“Eventually, around the beginning of the 19th century, ballet class took the form and structure of what professional ballet dancers now do every day, beginning at the barre with pliés and ending in the center with allégro. … Yet today’s ballet dancers need to be much more versatile.” Emma Sandall talks with dancers, artistic directors, pedagogues, and researchers about what in ballet training could change for the better.
Month: February 2018
Sackler Family’s OxyContin Money Disgraces Cultural Institutions Around The World: Columnist
Psychiatrist Allen Frances, author of Twilight of American Sanity: “There is no Pablo Escobar Wing at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art and no El Chapo Guzman gallery at the Guggenheim. Columbia University doesn’t host a Sinaloa Drug Cartel Center of Developmental Psychobiology. Oxford would no longer be Oxford if its library were named in honor of the Cali drug cartel. … We agree to aggressively prohibit the sale of blood diamonds, but we allow the Sacklers’ clever use of blood money to cloak their drug shame under philanthropic fame.”
Comedian Sued By Ex-Husband For Defaming Him In Her Standup Act
“The lawsuit, described by a leading lawyer as a test case [for comedians], relates to a show by Louise Beamont (stage name Reay). Hard Mode was billed as a ‘provocative show [that] explores censorship and surveillance’, though one critic described it as being ‘at its core … about a very recent and raw heartbreak’. Thomas Reay is also suing his wife for breach of privacy and data protection, is seeking £30,000 in damages plus legal costs and wants an injunction to prevent her publishing statements about him, she said.”
Toronto’s Soulpepper Theatre Loses Two-Thirds Of Its Federal Funding After Harassment Scandal
“A planned increase in federal funding for Soulpepper Theatre has been voted down by the Canada Council for the Arts’ board of directors. On Thursday, the council’s board voted to rescind an increase of $375,500 the theatre company was set to receive. That was on top of a $184,500 ‘core grant’ which the company will still collect this year and again next year … After four civil suits were launched against former artistic director Albert Schultz in January, the granting agency placed Soulpepper on ‘concerned status’ and conducted a review.”
$1.5 Million Cello Stolen At Knifepoint In Paris, Returned Two Days Later
Outside her home in the Paris suburb of Pantin last Thursday, Ophélie Gaillard was accosted with a knife by a thief who forced her to give him her 1737 Francesco Gofriller cello. On Saturday she received an anonymous call saying to look in a car nearby, where she found her instrument unharmed.
The Opera House That’s Really Pulling In A Younger Audience Is The World’s Oldest Company
“The [Paris Opera], which celebrates its 350th birthday next year, is an unlikely contradiction to the worldwide trend of an aging audience at operas. … According to the company, it had 95,000 audience members younger than 28 last season – more than 10 percent of tickets sold and 30,000 more than just two years before.”
‘The First Large-Scale Exhibition By A Major Western Museum In Iran’
“In a masterstroke of cultural diplomacy, the Louvre will launch a major exhibition next month at the National Museum of Iran in Tehran, comprising 50 works [ of Greek, Roman, and Persian art] drawn from its collection and the Musée Eugène Delacroix in Paris.”
Africa Gets Another New Contemporary Art Museum
Five months after the much-anticipated Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa opened in Cape Town, at the opposite end of the continent, the Museum of African Contemporary Art Al Maaden (MACAAL) is having its official international opening in Marrakech, Morocco.
Top Posts From AJBlogs 02.19.18
The Ground as Partner, as Enemy
Soledad Barrio & Noche Flamenca at the Joyce Theater through February 25th. … read more
AJBlog: Dancebeat Published 2018-02-19
Jazz and beyond projects with 2018 NEA funding support
Given all the noise, the National Endowment for the Arts’ $25 mil for arts, literature and education announced Feb. 7 may have been overlooked. But these funds and the projects they support, nationwide, should be noted. … read more
AJBlog: Jazz Beyond Jazz Published 2018-02-19
Artistic Resistance in Our America
This weekend, the conductor and pianist Jeffrey Kahane played with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra … But it was his encore that was unforgettable. He bowed his head before starting, waited a moment, we anticipated. It took several notes to recognize with his slow start. … read more
AJBlog: The Bright Ride Published 2018-02-18
The Gershwin Moment
Not only do I believe in George Gershwin; I believe we are embarking on a Gershwin Moment. That is: modernism has departed, and so (sooner or later) will the Standard Narrative for American classical music that we learned from … read more
AJBlog: Unanswered Question Published 2018-02-18
Monday Recommendation(s): Three From ECM
Andy Sheppard, Romaria (ECM)
Nicolas Masson Quartet, Travelers (ECM)
Shinya Fukumori Trio, For 2 Akis (ECM) … read more
AJBlog: RiffTides Published 2018-02-19
For An Eye On The Future, Look At Today’s New Toys
For a glimpse of that future, look to the world’s largest toymaker, Hasbro. The company is showing off its new Iron Man mask this weekend at Toy Fair, which uses augmented reality to stage a battle against Thanos. Slip on Iron Man’s red helmet and gauntlet, set up the three AR markers around the room, and watch Thanos and his armies surround you. The suit is Hasbro’s first foray into augmented reality, but follows the work of companies like Disney, which introduced its Star Wars Jedi Challenges AR experience last year. The consumer appeal of this stuff is obvious: In AR, you’re not playing as Iron Man. You are Iron Man.