At a Glance…

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Author Archives: jayneanastasia


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Dancing with the Stars Season 16 – Week 7: Dance Off

Hector Starts Us Off:

Here’s the Lucky seventh week episode, Latin Night, with no one less than featured mega stars Juanes and Michael Buble! DWTS is outdoing themselves!  I love the DWTS production team ideas for Season 16!  Hope this creativity and no-expense-spared attitude will push ratings through the roof!  Can we  have eight more years of DWTS?  What can I tell you, I love this show!  Juanes is a genuine Latin star, very big in Hispanic America for years now, but apparently now interested in a crossover effort.  Love to have him splash into American TV, thanks to DWTS.  The Colombian singing idol is very authentic, full of beans, individualistic singer!  His performances were short versions of his greatest hits, plus Tengo Una Camisa Negra, a big Juanes song, enhanced by a fun and festive dance feature by Troupe members.  This sophisticated, elegant, carnival-like choreography was smoothly done by Louis Van Amstel.  Read More…


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Dancing with the Stars Season 16 – Week 6: What a Wonder!

Jayne:  This week our review will be brought to us exclusively by Hector!  He’s provided a great breakdown of ALL the action of the entire two nights of dancing, drama and frivolity!  Thanks Hector, for taking on the full enchilada!

Hector:

We’re halfway through Season 16!  Isn’t DWTS a great scenario for celebrating Stevie Wonder Night, with the glittery grand ballroom, the handsome couples swirling around, and Stevie’s wonderful, melodic and dance-able music?!  Not to mention the best treat, Stevie himself, singing some of his music.  Strange to have the band singers doing a Stevie imitation, though, when he’s right there.  Shouldn’t they have tried a different interpretation of Mr. Wonder’s music? Didn’t matter, it was a Wonder-ful night with great music and dancing.  Stevie’s music is just right for DWTS, reminiscent of disco, with a bit of funky and a lot of Motown soul, what could be a better blend?  It’s fared well through the years, keeping its currency and melodic beauty.  It was also cute to hear Zendaya eulogize Stevie!  Proof that he sounds cool to young ears!  Read More…


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Meet Eden!

Lucy Campbell and Libby Johnstone are dynamic vocalists blending their gifts to create a unique Classical/Crossover sound.  Forming the duo of Eden, their musical background with operatic range vocals and Classical sound has been expanded to include a varied repertoire of Classical as well as Modern selections, including Theatrical, Rock and Pop genera.  Creating and producing their own arrangements, this Classical/Crossover allows Eden a broad range of appeal with an interesting mix of sounds.  Eden has performed worldwide as well as booking the inaugural sail of the Celebrity Cruise ship, The Reflection.  Read More…


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Dancing with the Stars Season 16 – Week 5: Side by Side

Hector’s Introduction to Week 5:

Following the Pro Couple, or Side by Side as they are calling it, turned out to be a good idea after all!  I was dubious at first, but to quote the Bard All’s well that ends well! I like it, how creative the DWTS production team is!  I’m a sucker for new twists and imagination!  That said, I’m also unfortunately the first to dump on the creators when the idea doesn’t work as well, like their dubious Prom Night!  In general, in the making of this show, there’s a lot of improvisation, or call it serendipity.  It’s part of the charm and attraction of DWTS.  In this live show, things don’t always turn out ideally.  This would seem logically appropriate, except big networks don’t like losing lots of money or ratings on slightly dysfunctional episodes.  I might add that Tom Bergeron, master of ceremonies supreme, helps a lot in fixing and balancing this show!  His humor and talent for making us trust that things are under control when they aren’t, is unparalleled!  Read More…


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Dancing with the Stars Season 16 – Week 4: The Best Year of our Lives!

Dancing with the Stars Season 16 – Week 4:  The Best Year of our Lives!

