skooldem1
01-28-2013, 11:44 PM
Diana Ross Working Rehearsal
[[1352)
Details: Diana Ross
Majestic Theatre San Antonio
San Antonio, TX
Mon, 01/28/13
04:00 PM
This was mentioned on another site, and I didn't know if it meant what it seems. Apparently so. Diana starts her live dates tomorrow and the San Antonio show is sold out. In a first, she opened up her rehearsal to fans and the public. Here is a great story of the rehearsal. Pictures are included on the website.
************************************************** *************
Diana Ross is the boss at rehearsal for Tuesday’s show
Singing superstar Diana Ross, 68, [[she turns 69 March 26) proved she, indeed, is the boss with a rehearsal show for several hundred fans who paid $25 per ticket to see the former Supremes headliner in action at the Majestic Theatre Monday night.
Her show, based on the rehearsal, will be a showstopper, also at the Majestic and no doubt filled with heartfelt multiple standing O’s [[she received a trio of them at her rehearsal) Tuesday night.
And fans, especially those who have followed her since her days as lead singer for the 1960s girl group, The Supremes, are in for a trip down memory lane — and a surprise: if you haven’t seen La Ross in ages she looks ageless, even in her laid-back oh-so-casual rehearsal look of black sleeveless tank top over black slouchy pants tucked inside Uggs. [[Occasionally, she’d take the chill off with a hoodie emblazoned on its backside with the words “Life,” “Nature,” “Love.”)
And her pipes ain’t bad either. With 50 years of showbiz Baby Loving under her blinged-out belt, she still is in full control of that voice: so identifiable, sweetly light with terrific tone, all backed by a powerful presence — and all that glorious hair. And this was just a rehearsal with her back to the audience most of the time, with not a sequin in sight, but lots of love and admiration from Ross to her fans.
Ross admitted to the audience, “We’ve never done this before but I decided to open up the rehearsal. Rehearsals are really private, but we’re trying to open up a whole lot of stuff,” she said sweetly to applause and cheers as the rehearsal began shortly before 4 p.m. “This will go till 7 p.m.,” she cautioned. More applause. [[The rehearsal concluded a few minutes before then.)
Ross told her fans: “We won’t sing the songs all the way through. It’s more of a sound check.”
She also apologized to her fans: “I’ll have my back to you so I’m sorry.” But even with her backside in full view, she didn’t forget that her fans were there and often looked over her shoulder and flirted with them or waved and smiled a lot.
She reminded them that recently “I fell off the stage in India” [[reportedly at a November concert for Naomi Campbell’s billionaire boyfriend) “and broke my ankle. It’s sore if I’m on it for too long.” [[Later, she had a slight stumble as she chatted with gospel singers from San Antonio who will perform backup for her for a few songs, but Ross didn’t fall. The audience applauded after she kept her balance, smiled and shrugged it off with a sense of humor.)
With a nine-member band and three back-up singers, Ross occasionally offered stage and sound check advice to those around her. She introduced bandmates during a song and touted the chops of her back up singers. A high table had a box of tissues, bottled water and show notes on it that she often referred to. She spent a good portion of the rehearsal practicing with a San Antonio gospel choir comprised of singers from several churches throughout the city.
“We’re rehearsing, we not really performing,” she told the group and then shared a story with the choir and the audience about performing for President Barack Obama at a holiday concert in December. After a few more rehearsal rounds with the choir she told them: “You did really, really good. And you’re good dancers, too. I love your smiles!”
And then, perhaps sensing that the audience was growing restless because they were there to hear the lady sing the blues or perhaps a Supremes oldie or a signature Ross disco song, she tore into a litany of songs that brought people to their feet and dancing in the aisles: “Do You Know Where You’re Going To [[Theme from “Mahogany”), followed by the rousing “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” [[which she revealed will end Tuesday night’s show) that was met with a minutes-long standing ovation and more cheering and declarations of love from the fans to which Ross replied: “And we were not suppose to be entertaining!”
Then came “Reach Out and Touch [[Somebody’s Hand) with the S.A. choir joining in, Ross told the singers “Right about here we get the audience to sing with us” and then turning to the audience there for the rehearsal “and make you guys work.”
Singing with Ross wasn’t work — Tuesday night’s turnout proved it was a privilege as her adoring fans also sang along to Ross singing Gloria Gaynor’s empowerment anthem “I Will Survive” with many moving closer to the stage, dancing. After a couple more songs, Ross opened the rehearsal with song requests and delivered the goods with her on-the-spot spot-on obligation to sing her heart out. [[I hope she does this at Tuesday night’s show; it was an unforgettable connection she made with appreciative fans on Monday.)
She ended up singing two: “Upside Down” and “The Boss” as more requests were shouted: “Baby Love,” “Stop! In the Name of Love” and “Someday We’ll Be Together.”
“What happened to our rehearsal?” Ross reminded the audience as she laughed along with them. “Let me save some voice for tomorrow night,” she said, affirming her appreciation to everyone, adding “We didn’t’ expect this!”
As she gathered her belongings from the table she looked at her fans, now clustered at the edge of the stage, and said, “This is it you wonderful, wonderful people. We love you. See you later, alligator!”
