Meet Multi-talented Choreographer/Dancer Jeffrey Page!

Jeffrey Page’s talents as a dancer and choreographer have taken him everywhere from Hollywood awards shows to West African villages, and have produced collaborations with the biggest names in modern dance as well as superstars of pop music. He was nominated for an Emmy Award for NAACP Image Award choreography in 2005, is credited with giving Beyonce’ Knowles her African flair, more recently served as a resident choreographer on Fox’s reality TV sensation ‘So You Think You Can Dance’ and is credited as one of the choreographers for the upcoming feature film “Step Up 3-D”.

Choreographers across the world fantasize about the once in a lifetime chance to work with Beyoncé Knowles, an extraordinary talent who is known to keep a tight knit circle of dancers and creative people. Although Jeffrey speaks of it casually almost as an after thought he says, “Working with Beyonce, who is one of the hardest and most focused artist that I have ever had the pleasure of working with, has given me a very detailed awareness of my work from outside of myself, working with her has brought me to understand art-making and entertainment in a different way. Her allegiance to quality and passion for "digging deep" has lead me to explore another side of staged art creation and sharpen my eye to developing a heightened theatrical experience.” The multi-faceted choreographer was sought out to work w/ the multi-Grammy Award Winning entertainer on her 2007 world tour “The Beyoncé Experience” in support of her sophomore album B’Day. In 2006 Jeffrey helped choreograph Beyoncé’s performances of “Déjà Vu featuring husband Jay-Z while also choreographing the diva’s performances at The World Music Awards and VH-1 Fashion Rocks Tribute to dance icon Josephine Baker. That same year Jeffrey assisted Beyonce’s resident choreographer Frank Gaston on the MTV Video Music Awards for the song “Ring the Alarm”.


Unlike much of the formulaic African dance that has been incorporated into music videos, films and entertainment over the years Jeffrey brings a traditional authenticity to this intricate and ancient artform. In fact his first statement in rehearsal to the performers of ‘So You Think You Can Dance’ was “This is not going to be Hollywood African.” Those few words pay homage to the continent of Africa whose lexicon, style and rhythms have often been substituted for stereotypes and gimmicks.

Jeffrey has graced the stage at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., starred in Debbie Allen’s Louisiana bayou-set dance musical Soul Possessed, choreographed with Otis Sallid for the Middle Eastern International Film Festival in Abu Dhabi and paid homage to black intellectuals like Langston Hughes and Zora Neal Hurston in play adaptations of their written works. For the gifted virtuoso who earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts with honors from the University of the Arts and jokes about being “tricked” into taking an African dance class by a teacher who advertised it as “hip-hop” Jeffrey is lighting up stage, tv and film with his colorful and creative choreography. Whether he’s combining Korean folklore and Brazilian Samba or conducting anthropological research into traditional dance and music of Senegal, Guinea, the Gambia and Guinea-Bissau, nobody in the industry can deny Jeffrey’s deft ability to create stunning visual collages of work which are transcending cultural barriers.


In the Fall of 2009, Jeffrey expanded his reach even further when he made his Broadway debut in the cast of the new musical FELA!, a show he can still be seen performing in nightly. Click HERE to see Jeffrey Page in FELA! (HELIO PR)

CNN fires veteran editor for Mideast over Tweet

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – CNN has fired a senior editor for Middle East news after she published a Twitter message that said she respected a Lebanese Shi'ite cleric branded a terrorist by the United States, U.S. and British media said on Thursday.

The Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah, one of Shi'ite Islam's highest religious authorities and an early mentor of the militant group Hezbollah, died in Beirut on Sunday.

Octavia Nasr, a 20-year CNN veteran based in Atlanta, wrote on Twitter: "Sad to hear of the passing of Sayyed Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah ... One of Hezbollah's giants I respect a lot," the New York Times reported.

Some supporters of Israel saw the Twitter posting almost immediately and took issue with it, the Times said. CNN officials were not immediately available to speak to Reuters. (AP)

Iowa man arrested after lawn mower ride on highway: Where they do that at?

MADRID, Iowa – A middle-of-the-night ride on a lawn mower landed one Iowa man in jail.

The Boone County Sheriff's Office says deputies stopped the man on Highway 17 near Madrid around 1 a.m. Wednesday after receiving reports of someone driving a mower all over the road with no headlights. Madrid is about 25 miles northwest of Des Moines.

The man was arrested for drunken driving. The Sheriff's Office says his blood-alcohol level was .190 — well above Iowa's limit of .08.

Boone County Sheriff Ron Fehr says it's illegal in Iowa to drive any kind of motor vehicle anywhere while drunk.

Fehr wasn't sure how fast the man was going on the six-speed Bolens lawn tractor. The Des Moines Register reports that the top speed for that mower is about 5 mph. (AP)

E!, Ryan Seacrest developing dance show

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) – E! is developing its first dance show courtesy of "American Idol" host Ryan Seacrest's production company.

