead of his appearance at the US Open Series Farmers Classic event in Los Angeles beginning on Monday, July 26. The event will be three hours, starting 11:30 am, and will feature a catered lunch, games and a meet-and-greet with Sam.

How to Win: Follow us on Twitter @experiencela and retweet the phrase -"RT @experienceLA I want to meet Tennis Star Sam Querrey! http://bit.ly/meetquerrey"

Deadline: RT us by Thursday, July 22nd at 10:00am. If you win, you'll hear from us shortly thereafter!

Photo: Sam Querrey, London/Wimbledon, from his official website: http://www.samquerrey.com/.

-ExperienceLA Staff

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Tips to Break Into the Animation Industry

While Tiina was having a great time exploring Anime Expo this year, I was roaming around having a great time too.  In the midst of cosplayers, anime video rooms, and an exhibition hall that had no problems accepting money from me, were a number of educational workshops including one I attended called "Breaking Into the Animation Industry."

The panel featured  Will Feng (moderator), Lori Lane (recruiter), Brianne Drouhard (Teen Titans), Jay Oliva (Batman: The Brave and the Bold, Justice League), Valerie Fletcher (South Park, American Dad), Alan Wan (Ben 10, Teen Titans), Irineo Maramba (Transformers: Animated, Teen Titans), and George Krstic (Downtown, Megas XLR, Star Wars: Clone Wars).  (Panelists named in photo from right-to-left)

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Anime Expo 2010 Recap: Day 3 & 4

Day 3: Rock n Cosplay.
Saturday seemed like the busiest day at Anime Expo 2010, with everyone off work, they all descended onto the Los Angeles Convention Center... in cosplay! I don't know how many photos I took of different people in cosplay, but I do know that I don't even think I got 1/3 of the people dressed up. It was crazy.

Monday, July 12, 2010

Crazy Good: The Lieutenant of Inishmore

I took a break from Anime Expo 2010 to go see The Lieutenant of Inishmore at the Mark Taper Forum with my friend Charity. Two key words got me there: Monty Python and Chris Pine. Okay, so maybe that's four words (five if you count the "and"). I love the "let's be ridiculous and proper at the same time" humor of the British comedy troupe Monty Python, and Inishmore went above and beyond on the ridiculousness. As a Trekkie, being able to see Chris Pine (who played Kirk in the latest Star Trek film) was icing on the cake.

Thursday, July 08, 2010

Anime Expo 2010 Recap: Day 1 & 2

Day 1: I started my AX 2010 early riding on the Blue Line to the Pico Station and walking over to Nokia Theater for the red carpet event before Opening Ceremonies. The sides were already crowded with fans and photographers, but I got my shot of J-rock band Sophia (excited fan moment #2!) plus I was thoroughly impressed with Beni's fashion-sense. Oh wait! She has her own fashion show in Japan! Beni was born and raised for 8 years in southern California before moving to Japan and this was her first time back. She opened for Sophia on Saturday (Day 3) with her own Jpop hits topping the Oricon chart in Japan.

Saturday, July 03, 2010

Dance Video Challenge #2: Zydeco

Thanks to everyone who made it out to Friday night's Dance Downtown Bhangra & Bollywood event at the Music Center. If you missed the chance to enter our Dance Downtown Video Challenge for this style, you're in luck! We've got two more opportunities for you to win tickets to an upcoming dance performance at the Music Center, donated by Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at the Music Center.

The next dance style in our video challenge is "Zydeco." Zydeco is the upbeat, fun, Creole two-step dance originating from Southwest Louisiana.

Check out our video and instructions (after the jump), then come join us for a free night of dance lessons and good times. (Photo courtesy of Music Center, credit Alex Pitt)

Anime Expo 2010: Half-way Done, All-the-way Fun

It's Saturday morning, and I'm getting ready for another full day of excitement at Anime Expo 2010. Up to this point, I've been to the Opening Ceremonies (my first time actually), J-rock Sophia's Panel, Bandai Industry Panel (another first for me), Kisaragi (a theatrical play with lead vocalist Mitusuru Matsuoka of Sophia) and the evening Laser Spectacular show as well as

Thursday, July 01, 2010

LA Film Festival Closing: "Despicable Me"

The closing film to this year's Los Angeles Film Festival was the world premiere of "Despicable Me".  Popcorn and soda at hand, I'm sure others in the filled Nokia Theatre shared my opinion that this movie was a great closing event to this year's festival.

(Pictured: Minions led the walk way to Will Call)