“Michelle Dorrance is a new kind of tapper. Classically, tap is a matter of a cool, contained upper body suspended over a huge clatter down below—a contrast that is supposed to be witty and, in a great or even good tapper, is. (“My feet are producing twenty taps a second, in alternating rhythms? Gee, I didn’t notice.”) Dorrance supplies plenty of action in the feet, but meanwhile the rest of the body is all over the place. Her elbows fly out; so do her knees, in great, lay-an-egg squats. She looks like a happy little tomboy vaulting around in a tree. Now and then, she’ll put on the mood-indigo, darkness-in-my-soul expression sometimes seen in tappers, or, alternatively, the Vegas-y let-me-entertain-you expression, but both of them fall off her face pretty fast, because she is fundamentally unaffected.”
Author: Douglas McLennan
Instagram Has Fast Become Musicians’ Social Media Platform Of Choice
“Instagram has taken a series of small steps to turn its once photo-driven service into a creative haven where artists tease new music, reveal album artwork, announce tour dates, and offer intimate behind-the-scenes glimpses.”
Ottawa’s National Arts Centre To Invest Millions In Productions Elsewhere In Canada
The NAC Foundation has spent the past eight years raising capital for the fund, which now stands at more than $23-million. NAC president and CEO Peter Herrndorf said the fund is not meant to be a self-sustaining endowment. “We’ll invest $3-million a year for six or seven years, and if at the end of that period it is seen to have had an impact, we can fundraise from there … If it’s not a success, we’ll say, ‘This was an interesting way to approach it, maybe we’ll look for a different way.’ ”The main idea, Herrndorf said, is to put enough cash into the hands of artists to make an exponential difference in artistic outcomes. “We want to get as much of that money into artists’ hands as possible, as quickly as possible.”
An Ad-Free CBC Could Be A Major Cultural Opportunity For Canada
“Leaving aside, for the moment, the political realism of the request, the plan is a good one. In an increasingly scattered but ever more Internet-dependent and globalized media environment, the country needs a public producer, curator and distributor to craft a powerful Brand Canada across all platforms, offering not only news, public affairs and documentaries, but also fiction, variety and arts programming. It needs an iconic institution to nurture and lead the cultural industries, a rallying point for Canadian creativity.”
Warning: Changes In Tax Law, Government Funding, Could Be Existential Challenge For The Arts
“The sober fact is that the map depicting the location and service-area of the vast majority of cultural organizations looks a lot like the map of Clinton supporters. Museums, theaters, orchestras, dance companies, performing arts centers and music schools are concentrated in urban areas and the densest concentrations are in the most liberal cities: New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., Chicago, Minneapolis, Boston, Seattle.”
Detroit Symphony Debuts Its Adult Community Orchestra
“Student training ensembles are de rigueur among American orchestras, but the Detroit Community Orchestra extends the idea to adults. Several other major orchestras have started musical training programs for avocational musicians, but the DSO model of an ongoing chamber orchestra appears unique. The musicians rehearse weekly at the Max, conducted by two former high school music directors who work in the DSO’s community and learning department. DSO musicians also work on occasion with the new ensemble as coaches.”
A Knock At The Door And There’s A “Very Lost” Garrison Keillor
“It turned out Keillor was scheduled to appear at the Del E. Webb Center for the Performing Arts in less than 30 minutes. “Hotel and venue staff were searching for him, frantically,” Hallett wrote.”
Public Museums Are Teaming Up With Private Philanthropists Creating New Challenges For Museums
Individuals owning parts of art work and museums owning the rest. “It is one of a growing number of creative partnerships — forms of philanthropy that go beyond straightforward gifts and bequests — that are blurring the line between public and private art, providing new opportunities and new challenges for public institutions.”
The Arts Are Going To Need More Volunteers In The Time Of Trump
“If we want the arts to save our world, we’ll have to make it happen with much less government, which means much more private-sector time and money. Which brings us back to the issue of volunteerism in the arts. Whereas volunteers used to be a good way to reduce costs and improve engagement, volunteers are about to become the life-blood of the sector.”
At What Level Of Theatre Should Diversity Be Worked On? It Starts From The Top
“I would argue that the key to diversity should be addressed at the very top: commercial theatre. It has a responsibility to showcase BAME performers in leading roles in order to show the merits of, and then to offer, diverse casting in mainstream productions.”