The network has ordered a pilot for a project co-starring Laurie Ann Gibson, Lady Gaga's choreographer. Details are being fleshed out, but Gibson will be one of a few cast members on the project, which revolves around choreographers and dancers in Los Angeles. Gibson choreographed the videos for Lady Gaga's "Paparazzi," "Telephone" and "LoveGame," and last year developed a routine on Fox's "So You Think You Can Dance."

If greenlighted, the untitled project will be Seacrest's latest production on the network, which in addition to "Keeping Up With the Kardashians" and its spinoff, "Kourtney and Khloe Take Miami," also has included "Denise Richards: It's Complicated" and "Bank of Hollywood."

Unruly crowd undoes NJ party featuring Diddy

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. – Rowdy crowds waiting in line for a July Fourth pool party featuring Sean "Diddy" Combs forced the event to be shut down before the rap and fashion mogul had a chance to enter.

Police shut down the party early Monday, forcing some 1,800 guests out of the Harrah's Resort Atlantic City nightclub known as The Pool.

On his Twitter feed, Diddy wrote, "I just shut down Atlantic City! The party was so crazy I couldn't even get in! 10 thousand people showed up. ... I was ready to party!"

Casino staff said that the actual crowd was not nearly that large but that they decided to cancel the event in the name of safety.

"Because of the large response on the 4th, we made a proactive decision to postpone the originally scheduled nightlife activities," said Jay Snowden, the casino's senior vice president and general manager, in a statement. (AP)

Distraught Lindsay Lohan sentenced to 90 days jail

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. – Lindsay Lohan's future includes a new fashion line, two new movies, some time in jail and another stint in rehab.

The actress was sentenced Tuesday to 90 days in jail and 90 days in a residential substance-abuse program for violating her probation stemming from two separate 2007 cases of driving under the influence of cocaine and alcohol. She is to surrender and begin her jail sentence July 20. Rehab will follow.

The punishment, levied by Superior Court Judge Marsha Revel, will keep Lohan from promoting "Machete," the Robert Rodriguez action film due in theaters in September.

Fox, which is releasing the film, had no comment Tuesday.

Lohan's jail and rehab sentence will also delay production on "Inferno: A Linda Lovelace Story," in which the 24-year-old actress plays the starring role.

Writer-director Matthew Wilder said after the ruling that he and his crew remain "100 percent behind Lindsay." (AP)

Lindsay Lohan due in court for probation hearing

LOS ANGELES – The next stage of Lindsay Lohan's life is in a judge's hands.

The starlet is scheduled to appear Tuesday in a Beverly Hills, Calif., courtroom for a probation revocation hearing that could end with Lohan either headed for jail or her next movie role.

The hearing is the culmination of several missteps by the 24-year-old actress, whose probation for a three-year drug and alcohol case was revoked in May after she missed a hearing. She faces an increasingly impatient judge who has seemingly grown tired of the actress' inability to complete the terms of her sentence, or appear in court on time.

Lohan's fate is far from decided though. The hearing Tuesday morning is likely to feature testimony and evidence about her conduct and progress with her probation. Los Angeles County district attorney spokeswoman Sandi Gibbons said a prosecutor could still decide not to seek jail time for Lohan. (AP)

Lady Gaga heads for 10 million Facebook fan record

(Reuters) - Glam pop singer Lady Gaga is on the brink of becoming the first living person to have 10 million fans on a single social networking site, having already overtaken U.S. President Barack Obama on Facebook, a British group that measures online popularity said on Friday.

Famecount.com said Lady Gaga is already the most popular living musician online, according to her following on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

On Friday, the provocative "Bad Romance" and "Paparazzi" singer had more than 9.9 million Facebook fans and 4.7 million Twitter followers.

The 24 year-old performer, who released her first album two years ago, overtook Obama last week. The U.S. president has 9.4 million Facebook fans and 4.4 million Twitter followers.

"Any moment, Lady Gaga is set to become the first living person to achieve 10m (million) fans on Facebook or, indeed, on any single social network," Famecount.com said on its website.

But Lady Gaga faces some stiff competition before she achieves total dominance of the social networking world.

The late Michael Jackson has some 14 million Facebook fans, but the winner by a long margin is the online game "Texas Hold'em Poker" which has more than 20 million.

Famecount.com, based in southern England, aggregates online popularity worldwide across multiple social media channels.

Lady Gaga made her debut on the Forbes magazine 2010 Celebrity 100 power list for the first time this week, entering in 4th place with estimated earnings over the past 12 months of $62 million.

Basketball star Bol buried in south Sudan

TURALEI, Sudan (Reuters) – Basketball star Manute Bol was buried in his family's home town in south Sudan on Sunday and hundreds of mourners paid tribute to the man whose talent took him from the grazing lands of Africa to NBA fame.

Sudan-born Bol, a phenomenon through 10 NBA seasons thanks to his 7-foot, 7-inch (2.31-meter) frame and ability to block opponents' shots, died in a U.S. hospital on June 19 aged 47.

