Author: Matthew Westphal

Cincinnati Ballet Runs Classes For Children With Range Of (Dis)Abilities

“Ballet Moves began in 2014 when the father of a young girl with Down syndrome asked if any of the classes suited her needs. The answer was no. But Julie Sunderland, who trained with Boston Ballet’s adaptive dance program before coming to the Cincinnati Ballet 11 years ago, said she would start one. … Two years later, the class expanded to children with other disabilities after Sunderland saw a Facebook post about a man with cerebral palsy who used dance to create new neurological pathways and help him walk. And now there are a few classes, for boys and girls, ages 4 to 14.” – Cincinnati Enquirer

Poor Batsheva Dance Company Can’t Go Anywhere Without Protests, Not Even To A New HQ In Its Hometown

In recent years, the Israeli contemporary dance troupe has faced petitions and demonstrations by BDS activists almost everywhere it has performed abroad. Back home in Tel Aviv, the company’s planned dance center and arts complex, co-designed by David Adjaye for the site of the city’s old central bus station, is being heavily criticized by anti-gentrification campaigners. – Haaretz (Israel)

LGBT-Themed Film In Indonesia Causes National Moral Panic

“[Garin Nugroho’s] Memories of My Body follows four stages in the life of Juno, a young boy in a Central Java village who becomes infatuated by the lengger lanang, a traditional dance that often has male dancers taking the role of female dancers.” Indonesian films with LGBT themes have been released in the past with little incident, but this one has been banned by cities, denounced by politicians, and garnered its director death threats. – The Guardian

Florida Man Misunderstands Joke, Calls Cops On Comedian

Performing at a comedy club in Naples, Fla., “[Egyptian-American comedian Ahmed] Ahmed asked if anyone of Middle Eastern descent was in the audience. After a few people clapped, Ahmed replied, ‘Hey, it only takes one of us’ followed by a pause. As the audience began to laugh, Ahmed added ‘to tell a joke.'” One audience member decided this was a threatening joke about terrorism and called 911. (includes audio of 911 call) – CBS Miami

‘Bound To Win’: Jill Lepore On The Evolution Of The Presidential-Candidate Memoir

“Before the nineteen-sixties, the books Presidential candidates wrote weren’t usually memoirs; they were collections of speeches.” Now? “Sometimes Presidential candidates write books about their vision for the country; sometimes they write books about themselves. And then, sometimes, their vision for America is a vision of themselves.” – The New Yorker

Caught In The Middle Of #MeToo: When The Same Union Represents Accusers And Accused

The dismissal and subsequent reinstatement of dancer Amar Ramasar at New York City Ballet is the most high-profile of several recent cases where a performer was fired after a credible complaint of sexual misconduct and his union pressed for reinstatement and/or compensation — very much against the wishes of other union members, among whom were the objects of the misconduct. – The New York Times

A Thorough Takedown Of The New NPR Morning Edition Theme

“The theme is not a gentle salve for the American underslept; it is several swimming pools of Red Bull, delivered via helicopter drop, to a stadium full of management consultants. … Now Monday Night Football is played on Thursday nights, Meet the Press airs every weekday, and Morning Edition blasts you with frenetic electronica. No wonder people are pissed.” – The Atlantic

Series Of Titan Paintings To Be Shown Together For First Time In 316 Years

The six-painting series known as the poesie, commissioned by Philip II of Spain and based on Ovid’s Metamorphoses, were last displayed together in 1704. Five of them will be reunited and exhibited in London, Edinburgh, Madrid, and Boston in 2020 and ’21. (The sixth is in London’s Wallace Collection, which is forbidden to lend out its art.) – The Guardian

Karina Canellakis And Montreal Symphony Pull Off Enormous Program Change At Literally The Last Minute

The rising young maestra was about to make her Montreal Symphony debut on May 15 when she and the orchestra got word that pianist Daniil Trifonov, the soloist for the concerto that formed the entire second half of the program, had just been taken to the hospital. So, as one of the musicians posted afterward on Facebook, “We performed Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony. Cold. No rehearsing. In front of 2,000 ish people.” – CBC