All the right moves: Ike Anderson started crafting his own dance routines in middle school, connecting moves to build confidence and battle stress. In recent years, he’s prepared dozens of teens for step and hip-hop dance competitions through his classes at the Music Resource Center. Anderson’s free online HipHop Dance WorkShop series couldn’t come at a better time—it’ll get stay-at-home butts of all ages movin’.
In the bag: Pinnell Custom Leather’s timeless style
Chuck Pinnell found his calling right out of high school, when his love of art and crafting drew him to leather as a medium. After learning the trade in a harness shop in Colonial Williamsburg during the Bicentennial, he later moved to Middleburg to take over a tack repair business, mending
Take us out
In an ongoing effort to support local dining establishments during the pandemic, our writers have been enjoying a variety of takeout meals from some of their favorite restaurants. Contribute to this ongoing series by sending your own delicious experiences to living@c-ville.com. Ivy Inn
PICK: Mounty Python and the Holy Grail
Ridiculous history: Before there was Spamalot, there was Monty Python and the Holy Grail. The British comedy film crossed the pond in 1975 to become a box office hit in the U.S., while entering ridiculous quotes (“It’s just a flesh wound”) into the pop culture lexicon. The wacky retelling of
PICK: Burns Supper
Burning love: Since 1801 the life of poet Robert Burns has been celebrated with an annual meal on or near his January 25 birthday. Deemed a Burns Supper, the dinner consists of haggis (sheep or calf offal seasoned, and boiled in a bag made from the animal’s stomach), tatties (mashed potatoes),
Guest of the artist: Local rapper Fellowman releases Death of the Author along with digital performance
Cullen Wade considers himself a guest in the house of hip-hop. And he’s trying to make the most of his visit. Going by the name of Fellowman, the Charlottesville emcee recently dropped a new LP and performed it in its entirety during a late December Facebook livestream. The 12-track collection,
PICK: Hot Cheese
Cheesy goodness: In the intro to her cookbook Hot Cheese: Over 50 Gooey, Oozy, Melty Recipes, Polina Chesnakova writes: “…something happens when you apply heat to curds: a setting of the stage. A bubbling pot of fondue, a half wheel of raclette as it blisters and caramelizes under a
PICK: Sweet Honey in the Rock
Solidarity in song: Raising voices and raising awareness since 1973, Sweet Honey in the Rock is an African American a cappella group with a broad range of performance credits, from “Sesame Street” to Carnegie Hall. With mesmerizing harmonies and gifted lyrical flow, the ensemble addresses civil
PICK: Jorma Kaukonen
Hot licks: It would be a disservice to call Jorma Kaukonen anything other than rock royalty. The Washington, D.C., native is on Rolling Stone’s 100 Greatest Guitarists list. He’s a founding member of Jefferson Airplane and Hot Tuna, has performed with Janis Joplin and Jerry Garcia, and still
History repeats: Vinegar Hill ushers in Charlottesville Players Guild’s season
Two decades ago, Terésa Dowell-Vest embarked on a research project. After attending grad school in California, the actor and playwright set out to collect the oral histories of family and community members in her hometown of Charlottesville. The product of this research was 1999’s Vinegar Hill,
PICK: Labryrinth
Birthday Bowie: In the mid-’80s, a Jim Henson and George Lucas film collaboration was guaranteed to generate big buzz—tack on the casting of rock star/actor David Bowie, and the anticipation was palpable. The musical fantasy Labyrinth follows the journey of a teenage girl through a maze to
PICK: The Earlysville Bluegrass Boys
Band of brothers: With a sound beyond their years, you’d never guess that the Heetderks brothers are all under age 17. Picking out traditional bluegrass and gospel as The Earlysville Bluegrass Boys, David (banjo, dobro), John (mandolin, fiddle), and Daniel (guitar, bass) have made a name for
PICK: Wildrock’s Winter Wonderland Trail
Get out together: Some of the best aspects of the season are on display during a tour of Wildrock’s Winter Wonderland Trail. Track animals and learn their survival habits, get an up-close look at snowflake patterns, and play a woodland game to match gnome mittens. Small groups can make a
Now a filmmaker: Stephen Canty’s long-awaited Once a Marine makes digital debut
Louisa native Stephen Canty’s documentary about adjusting to civilian life after Marine Corps deployment to Afghanistan was released in November. A lot’s changed since the UVA alum began working on the film, Once a Marine, more than seven years ago. For one thing, he is no longer a Louisa
Looking up: Laura Wooten’s ‘View from the Ridge’ offers 99 visions of hope
She paints the same view day after day, recording the subtle and great changes of hour, season, and weather. Her subject is both profoundly familiar to her and constantly changing. Laura Wooten’s “View from the Ridge” at Second Street Gallery features 90 small paintings (8 inches x 8 inches)
PICK: Fast forward
Bah humbug? We think not. This year, Dickens is going digital! Join Jacob Marley, the three ghosts, and Tiny Tim as Scrooge navigates his cranky journey and discovers the joy of Christmas—even in 2020. John Harrell stars in American Shakespeare Center’s annual adaptation of A Christmas Carol,
Listening from home
COVID-19 has taken an unfathomable amount of lives, and its reverberations have disrupted our most cherished industries—the music business included. The onset of the pandemic brought studio sessions, live performances, and large-scale concerts to a screeching halt, rendering musicians,
Rear viewings
Saying that this year has been an anomaly is a comical understatement. So much of our daily life has been uprooted and, to mirror our own bodies, movies were not immune from these changes either. Before we start writing eulogies for Cinema with a capital “C” and discussing the fall of the
Foodie musings
We are all ready to leave 2020 behind, but as we close it out, let’s take a moment to remember dining experiences, both lost and gained, in this most unusual year. Many well-known establishments shuttered their doors on the Downtown Mall during the pandemic, including Commonwealth Restaurant
Do you remember?: A look back at some of the year’s most memorable C-VILLE stories
It’s been a long year; a year many of us might rather forget. But reflection is important too, and plenty of important and weird stories stuck in our heads this year. So, do you remember… …the historic Black church? In May, we took a deep dive into the history of the church
PICK: The Last Minute Gift Workshop
Elves ourselves: It’s a festive season in a bleak year, and now more than ever, presents should be thoughtful. But let’s face it: Online shopping has become routine and boring. With all those algorithms, who is shopping for whom? The Last Minute Gift Workshop is stocked with interesting art