And with that she was slowly escorted off the stage, stopping briefly to sign a couple of autographs as fans waited until her head of curly hair was out of sight.
http://blog.mysanantonio.com/michael-quintanilla/2013/01/diana-ross-is-the-boss-at-rehearsal-for-tuesdays-show/
[[1352)
Details: Diana Ross
Majestic Theatre San Antonio
San Antonio, TX
Mon, 01/28/13
04:00 PM
This was mentioned on another site, and I didn't know if it meant what it seems. Apparently so. Diana starts her live dates tomorrow and the San Antonio show is sold out. In a first, she opened up her rehearsal to fans and the public. Here is a great story of the rehearsal. Pictures are included on the website.
************************************************** *************
Diana Ross is the boss at rehearsal for Tuesday’s show
Singing superstar Diana Ross, 68, [[she turns 69 March 26) proved she, indeed, is the boss with a rehearsal show for several hundred fans who paid $25 per ticket to see the former Supremes headliner in action at the Majestic Theatre Monday night.
Her show, based on the rehearsal, will be a showstopper, also at the Majestic and no doubt filled with heartfelt multiple standing O’s [[she received a trio of them at her rehearsal) Tuesday night.
And fans, especially those who have followed her since her days as lead singer for the 1960s girl group, The Supremes, are in for a trip down memory lane — and a surprise: if you haven’t seen La Ross in ages she looks ageless, even in her laid-back oh-so-casual rehearsal look of black sleeveless tank top over black slouchy pants tucked inside Uggs. [[Occasionally, she’d take the chill off with a hoodie emblazoned on its backside with the words “Life,” “Nature,” “Love.”)
And her pipes ain’t bad either. With 50 years of showbiz Baby Loving under her blinged-out belt, she still is in full control of that voice: so identifiable, sweetly light with terrific tone, all backed by a powerful presence — and all that glorious hair. And this was just a rehearsal with her back to the audience most of the time, with not a sequin in sight, but lots of love and admiration from Ross to her fans.
Ross admitted to the audience, “We’ve never done this before but I decided to open up the rehearsal. Rehearsals are really private, but we’re trying to open up a whole lot of stuff,” she said sweetly to applause and cheers as the rehearsal began shortly before 4 p.m. “This will go till 7 p.m.,” she cautioned. More applause. [[The rehearsal concluded a few minutes before then.)
Ross told her fans: “We won’t sing the songs all the way through. It’s more of a sound check.”
She also apologized to her fans: “I’ll have my back to you so I’m sorry.” But even with her backside in full view, she didn’t forget that her fans were there and often looked over her shoulder and flirted with them or waved and smiled a lot.
She reminded them that recently “I fell off the stage in India” [[reportedly at a November concert for Naomi Campbell’s billionaire boyfriend) “and broke my ankle. It’s sore if I’m on it for too long.” [[Later, she had a slight stumble as she chatted with gospel singers from San Antonio who will perform backup for her for a few songs, but Ross didn’t fall. The audience applauded after she kept her balance, smiled and shrugged it off with a sense of humor.)
With a nine-member band and three back-up singers, Ross occasionally offered stage and sound check advice to those around her. She introduced bandmates during a song and touted the chops of her back up singers. A high table had a box of tissues, bottled water and show notes on it that she often referred to. She spent a good portion of the rehearsal practicing with a San Antonio gospel choir comprised of singers from several churches throughout the city.
“We’re rehearsing, we not really performing,” she told the group and then shared a story with the choir and the audience about performing for President Barack Obama at a holiday concert in December. After a few more rehearsal rounds with the choir she told them: “You did really, really good. And you’re good dancers, too. I love your smiles!”
And then, perhaps sensing that the audience was growing restless because they were there to hear the lady sing the blues or perhaps a Supremes oldie or a signature Ross disco song, she tore into a litany of songs that brought people to their feet and dancing in the aisles: “Do You Know Where You’re Going To [[Theme from “Mahogany”), followed by the rousing “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” [[which she revealed will end Tuesday night’s show) that was met with a minutes-long standing ovation and more cheering and declarations of love from the fans to which Ross replied: “And we were not suppose to be entertaining!”
Then came “Reach Out and Touch [[Somebody’s Hand) with the S.A. choir joining in, Ross told the singers “Right about here we get the audience to sing with us” and then turning to the audience there for the rehearsal “and make you guys work.”
Singing with Ross wasn’t work — Tuesday night’s turnout proved it was a privilege as her adoring fans also sang along to Ross singing Gloria Gaynor’s empowerment anthem “I Will Survive” with many moving closer to the stage, dancing. After a couple more songs, Ross opened the rehearsal with song requests and delivered the goods with her on-the-spot spot-on obligation to sing her heart out. [[I hope she does this at Tuesday night’s show; it was an unforgettable connection she made with appreciative fans on Monday.)
She ended up singing two: “Upside Down” and “The Boss” as more requests were shouted: “Baby Love,” “Stop! In the Name of Love” and “Someday We’ll Be Together.”
“What happened to our rehearsal?” Ross reminded the audience as she laughed along with them. “Let me save some voice for tomorrow night,” she said, affirming her appreciation to everyone, adding “We didn’t’ expect this!”
As she gathered her belongings from the table she looked at her fans, now clustered at the edge of the stage, and said, “This is it you wonderful, wonderful people. We love you. See you later, alligator!”
And with that she was slowly escorted off the stage, stopping briefly to sign a couple of autographs as fans waited until her head of curly hair was out of sight.
http://blog.mysanantonio.com/michael-quintanilla/2013/01/diana-ross-is-the-boss-at-rehearsal-for-tuesdays-show/