“Prima ballerina Natalia Osipova, 25, and principal dancer Ivan Vasiliev, 22, will leave the newly renovated Bolshoi to work with the Mikhailovsky Theatre’s new Spanish artistic director Nacho Duato.
Author: Matthew Westphal
Swords Into Plowshares? How About Kalashnikovs Into Jewelry?
Social entrepreneur Peter Thum’s new venture, Fonderie 47, “acquires and destroys AK-47s in Africa, then brings some of the metal back home where it is transformed into rare jewelry, watches and accessories. The sale of each piece of their jewelry funds the destruction of more weapons.”
Michael Kaiser Is Frightened By Amateur Online Critics
“[The] growing influence of blogs, chat rooms and message boards devoted to the arts has given the local professional critic a slew of competitors. … Many arts institutions even allow their audience members to write their own critiques on the organizational website. This is a scary trend.”
A Godly And Righteous Rant: Old-School Vicar Deplores King James Bible’s Successors
“For centuries, people of all walks of life have carried around with them echoes of the King James Version. So to throw it out as the church hierarchy has done amounts to a savage act of deprivation … Sidelining the King James Version especially deprives our children and is therefore a notable case of child abuse.”
Pasadena’s Fork In The Road Is Saved
“After nearly two years of planning, prodding and debate, a group of Pasadena residents finally got its big wish: The city let them permanently stick their 18-foot fork in the road.”
MoMA Reunites Five Diego Rivera Murals
At New York’s Museum of Modern Art in 1931, Rivera “produced five ‘portable murals,’ large blocks of free-standing frescoed plaster, concrete and steel that depict events in Mexican history. After the exhibition opened, Rivera created three more murals, each capturing scenes of Depression-era New York. Now, for the first time in 80 years, five of the murals will be united at [MoMA].”
NJ Performing Arts Center Fires Programmers, Moves Toward Pop Music Industry
“The new CEO at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center didn’t take long to shake things up. John Schreiber has fired long-time programmer Stephanie Hughley and her assistant, replacing them with a promoter with strong ties to the for-profit music industry.”
Dallas Symphony Is Nearly Out Of Cash
“Tuesday night Dallas Symphony Board Chairman Blaine Nelson told a group of top donors that based on current revenue and expenses, the symphony will be insolvent within 90 days.” The orchestra has subsequently released a new business plan with fewer classical and pops performances.
Annabelle Lyon, Early Star Of US Ballet, Dead At 95
“[She] joined the American Ballet, George Balanchine’s first American company, in 1935 and also appeared with Ballet Caravan, a troupe organized by Lincoln Kirstein in 1936 to promote American choreography. In 1939 she became a charter member of Ballet Theater (now American Ballet Theater).”
Subject of Errol Morris Documentary Tabloid Sues Filmmakers
“After attending several screenings of Tabloid, sometimes in disguise, to denounce what she says is misrepresentation of her and her life story, [Joyce] McKinney has filed suit against its filmmakers, saying she was tricked into appearing in the movie.”