“It’s called modestly, almost shyly, the Creative Employment Programme and its aim is to get is to 6,500 arts apprentices aged 16 to 24 in two years – in an industry that doesn’t have apprentices in its antecedents. It’s been an industry that prefers its young people to commit themselves with passion and enthusiasm for nothing.”
Author: Matthew Westphal
James Kudelka Returns To National Ballet Of Canada
The renowned choreographer was the Toronto company’s artistic director from 1996 to 2005; after resigning, he opened a bakery in an Ontario village and largely withdrew from the dance world. Now he’s back, and current artistic director Karen Kain has reopened the relationship by commissioning a new ballet from him.
Period-Style Baroque Opera In A Cabaret Space
“From its debut in 2011, the Haymarket Opera Company has thrived by putting on repertory of the sort no other Chicago group has investigated as thoroughly – unusual baroque chamber operas using period instruments and historically informed stage direction, movement and design. These intimate rarities have felt perfectly at home in Mayne Stage, a cabaret-style theater in the city’s Rogers Park neighborhood that seats 230 and serves drinks during performances.”
UK Ministry Of Defence Still Hates Benjamin Britten For Sitting Out World War II
“The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has refused to release footage for a major new documentary about Benjamin Britten because the composer was a pacifist and a ‘deserter’, an award-winning film-maker has claimed.”
Namibian Tribe’s Sartorial Revenge On Colonial Oppressors
The Herero people got a particularly hard time from the Germans, who wiped out 80% of them and put the remainder in concentration camps. After the South Africans drove the Germans out in 1915, the Herero began wearing entertaining twists on the Germans’ clothing.
Azerbaijan Puts Bounty On Veteran Novelist’s Ear
“Azerbaijan’s troubled efforts to portray itself as a progressive and Western-oriented country took a beating this week with the announcement by a pro-government political party that it will pay $12,700 to anyone who cuts off the ear of a 75-year-old novelist. The author is Akram Aylisli, and his crime is to have written a novella called Stone Dreams that is sympathetic to Armenians.”
Even Nelson Mandela’s Granddaughters Are Doing Reality TV
“The granddaughters of the former South African president appeared in the first episode of Being Mandela on Sunday night.” The 13-episode series Being Mandela focuses on how the two sisters “carry on the family legacy while juggling motherhood in Johannesburg.”
New British Architecture Trend: Converting Public Restrooms Into Retail Spaces
“If you happen to be caught short on Fulham Broadway in west London forget making a legs-crossed dash for the nearest public lavatory; it’s being turned into an ice-cream parlour.”
NY City Opera’s Latest Problem: It Can’t Fit All The Naked Guys On Stage
Says Jay Scheib, director of the company’s production of Adès’s Powder Her Face (opening Friday), “In the original production meeting, I said I was looking for 88 men. But it became apparent that they wouldn’t fit on the stage. It became a hazard – you don’t want anyone to fall into the orchestra pit.”
Macmillan Is Last Publisher To Settle E-Book Price-Fixing Case
“The U.S. Department of Justice has reached a settlement with Macmillan in an antitrust case related to e-book pricing, leaving only Apple to battle the suit.”