Joan Acocella considers a new translation of the Decameron – in particular, its abundance of sex without guilt.
Author: Matthew Westphal
Bill Moyers Retires From TV For Second Time
“Bill Moyers told public television stations on Tuesday that his interview program Moyers & Company would end with the Jan. 3 show, keeping to the two-year timetable he and the program’s funders committed to when he came out of a 20-month retirement in January 2012.”
Boys Have Started Flocking To Ballet Schools
“This year, Canada’s National Ballet School (NBS) has the highest percentage of boys in its entry-level Grade 6 class in its history: 65 per cent. … According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, dance was the 10th most popular ‘sport’ for boys aged 5 to 14 in 2012, with participation rates rising in recent years.” And in Britain, more young boys than girls are expressing interest in becoming dancers.
Vienna State Ballet Hangs Onto The Director That Woke It Up
Manuel Legris, a retired étoile of the Paris Opera Ballet who came to Vienna in 2010, has been contracted for two additional years, until 2017. He has rejuvenated the company’s repertoire and raised its profile in Europe, bringing it out from the long shadow cast by its parent, the Vienna State Opera.
Cirque Du Soleil Fined For Mid-Performance Death Of Acrobat
Nevada OSHA issued six citations, totaling more than $25,000, following an investigation into the 94-foot fall of Sarah Guillot-Guyard during a performance of Ka in Las Vegas. The citations could open the door to a civil suit by Guillot-Guyard’s family.
The Last Days Of River Phoenix
“River celebrated his 23rd birthday – on Aug. 23, 1993 – and then flew down to Costa Rica with all his siblings and his father. John was opening a vegan restaurant, but his real agenda was to get his children, especially River, to leave behind the corruption of the USA and live by the Phoenix family values again.”
What Did Ancient Greek Music Sound Like? Scholars Are Beginning To Figure That Out
“The music of ancient Greece, unheard for thousands of years, is being brought back to life by Armand D’Angour, a musician and tutor in classics at Oxford University. He describes what his research is discovering.”
Is North America Oversupplied With Orchestras And Opera?
“The lack of funding for orchestras and opera companies may already be raising the question of whether North America has too many of them – or whether, as with other institutions, there should be more streamlining and consolidations.”
Diana Vishneva Speaks Out Against Tsiskaridze’s Appointment To Vaganova
Vishneva, a star of the Mariinsky Theater and one of Russia’s most beloved ballerinas, is the first prominent figure to publicly criticize the choice of Nikolai Tsiskaridze, the popular and divisive dancer who was fired from the Bolshoi in June, to head St. Petersburg’s revered Vaganova Ballet Academy.
The Bolshoi Acid Attack Trial Is Going To Be Very Dramatic
Ismene Brown gives a review of the messy situation and the principals involved.