Author: Matthew Westphal

What NBC’s ‘World Of Dance’ Gets Right

Sarah Kaufman: “The throughline of WOD is: Show us something we’ve never seen before. As a dance critic, I want to see that, too, whenever I’m in the theater. What new revelation jumps out in a premiere, or in a reinterpretation of a classic work? What fresh response is there to the music, the setting, the story? Part of ‘new’ involves sheer novelty, but part of it is also framing — how the choreographer and the dancer set up a moment for the best impact.” – The Washington Post

Nyerges on the Purges: Virginia MFA’s Director Defends Bondil, Himself, Other Beleaguered Leaders

Already battered financially by the pandemic, many art museums now find themselves barraged by attacks from aggrieved staffers and former employees accusing the higher-ups of racism, harassment and micro-aggressions. But until Alex Nyerges candidly responded to my post about the firing of Montreal Museum of Fine Arts director Nathalie Bondil, I hadn’t come across any major museum officials who dared to publicly contradict the critics. – Lee Rosenbaum

All Those Anti-Racism Books Are Not Going To Fix Things

Saida Grundy: “While the crafters of anti-racist reading lists are mostly making an earnest effort to educate people, literature and dialogue cannot supplant restorative social policies and laws, organizational change, and structural redress. When offered in lieu of actionable policies regarding equity, consciousness raising can actually undermine Black progress by presenting increased knowledge as the balm for centuries of abuse.” – The Atlantic

Annie Ross, Star Of ‘The Greatest Jazz Vocal Group That Ever Was,’ Dead At 89

A child star who was once dubbed “the Scottish Shirley Temple,” she “grew up to become one of the most dynamic jazz artists of her generation, writing lyrics and electrifying audiences with her daring, high-speed singing as part of Lambert, Hendricks and Ross.” Later in life, she had a brief movie career and then returned to singing; in between, she led “an often-troubled personal life, which included heroin addiction and a tumultuous relationship with taboo-breaking comedian Lenny Bruce.” – The Washington Post

Some Of Hagia Sophia’s Mosaics Will Be Covered During Muslim Prayers

So far, at least, this isn’t as bad as many people had feared. A presidential spokesman, talking about plans to turn the historic Istanbul monument back into a mosque, said that Christian images that Muslim worshipers would face during prayers (i.e., toward Mecca) would be hidden at those times and uncovered when Hagia Sophia is open to visitors. He added that mosaics and paintings in other parts of the building would pose no problem. – Artnet

Kick The Cars Off 7th Avenue And Turn It Into An Outdoor Arts Center, Says Carnegie Hall Chief

Clive Gillinson: “What would it mean to close Seventh Avenue from 47th to 57th streets to vehicular traffic, creating a pedestrian mall for the arts, anchored by Carnegie Hall to the north and the TKTS Broadway ticket booth to the South. This space could be lined with restaurants, sidewalk cafes, jazz clubs, art galleries and the like, serving as a central area for people to gather — not only those headed to performances in the theater district and concert venues such as Carnegie Hall, Radio City Music Hall and Jazz at Lincoln Center, but city visitors staying in the many hotels close by.” – Gothamist

‘Serial’ Bought By New York Times, Which Signs Partnership Deal With ‘This American Life’

“As part of the Times, Serial Productions will independently commission and edit its own stories, which ‘will now be amplified by the Times,’ the company said.” (The price was reportedly $25 million.) “In addition, the Times said it had entered into an ‘ongoing creative and strategic alliance’ … that will let This American Life continue to collaborate on long-form audio stories with Serial Productions as well as partner with the Times on marketing and ad sales.” – Variety

Twelve Ways The Pandemic Will (Okay, Might) Change The Classical Music Business

“1. The old song ‘Rip it up and start again’ applies to sardine-seating business models not only for airlines but also theatres. …
5. International touring productions will be reimagined via boots-on-the-ground co-productions with locally sourced talent.
6. Audience sizes will be between 50-70% smaller, and multi-day performance runs will become the norm.” – Ludwig Van

A Third Of U.S. Museum Directors Fear That COVID Could Shut Down Their Institutions For Good

“In a survey released Wednesday of 760 museum directors, 33% of them said there was either a ‘significant risk’ of closing permanently by next fall or that they didn’t know if their institutions would survive. … The institutions surveyed ranged from aquariums to botanical gardens to science centers. More than 40% of them were history museums, historic houses and historical societies, while art museums represented less than 25%.” – NPR