“Adil Faraj bucked conservative Iraqi culture to teach himself how to dance via YouTube and Skype, inspired by a Michael Jackson performance he watched on DVD. He danced to videos in his cramped family home — hiding from a society scornful of the art form and from the chaos that engulfed Iraq after the U.S.-led invasion in 2003. Then, he was discovered by the Manhattan-based Battery Dance Company and brought to Jordan to train professionally and perform for the first time on stage.”
Month: July 2016
How Louisiana Killed Its Film Industry
“Louisiana’s once-booming film industry – dubbed “Hollywood South” – was off by as much as 90 per cent this past year, according to the Louisiana Film Entertainment Association. The drop is all attributed to the state’s decision to wind down its generous incentives last July, scaring off movie makers.”
Enrollment In UK Schools Arts Education Is Way Down. Here’s Why
Labour MP Catherine McKinnell, who tabled the debate, claimed that poorer children have been hit hardest by the introduction of the EBacc. She pointed to Creative Industries Federation figures showing that schools with a high number of disadvantaged children have been more than twice as likely to withdraw arts subjects than schools with low numbers.
What A Missouri Music Store Can Teach Theatres About Community-Building
For theatre to become a “front porch” space that welcomes diverse perspectives, we as theatre professionals must trust our communities to engage with challenging material, and we must trust ourselves to hear and act upon opinions that challenge our ideas.
The Meaning Of Images In A World Where Disposable Images Are Everywhere
“We may only now be coming to terms with what happens to a work of art—indeed, to the notion of art altogether—when a fantastic number of images can be circulated, reproduced, amended, swapped, and joined together effortlessly as data sent out for processing.”
Report: Toronto Symphony Negotiating With Former Cleveland Orchestra Boss
“Inside sources say the TSO is playing Let’s Make a Deal with Gary Hanson, a globally respected Toronto-born veteran of the classical music business who retired last year as executive director of the Cleveland Orchestra. In Cleveland, he was lauded for overseeing the magnificent renovation of Severance Hall, increasing attendance and boosting fundraising.”
Can You Build Communities Around E-Books? Here’s Emily Books
“In 2011, Emily Books caught the wave of electronic publication and molded it to fit the needs of their ideal reader. They brought out-of-print titles, or books by passed-over female authors, back to life. At first, Gould said, they had just wanted to solve a problem fomented by commercial publishing’s need to turn a profit.”
An Indian Immigrant Struggles With The American Penchant For Small Talk
Karan Mahajan: “‘How’s it going?’ I ask the barista. ‘How’s your day been?’
‘Ah, not too busy. What are you up to?’
‘Not much. Just reading.’
This, I have learned, is one of the key rituals of American life. It has taken me only a decade to master.”
Study: Music Lessons Help Students Focus, Tune Out Distractions
Belgian researchers report 9- to 12-year-olds who had been taking regular music lessons displayed “enhanced cognitive inhibitory control” compared to a group of same-age peers. Their study, in the journal Musicae Scientiae, adds to the already large body of evidence showing cognitive benefits of musical training.
Talking With Your Hands Makes You Learn Things Faster (We Knew It!)
“Thanks to René Descartes and a pantheon of very serious dead white men, Western intellectual history has long maintained that thought is something that happens only in the kingdom of the brain; it’s just the body’s job, as educator Ken Robinson famously quipped, to bring the brain from meeting to meeting. But your hands suggest otherwise.”