Hector:  Introduction

Week 4 theme brings us The Best Year of our Lives represented in dance.  Get out your handkerchiefs and prepare for an inspiring night.  This is a good theme night because it’s supposed to bring out the contender’s emotions.  If the dancing star cannot put his feelings into dance, nor have an emotional bond with his dancing partner and the viewing audience, it will not work, neither aesthetically or meaningfully.  Whether you’re a dance expert or just an average viewer watching, if it leaves you cold, it failed.   It won’t get the applause, nor the votes.  So get ready for a satisfying review, cause this theme succeeded in eliciting feelings in the dancers, the pros, and in our hearts!  Read More…


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Dancing with the Stars Season 16 – Week 3 Prom Night!

Here we go again!   Hector and Jayne’s dialectic over that entertainment milestone in American TV Culture.  What else?  Dancing With The Stars!  Week 3 brings us PROM NIGHT on April Fools Day!!

Hector:  Does anyone have mixed feelings about their prom?   Yeah, yeah!   Most everyone, even if you were Prom Queen or King (which I was not) probably feels this way.  Celebrating an experience like Prom Night, which often brings feelings of inadequacy, is risky.  It could be funny and successful, like Grease the movie was, or it could be a turkey.  I would dub Dancing with the Stars Prom Night at best a mixed bag; at worse a ship of fools.  Biggest fools were the production team, who had the badly handled idea!  It didn’t help much to enhance most of the couples dancing and at times made them look foolish.  Of course, it’s my opinion.   Read More…


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Dancing with the Stars Season 16 – Week 2 Thoughts!

Jazz, Jive and Quickstep!

Hector here!  Dancing with the Stars Season 16, Week 2!  Here we go again folks!   Going down the roller coaster with mixed emotions!  First week is like we’re going up and up.  This week we’re alternately thrilled and downbeat, euphoric for some, sad for others.  Jayne and I are going to break it down…so let’s get to it!  Read More…


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Dancing with the Starts Season 16 – New Pros, New Stars, New Dances!

Dancing with the Stars – Premier Review

If you are not a regular reader of At a Glance Mag, you may not have noticed a semi-common thread through a number of articles and interviews published here.  Dancing with the Stars is a favorite television show of mine and I have become acquainted with many lovely people who have been generous and helpful in providing their time to share with us.  So, it should come as no surprise that there will be some coverage of the show itself as it kicks off it’s 16th Season!  For this first night of dancing, I’ve invited one of our contributors, Hector, to share a bit of his impressions of the couples, the dances, chemistry…whatever he may feel like voicing.  Since I couldn’t stand to let him have all the fun, I decided to add my two cents in as well.  So, we will start off with an introduction paragraph from Hector and then a breakdown of each couple, listed in the order of HIS preference!  Read More…


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Introducing Musician and Composer Chris Hyson

A Visit with Chris Hyson

Photo Courtesy of Chris Hyson

I have heard music and other art forms being described as mediums that create emotion which affords us the ability to experience rather than just intellectually understand what the artist is trying to communicate.  I relate to this as I find the best way to describe music is that it moves me, and I don’t mean that in just a physical way.  As much as I love to dance, music moves me emotionally, I feel it inside.  And I think most people would agree.  That’s why it’s easy to say that it only took a moment for me to fall in love with Chris Hyson’s music.  From my first introduction to the soft jazz melodies, this music was speaking my language, I felt it inside.  Read More…


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Seth Peterson – Renaissance Man

Catching up with actor Seth Peterson…

Seth as Robbie in “Providence”
Photo Courtesy of Seth Peterson

There are places I remember..all my life, though some have changed. The melodic sounds of the Lennon/McCartney penned In My Life was the opening theme to one of my favorite long running NBC Network television series titled Providence.  The show centered on a young plastic surgeon named Dr. Sydney Hansen, played by Melina Kanakaredes, and the misadventures of her family members.  Younger brother, Robbie, was a likable gent who in spite of his kind heart, usually ended up in some type of unseemly financial situation.  The relationship between Sydney and Robbie was heartwarming, frustrating and touching.  Providence’s Robbie was my first introduction to the wonderfully talented actor, Seth Peterson.  Read More…