Bol herded his family's cattle in south Sudan as a boy and was spotted playing basketball in Khartoum by a visiting U.S. coach. After his NBA career he continued to focus his time and wealth on humanitarian work in his underdeveloped homeland.

The charity he worked with building schools said the cause of death was kidney failure and a painful skin disease, Stevens- Johnson syndrome, which worsened after his last trip to Sudan during the country's April elections.

A plane carrying Bol's body arrived in south Sudan's capital Juba Saturday. Sunday, members of his extended family and local politicians accompanied Bol's remains on a two-hour plane ride and four-hour road trek to Turalei, his remote home town in the region's Warrap state.

"There are lots of family here, lots of people who loved him very much ... He gave
his life for south Sudan," Bol's wife Ajok Deng told Reuters before the burial.

Paris Hilton seen in South African courtroom

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Paris Hilton was detained in the South African city of Port Elizabeth on Friday for possession of marijuana, two South African police officers said.

The officers spoke on condition of anonymity, since they were not authorized to release Hilton's name before she appeared in court.

A spokeswoman for police at Port Elizabeth, Brig. Marinda Mills, declined to confirm the name, but said a high profile person was appearing in court.

"This person is appearing in court right now. We cannot reveal information about her until she has appeared in court. I am here with the individual in court, we're waiting for the court to start," Mills told the Associated Press.

Hilton's Los Angeles-based publicist, Dawn Miller, said she was awaiting details from the court appearance before commenting.

A local radio station in Johannesburg said Hilton was detained outside the Nelson Mandela Bay stadium, following the quarterfinal match between Brazil and Netherlands.

A police officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Hilton was caught with an unspecified amount of marijuana.

"She was found in possession of some amount of dagga," the officer said, using the local name for marijuana. "We don't know how much. It's a high profile person, only the top cops are dealing with it," he said.

Janet Jackson performs at Essence in New Orleans

NEW ORLEANS – It's been two years since singer Janet Jackson performed on a concert stage and her fans say that's been two years too long.

Jackson marks her stage return Friday with an opening night, first-time performance at the Essence Music Festival inside the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans.

"I'm excited, we're excited," Jackson said in an interview prior to her appearance.

"It's been awhile since I've been on stage and we're just excited to get back out there."

Fans got a glimpse of her new, sassy, short-cropped hair and her signature, shapely figure on the finale show of American Idol where she rocked classics like "Again" and "Nasty" and her latest release, "Nothing," from the soundtrack of the movie, "Why Did I Get Married Too?," which she also starred in.

Will Bias, a frequent fest-goer from New Orleans, said he is definitely looking forward the show.

"I've never seen her perform live, only on TV, so I'm just wondering what to expect," he said. "I know it's going to be good, though. She's been away for so long, she's probably got some surprises in store for us."

Michelle Ebanks, president of Essence Communications Inc., was as excited as fans to be able to hear Jackson sing some of her hits in person. She said festival organizers had extended invitations to perform numerous times over the course of the last 15 years and this year she finally accepted.

"Prayer works," Ebanks said laughing. (AP)

Naomi Campbell ordered to give "blood diamond" testimony

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – Supermodel Naomi Campbell has been ordered to give evidence over a "blood diamond" which prosecutors say former Liberian president Charles Taylor gave her, the Sierra Leone war crimes court said on Thursday.

Prosecutors at the Special Court for Sierra Leone sought in May to call Campbell, who has so far refused to testify, saying she can provide material evidence to rebut Taylor's claims that he never possessed rough diamonds.

In a ruling the court said it was ordering the British model to appear at the court in The Hague at 0700 GMT on July 29 "or to show good cause" why she cannot comply with the subpoena.

A subpoena is a legal measure used to secure testimony for witnesses who are
unwilling to give evidence.

Prosecutors accuse Taylor of taking diamonds to South Africa to buy weapons, which he denies. In January, they said that during a visit to South Africa in 1997 Taylor gave Campbell a large rough cut diamond after a dinner hosted by Nelson Mandela.

On trial in The Hague, Taylor denies all 11 charges of instigating murder, rape, mutilation, sexual slavery and conscription of child soldiers during wars in Liberia and Sierra Leone in which more than 250,000 people were killed.

Besides Campbell, prosecutors have also been granted the right to call testimony from modeling agent Carole White and U.S. actress Mia Farrow. Both women are prepared to give testimony voluntarily, prosecutors have said.

Prosecutors say White heard Taylor say he was going to give Campbell some diamonds and was there when Campbell received them, while Farrow attended the reception where
Campbell met Taylor and was told by Campbell about the gift the next morning.

According to the prosecutors Taylor armed and directed Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebels to win control of neighboring Sierra Leone's diamond mines and destabilize its government to boost his regional influence during the country's 1991-2002 civil war.

A spokeswoman in London had earlier said Campbell had no comment to make on a court ruling this week paving the way for prosecutors to seek testimony from Campbell.