“Rosalee,
I wanted to drop you a note to thank you for the wonderful job you did last evening. We all really enjoyed seeing you dance. With the audience participation, I don't think I've laughed that hard in my entire life! I'm sure that everyone will be talking about this celebration for a long time to come! Thanks so much and all the very best.
Christina Harris
Ipswich Rotary Club”

“Bridget,
Thank you so much for a great performance. The volunteers just loved it! I've heard nothing but rave revues from everyone!
Sue Tremblay, Director
CMC Volunteer Resources”

“Hi Marta ~ The girls were great and a big hit.
Thank you
Kristin Lysik”

“Hello Marta,
Your dancers were fabulous! They did a great job and everyone was very happy with the performance. In fact, our caterer asked for your business card so if she receives another luau job, she will refer your group.
Thank you and take care.
Donna
Donna Contrada
DentaQuest Ventures, Inc.”

“Hi Marta,
Thank you so much for yesterday -- everything was great!
Linda Apple
Director of Volunteer and Community Programs
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston”

“Hi Marta,
I just wanted to say thank you.  Rosalie and Bridget were wonderful!  We all enjoyed the performances, the guests were very happy and raved about them all night.  On top of that they were very pleasant.  I just wanted to let you know that I am very pleased and will highly recommend your services to others.
Thanks Again
Doreen Lozzi”

"Dear Bridget,
Thank you for a wonderful performance and I hope to use your services again.
Thank you,
Gabrielle Leary"

“Dear Marta, I would like to express my sincere gratitude for making my parents' 46th anniversary a very special night. Your performance was colorful,well done, in good taste and entertaining.
Sincerely,
Ralph Palmucci"

“Dear Bridget and Dawn,
Thank you for teaching us how to hula! The evening was perfect, but would not have been complete without your authentic, creative routine.
Thanks a lot!
P.S. Simba liked the coconuts! J
Piano Craft Guild”

“Dear Marta,
I wanted to thank you and Bridget and Dawn for a wonderful performance last weekend. My parents and my guests were thrilled! Bridget and Dawn are so talented. Thanks for helping to make our day a success!
Sincerely,
Leslie Gordon”

“Hi Marta,
I just wanted to send along this note of thanks for recommending Bridget Vellucci to perform at the birthday party for my granddaughter Angela that was held at the Four Points Sheraton in Revere on Saturday 08/16/03.
I have to say that not only did the children enjoy her performance but also the adults. One woman had mentioned that she had never been to Hawaii, nor had ever seen an official live hula dance done. Though after seeing Bridget’s performance it made her feel that she was attending a Hawaiian luau.
I had provided grass skirts for the girls with flowered headbands and the boys had grass hats and leis. Bridget gave each of the children a Hawaiian musical instrument of which they used to make music and dance to. Needless to say the children seemed to be in awe of what they were experiencing.
Once again thank you for an enjoyable afternoon.
Viola M. Norkus
East Boston, MA”

“Just wanted to let you know that Bridgett did a splendid job at my daughter's birthday party. The girls were in awe of her! Everyone enjoyed the show and the girls were so excited to learn the Hula dance.
It was the best kid's party ever. Thank you!
Jackie O'Dea”

MUSIC REVIEW
This version of 'Stop' is worth a look and a listen
By Richard Dyer, Globe Staff, 11/2/2002
CAMBRIDGE - For its third annual visit to the early days of Broadway, American Classics chose Irving Berlin's second show, ''Stop! Look! Listen!'' It wasn't a big hit, but it did contribute two songs to the Great American Songbook, ''The Girl on the Magazine Cover'' and ''I Love a Piano.''
There are 20 other numbers. Some of them are nearly as good, and one of them, the second act finale, is one of the most extended and ambitious musical sequences Berlin ever wrote, a parody of a Pearl White Hollywood melodrama in ragtime - and the story parallels the first scene in Mozart's ''Don Giovanni!'' Berlin also capitalized on a craze for Hawaii by setting one act there and writing some ''Hawaiian'' novelty numbers - hardly politically correct by today's standards, but charming nevertheless.
If it is hard to hear the future composer of ''Annie Get Your Gun'' in this work by the 27-year-old Berlin, the score still has irresistible tunes, rhythmic vitality and, already, mastery of techniques (like writing songs that can stack up in counterpoint) that would serve him well for decades. His unabashed patriotism strikes a responsive chord today.
The book is by Harry B. Smith and the plot is sheer silliness, involving a chorus girl who wants to be a star, a couple of millionaires, and gold-diggers of both sexes; the hero is a press agent. Some lines still get laughs - ''We have elevated tastes on a subway income,'' someone says. ''He's the mucilage baron,'' someone else says. ''Stick to him.'' There are topical allusions to celebrities like Charlie Chaplin, the pianist ''Pade- roo -ski,'' and the chic French chanteuse Gaby Deslys, who was the star of ''Stop! Look! Listen!''
Many of the parts were tailor-made for Broadway, vaudeville, and music hall performers; it's asking a lot for young performers today to recreate the career specialties of stars of nearly a century ago. Bradford Conner and Ben Sears, producers and editors of this edition, did provide some neat doubletalk, however, and the ensemble singing from the American Classics crew was exhilarating last night.
The women outsang and outdictioned the men - Mary Callanan has a real Broadway mamma voice, and Mary Ann Lanier, Valerie Anastasio, and Bree Greig were especially accomplished; among the men Brent Reno was amusing as a would-be gigolo and Jim Jordan cultivated a funny uncultivated accent in the part of Owen Coyne, a theatrical manager.
Three members of Polynesian Dance Arts - Kouri Cataldo, Lesley Lam, and Bridget Vellucci - offered authentic and beautiful hula dancing; their skirts billowed like waves capped with foam. Margaret Ulmer brought style and panache to the piano arrangements, and all the performers seemed to be having enough fun to atone for any shortfalls of voice or budget.
There isn't enough innocent merriment in the world, so it's nice to have ''Stop! Look! Listen'' back with us.
`STOP! LOOK! LISTEN!
Musical by Irving Berlin, presented by American Classics in the Longy School last night (repeats tomorrow afternoon).
This story ran on page E5 of the Boston Globe on 11/2/2002.


 

 

Copyright 2006 Polynesian Dance Arts
Designed by Lesley Lam and Bridget Vellucci