“Arcadian Broad, who has a national following as Orlando Ballet’s best-known dancer, will depart the company next month. The ballet company declined to renew his contract, as well as that of his fiancée, fellow dancer Taylor Sambola.” Said the company’s executive director, “We’re grateful for Arcadian’s talents, and wish him the best as he spreads his wings. Now it’s time to bring new voices, new ideas and ballets with widespread critical acclaim to Central Florida.” – Orlando Sentinel
Author: Matthew Westphal
Once Again. Trump’s Proposed Budget Defunds NEA, NEH, Public Broadcasting, Libraries
“For the third time in as many years, the White House has proposed a federal budget that would shutter the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting — which supports PBS and NPR — and the Institute of Museum and Library Services. Like last year, the plan provides small appropriations for each agency to facilitate its orderly demise.” – The Washington Post
British Opera Audiences Are Booing The Villains, Just Like At A Panto
“Audiences at the opera are increasingly booing the ‘baddies’, not for a perceived poor performance but because of their characters, in a change that has been attributed to the enthusiasm of new audiences. While lifelong opera-lovers have feared the trend may be disconcerting for singers, especially foreign stars who would find the world of pantomime alien, it has been emphatically welcomed by many.” – The Telegraph (UK)
Actor Richard Erdman, 93
“The mirthful character actor who stood out on the big screen in The Men, Cry Danger and Stalag 17 and then on the sitcom Community … excelled at playing soldiers, sailors, wisecracking sidekicks and pals.” – The Hollywood Reporter
UK’s National Portrait Gallery Turns Down £1 Million Of Sackler Money
“London’s National Portrait Gallery has decided against accepting a £1m grant from the Sackler Trust, following growing controversy over the damaging medical impact of OxyContin, a drug produced by the family’s pharmaceutical company.” – The Art Newspaper
La Scala To Return €3 Million Of Saudi Money
“The Teatro alla Scala in Milan on Monday decided to return more than three million euros in funding to Saudi Arabia, amid growing criticism that Italy’s premier temple of music should not accept money from a country with a jarring human rights record. Mayor Giuseppe Sala said the theater’s board of directors had deliberated over the issue and ‘unanimously decided to return the money.'” – The New York Times
My remarks at the 8th World Summit on Arts & Culture
The Theme of the 2019 Summit, which took place in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, was Mobile Minds: Culture, Knowledge and Change. And the panel on which I spoke was listed as a provocation called: Actors in Change. Below is a transcript of my remarks. – Diane Ragsdale
Thank Heaven for Museum Renovations!
I’ve been away for a few weeks, but I don’t want you to miss notice of an excellent exhibition at the Kimbell Art Museum: The Lure of Dresden: Bellotto at the Court of Saxony, which runs until Apr. 28. – Judith H. Dobrzynski
Culture Closures: Trump’s FY2020 Budget Proposal Would Axe NEA, NEH, IMLS
Is it mere coincidence that First Lady Melania Trump tweeted a shoutout to the National Endowment for the Arts on the same day that her husband released a FY2020 budget proposal that would eliminate the NEA and NEH? – Lee Rosenbaum
Patchel’s ‘Plinkout’
Keith Patchel, a New York-based composer and producer, has created a free online/mobile application called Plinkout, which he is touting as “the easiest way to teach anyone,” especially kids, how to play an instrument as well as how to learn “the core cognitive ideas of music.” – Jan Herman