As a principal with Ballet Arizona, Michelle Mahowald has performed solo in Swan Lake and Coppelia, and originated a role in director Ib Andersen’s Play. But for our ticket money, the sweetest role in ballet is the one she performed last year, as the Sugar Plum Fairy in Andersen’s take…
Sam Pewitt doesn’t look anything like White Goodman (Ben Stiller’s character in the 2004 movie Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story) but he cares about the sport with the same intensity. A Scottsdale businessman by day, Pewitt spends his nights and weekends playing a game most people haven’t thought about since…
If you get a chance to see Axé Capoeira Arizona perform, take it. Because there’s no way to do this group — or its art form — justice with words. Capoeira is described as a Brazilian-Afro art form, incorporating movement, music, and culture. See? Hard to get a visual. Another…
Impeccable taste comes naturally to David Sheflin. As owner of Vintage Fashion Inc., he’s built an elite clientele eager to snatch up his high-end designer finds — anything from pristine Pucci to vintage Von Furstenburg to the most desirable Gucci bag from 25 years ago. On the side, he’s curated…
From Magnolia Bakery in New York City to Sprinkles in Beverly Hills (and, soon, Scottsdale), gourmet cupcakes are the nation’s sweetest dessert fad. But until earlier this year, the Valley hadn’t caught on to the trend. So when sisters Stephanie and Lindsay Esparza, originally from Orange County, decided to open…
All over town, overgrown kids are whispering at the water cooler, “Hey, have you been to Red Hot Robot?” The central Phoenix shop offers specialty limited-edition toys usually found only in bigger cities and online. The toys became popular in Japan (where else?) and made their way stateside, with many…
Javier Gomez and Sixto Melendez met years ago as college students in Miami, where they shared a desk at a DVD distributor’s warehouse. Now they can finish each other’s sentences, which is helpful when you’re in the business of making movies together. And what movies they make. Their short film…
April Bojorquez is one of those rare Phoenicians who was born here and decided to stay. Good thing. She’s a veritable encyclopedia of interesting information, especially on the city’s ancient history — she used to work at the Pueblo Grande Museum. By day, Bojorquez is the educational events coordinator for…
If you are brown in this town, you’ve gotta meet Gerardo Higginson if you want to get any type of business done. People call him the Latino mayor of Phoenix but, in fact, he works for that other mayor guy, Phil Gordon, as an executive assistant and liaison to several…
Larry White has one of the best autograph collections in the Valley and it covers the walls of his landmark restaurant, Lo-Lo’s Chicken & Waffles. Celebs such as rappers DMX and Too Short, Suns superstars Amaré Stoudemire and Shawn Marion, and actors like K-Ville star Anthony Anderson have all added…
Talk about the best of both worlds. As chef de cuisine at Kai, the fine-dining establishment at the Sheraton Wild Horse Pass Resort & Spa, Jack Strong’s got a primo perch on the culinary career ladder. After all, he benefits from working with two big names — consulting chef Janos…
When it comes to women, Jay Grdina may be the luckiest man in the adult film industry. The director, producer, and performer (often under the screen name “Justin Sterling”) met porn star Jenna Jameson in the late ’90s, and the pair founded Club Jenna Inc., a multimedia adult entertainment juggernaut…
As the energy force behind the year-old gay bar Burn, Angela Zydek spends her days zipping around town in her white convertible Mercedes and her nights covered in body paint to promote the downtown Phoenix club, or serving bottles of champagne in Burn’s VIP cabanas. The perfect combo of party…
Max Cavalera is a heavy metal hero. As the vocalist and rhythm guitarist for influential thrash-metal band Sepultura, Cavalera’s deep-throated growls and philosophical/spiritual songwriting made a distinct mark on the metal world. Formed in 1984, Sepultura signed to Roadrunner Records and released four albums on the label (two certified gold)…
Brian Durkee is one of Phoenix’s premier party promoters, a swaggering sultan of style who hosts swanky club nights at some of the East Valley’s hottest nightspots, including Toxic Mondays at Zuma Grill in Tempe, and Foxy Bitch Thursdays at Dirty Pretty Rockbar and Twisted Tuesdays at Pink Taco, both…
When Dietrich Stephan says he wants to cure diseases and eliminate suffering before he dies, he’s not blowing sunshine. As director and senior investigator of the Neurogenomics Division of the Translational Genomics Research Institute, his job is, quite simply (ha!), to find out why we inherit the propensity for diseases…
Sabeur Rouin, a.k.a. Dr. Hummus, is a fixture at Valley farmers markets. He’s nearly as well known for his wicked sense of humor and constant smile as he is for his hummus, dolmas, and addictive pita chips. In the interest of our well-being, he’s reworked some of his favorite family…
So, you’ve elected to find a honey via the Internet, to use your modem instead of your mojo to secure a first date. It sounds like an impersonal way to meet your sweetie, but I can personally attest to the fact that it works. I placed personal ads on Kiss.com,…
The past year has been good to Hector Ruiz, artist and owner of the downtown art gallery the Chocolate Factory. After a successful show at the Heard Museum — he sold every piece — Ruiz was picked up by Bentley Projects, is touring Romania this fall, and has a show…
Chef Eulet King’s smile is as warm and inviting as a Bob Marley tune — think “Three Little Birds,” with the line, “Don’t worry ’bout a thing/’Cause every little thing gonna be all right.” You might even hear that melody wafting through the air of King’s modest Irie Jamaican Restaurant…
Jake Shelton has done everything from designing and running a retro diner on the East Coast to co-owning the now-defunct Ziggy’s rock club in Tempe, but he’s probably best known for the custom car couture furniture he’s been making out of vintage car parts since 1988. His company, Jake’s Chop…
Ten years ago, architect Neil Kilby fell in love with Ro Ho En, the Japanese Friendship Garden in downtown Phoenix. He began volunteering as a gardener, and when Ro Ho En expanded to include a lush stroll garden and koi pond, the city tapped Kilby’s professional expertise as well. After…
