That would be Calcutta Kolkata, where “roadside tea shack owners will talk at length on important writers of the day and rickshaw pullers adorn the backs of their vehicles with the names of writers” – and where the world’s largest non-trade (i.e., for the public) book fair, the Boi Mela, attracts 1½ million people.
Author: Matthew Westphal
Justin Peck Watches Himself Making A Ballet
Says the choreographer about Ballet 422, Jody Lee Lipes’s new documentary about the creation of Peck’s first dance for his colleagues at New York City Ballet, “I was actually a little bit surprised by how young I look in it. I felt like I was watching this kid stand in front of the room and make a ballet.”
Using Indian Classical Dance To Tell The Stories Of Bangladeshi Garment Workers
“When she came across Kathak, the staccato rhythms of the dance form reminded [choreographer Helena] Waldmann of the rapid needle of a sewing machine. She saw the stomping footwork of Kathak as the perfect symbol of the pressures faced by garment workers.”
Top Posts From AJBlogs 01.28.15
Orchestras, engage your audience!
AJBlog: Sandow Published 2015-01-28
The P Word
AJBlog: Engaging Matters Published 2015-01-28
The Meaning of The Clash
AJBlog: CultureCrashPublished 2015-01-28
Just Because: Lester Young
AJBlog: RiffTides Published 2015-01-28
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Doomed Orchestra Has Actually Saved Itself With Crowdfunding
The Danish National Chamber Orchestra was disbanded at New Year’s, after “this 75-year-old ensemble’s state funding was cancelled at ludicrously short notice … Through a Kickstarter campaign to raise 3m Danish kroner (£300,000), the orchestra received more than a third of that money from supporters, and have now had pledges for the rest of the balance from the Danish business community.”
Italy’s Most Popular, And Maybe Best, TV Series Ever – Will It Be Bad For Italy?
“In short, Italy has created a popular, realistic, beautifully rendered TV series – which is what has so many people worried. The international success of Gomorrah could turn into bad publicity for Naples and Italy, just as the young government of Prime Minister Matteo Renzi is trying so hard to restore confidence among foreigners.”
How To Enjoy Modern Music: A 14-Point Guide For The Perplexed By An Artist
Curt Barnes’s suggestions include “Remember when you hated what you now love”, “Music is not necessarily for your entertainment”, “The road of excess leads to the palace of wisdom”, and “Don’t trust the program notes” (even if the composer wrote them).
Why The Idea Of Machines That Can Think Creeps Some Of Us Out
Tania Lombrozo: “My sense is that the valley of ‘uncanny thinking’ is real, but elicits a more existential than visceral response. And if that’s so, perhaps it’s because we’re threatened by the idea that human thinking isn’t unique, and that maybe human thinking isn’t so special.”
Looks Like The Tate Gave Itself To BP For Cheap
The (40% state-funded) group of museums, having lost its years-long battle against environmental activists demanding disclosure, revealed how much it has been receiving in sponsorship money from the petroleum giant over the past 17 years. The amount has been described in press headlines as “surprisingly low”, “embarrassingly small”, and “laughably small”.
We May Be Closer To Recovering The Only Surviving Library Collection From Ancient Rome
“Researchers have found a key that may unlock the only library of classical antiquity to survive along with its documents” – from a villa in Herculaneum, destroyed along with Pompeii by the Vesuvius eruption – “raising at least a possibility of recovering vanished works of ancient Greek and Roman authors such as the lost books of Livy’s history of Rome.”