“At the time, it was the case in the Royal Ballet that there was a mindset of leaving dancers to develop, like a good wine or something, to gain strength in their own time. Whereas, in Russia, they have an idea of taking raw talent, maybe not ready for the big roles, and working on it until it’s ready to be set before the audience.”
Author: Matthew Westphal
How That Glorious Italian Marble Gets Wrenched From The Earth
“The story of Italian marble is the story of difficult motion: violent, geological, haunted by failure and ruin and lost fortunes, marred by severed fingers, crushed dreams, crushed men. Rarely has a material so inclined to stay put been wrenched so insistently out of place and carried so far from its source.”
Colosseum Archaeological Park Approved By Italy’s Council Of State
“Italy’s top administrative court has also unblocked the international selection process for a new director to oversee the ancient amphitheatre and its surrounding monuments, including the Roman Forum, Palatine Hill and Domus Aurea. The decisions of 24 July overturn a challenge by the mayor of Rome through the Lazio regional administrative tribunal (TAR) on 7 June.”
Top Posts From AJBlogs 07.26.17
Fireflies Are Out …
“Veselka” cucumber conundrum soup
You can tell the temperature by the firefly rate of thorax blinking, which can be hypnotic, like the gleam of this cucumber seed in fluorescent kitchen light. Those seeds, covered in slime, scoot like baby roaches onto counter or floor when you run a spoon down the center of your split green sausage to scoop them out. … read more
AJBlog: Out There Published 2017-07-26
This is Reading — Artists Make Magic
In mid-July, I traveled to Pennsylvania to see a show. It was straight-up MAGIC. I can’t stop thinking about it. … read more
AJBlog: The Bright Ride Published 2017-07-23
A Brief History Of ‘No’
In this Lexicon Valley podcast, “John McWhorter goes negative, exploring the evolution of no and not.”
The Great Genius Of Rare-Book Theft
“James Richard Shinn was a master book thief. Using expert techniques and fraudulent documents, he would ultimately pillage world-class libraries to the tune of half a million dollars or more. A Philadelphia detective once called him ‘the most fascinating, best, smartest crook I ever encountered.’ And yet, despite the audacity of his approach and the widespread effects of his crimes, Shinn has been relegated to a footnote in book history.”
The Most Anthologized Poems Of The Last 25 Years
A couple of weeks ago, Emily Temple cracked some books, ran some stats, and came up with a list (several, actually) of the most anthologized short stories of all time in the U.S. over the last 34 years. Now she’s tried a similar approach with poetry.
Let Great Stage Actors Be Great *On Stage* (Not Screen)
Isaac Butler and Dan Kois: ” Call it the Rylance Rule: Great stage actors can be great on film as well, but their film careers are always less interesting than their stage careers.” And Mark Rylance himself is their Exhibit B; Exhibit A is Nathan Lane: “So why on earth would we want to push one of the four or five best living stage actors onto film? Is Nathan Lane’s road to an Oscar worth the dozen great performances on stage that he’d sacrifice to get there?”
Double Dutch As Dance Form (Seriously)
Gia Kourlas: “Double Dutch has been a competitive sport since the 1970s, its popularity in cities intertwined with the birth of hip-hop. While just about anyone can do it, the best practitioners use athleticism, finesse and musicality to transform it from a game into a choreographic feat. Yes, double Dutch is very much an art form. And who knew? It even has roots at Lincoln Center.”
With TV Producers Running Out Of Books To Adapt, Where Are They Turning? Podcasts
“When television networks resort to adapting books that haven’t even been written yet,” – and that’s what the Game of Thrones folks are doing at this point – “it’s time to start looking for new source material. Luckily, salvation might be as close as their smartphones. As the supply of books and comics ripe for adaptation dwindles, TV producers are looking to podcasts for fresh material – and finding stories with audiences as loyal as any book club’s inner circle.”