Says one company principal, “I’d say Makhar Vaziev is lifting the classical level of the troupe. … There wasn’t this type of discipline in the past … I see now that people are really trying hard, the halls have stopped being almost empty as they were before. Now everyone is trying to prepare something and to show something.”
Author: Matthew Westphal
New Tate Modern Breaks Attendance Records
“Tate said there had been 143,000 visits since the revamped and expanded modern art gallery opened on Friday. On Saturday alone there were more than 54,000 visits – around double the usual visitor number and the highest ever attendance for a single day.”
MoMA Apparently Fires Film Curator For Pulling Doc About North Korea From Festival
“A slyly subversive look at the reclusive state by the Russian filmmaker Vitaly Mansky, [Under the Sun] had been scheduled to be shown at the museum’s 2016 Doc Fortnight festival” in February. But assistant curator Sally Berger, spooked by the Sony Pictures hack allegedly associated with the 2014 satire The Interview, decided to drop Under the Sun from the schedule.
Another Ex-ABT Star Joins The New Julie Kent Regime At Washington Ballet
“Xiomara Reyes will head The Washington School of Ballet, effective September 1. The move marks Kent’s first staff appointment. Reyes will take the place of revered teacher Kee Juan Han (who famously trained David Hallberg) and who announced his retirement in late April. … We spoke with Reyes about the vision she and Kent share, her Cuban roots, relocating to DC and more.”
Top Posts From AJBlogs 06.21.16
This Week In Audience: Is Text Slipping Away As We Go More Video?
Looking for diverse audiences? Here’s where they are. … But orchestras are still struggling to be relevant. … Turns out attention might be a muscle we have to use or we lose it. … FaceBook wonders if it will be all-video in five years. … And libraries get into loaning e-books. … read more
AJBlog: AJ Arts Audience Published 2016-06-21
Storm Warnings: The Future of Orchestras
Our orchestras are facing a perfect storm moving at high velocity. How fast can they adapt? The most adaptive orchestra I know is … read more
AJBlog: Unanswered Question Published 2016-06-21
What You Can Leave Out
Knowing what’s essential as opposed to valuable or even “nice” is a critical skill in jazz. … Organizational function often demands spontaneous improvisation in the face of change or unforeseen emergencies. At such moments, an awareness of what’s essential … read more
AJBlog: Engaging Matters Published 2016-06-21
You Are Not Alone
Jane Comfort has a formidable history as one who attacks with an intellectual cleaver subjects that most choreographers avoid: … read more
AJBlog: Dancebeat Published 2016-06-21
Prelude to Wagner
Sir Anish Kapoor’s sets, Stuart Skelton and Heidi Melton demonstrate that the moon is not made of cheese, but mashed potato. … read more
AJBlog: Plain English Published 2016-06-21
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There May Be No Accounting For Taste, But The Internet Will Try, Nevertheless
Louis Menand: “The science of preferences dates back to the origins of the advertising and public-relations industries, but the Internet has provided it with a vast new field of operations. Compared with television, which basically had advertisers throwing tomatoes at barns labelled, for example, ‘Women eighteen to thirty-four,’ the Internet is a precision instrument.”
How, And Where, American Tourism Began
“In the early nineteenth century, a few scenic destinations became hot spots for tourism … In fact, by the 1860s [the number-one attraction] was so popular that travelers complained that souvenir sellers and aggressive guides had spoiled the place.”
More And More Independent Presses Are Opening Bookstores
“Suddenly, an increasing number of independent presses are going into the retail book business, morphing into full-service community hubs for book browsing and expanded literary programming. Some see retail floor space as an opportunity to bring more customers and supporters to their front doors. Others see it as an important source of income to support the publishing. All say it fulfills their missions as the literary hearts of their communities.”
A ‘Canterbury Tales’ For The Age Of The Refugee
“Refugee Tales features stories including [Chris] Cleave’s ‘The Lorry Driver’s Tale’, [Ali] Smith’s ‘The Detainee’s Tale’, [Marina] Lewycka’s ‘The Dependant’s Tale’ … [The book] stems from refugee charity the Gatwick Detainees Welfare Group, which sends volunteers into the two detention centres at Gatwick airport to speak to the hundreds of people who are held there.”
How Hollywood Blockbusters Can Explain The Rise Of Donald Trump And Bernie Sanders
“The summer blockbuster [in 2016] has gone from something to be enjoyed with popcorn and a Coke to something that may possibly shatter your existential reality. Needless to say, all these blockbusters made for consumption here and abroad have a common theme: the world is ending and (almost) no one can save us, except for an unlikely anti-hero.”