“An article in Dancing Times in December 1943 eventually led to her editing that journal for 45 years, and to serving as the Guardian‘s dance critic for 17 years. There were books, too, and she became one of the most influential writers on dance during the second half of the 20th century.”
Author: Matthew Westphal
How “Sleep No More” Went From Avant-Garde Theatre Experiment To Thriving Commercial Enterprise
When the British company brought its immersive adaptation of Macbeth to New York in 2011 and parked it at an old hotel on the far West Side, the project was still experimental and risky, good reviews or no. Four years later, Sleep No More has a merch table, souvenir programs, and an associated bar and restaurant. It is, writes Alexis Soloski, “a case study of the relationship – sometimes cozy, sometimes uneasy – between art and commerce.”
There Should Be Time Limit On Claims For Nazi-Looted Art, Says Vienna Museum Director
Klaus Albrecht Schröder of the Albertina Museum: “If we don’t set a time limit of around 100 years after the end of the Second World War, then we should ask ourselves why claims regarding crimes committed during the First World War should not still be valid; why we don’t argue anymore about the consequences of the 1870-1871 Franco-Prussian war?”
Walker Art Center Begins $75M Capital Project With Overhaul Of Outdoor Space
“Positioning itself as a neighborhood green space and cultural gateway, Walker Art Center will add a new glass-walled entrance pavilion, groves of trees and acres of new grass … The Walker’s plans are designed to unify a 19-acre cultural’“campus,’ including the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden, that stands as an anchor and gateway to the theater and arts district that Minneapolis intends to develop along Hennepin Avenue.”
Ballet Dancers Leap Into Instagram
“The photo-sharing app has become the go-to social-media platform for dancers of all ages, who post photos of bloody toes, mistakes in class, physical therapy and, of course, deliriously beautiful performances shot from the wings. As a virtual portal to the dance world, Instagram has also attracted an enthusiastic audience – and around that, a newly dance-centric marketing landscape has emerged.”
How I Re-Choreographed A Classic Of British Modern Dance
James Cousins: “It’s not every day that you get approached to reimagine a piece of choreography that will then be performed at the 90th birthday celebrations of the original choreographer. But this is the position I found myself in a few months ago. The work was Cell by Robert Cohan, which was created back in 1969 for London Contemporary Dance Theatre when Cohan was artistic director at the then newly formed dance organisation The Place.” (includes video)
Marlowe’s “Jew Of Malta” – Anti-Semitic? Or A Parody Of Anti-Semitism?
“This toxic cocktail of alienation and murder is laced throughout with deadpan black comedy. Think Wolf Hall reimagined by Quentin Tarantino, and you begin to get the feel of it. … It is a provocative or [Charlie] Hebdoesque piece of religious cartooning that challenges the complacencies and credulities of his audience.”
They Dug Up Richard III’s Bones – Why Not Shakespeare’s, Too? Here’s Why Not
“Inspired by the revelations about Richard III, recently liberated from a car park in Leicester, professor Francis Thackeray of Wits University, in Johannesburg, claims he is ‘very interested by the possibility’ of subjecting Shakespeare to the same treatment.” Andrew Dickson explains why he thinks that wouldn’t be worthwhile. (And no, it’s not the curse.)
Where Complex Black Characters First Integrated Into Mainstream TV – Soap Operas
“Daytime, before primetime, provided valuable space for black characters to be layered – and for viewers, black and otherwise, to appreciate their complexity. Every time I see these new-school characters, I remind myself of where I’ve seen them before.”
Brecht’s Epic Theatre And “RuPaul’s Drag Race”
Nadine Friedman: “On RuPaul’s Drag Race, every capitalist wink to iTunes and each meta-musical number conjures Brecht’s Epic Theatre, teaching that pop culture zeitgeists can be fronts for transformative ideas about society. Drag Race, and its role in creating more intersectional media, stimulates what Brecht called for nearly a century ago through his V-effekt: “a desire for understanding, a delight in changing reality’.”