The newly-retired dance critic of The New York Times wrote an actual letter to the editor saying that, while he quite liked Emma Sandall’s article this week about the history of high leg lifts in ballet, there were a few historical assertions in it that he takes issue with. — Dance Magazine
Author: Matthew Westphal
Incoming Director Of DC’s National Gallery Is Bringing Quite A Lot To The Job
Kaywin Feldman is coming to Washington from the Minneapolis Institute of Art, where attendance more than doubled during her ten-year directorship. As Peggy McGlone reports, Feldman did that with an engaging and persuasive personality, a belief in data-driven marketing, and a commitment to serving multiple communities. — The Washington Post
Upright Citizens Brigade To Close One Of Its Theaters
“[UCB], facing substantial financial pressures, announced on Wednesday that it would be closing its East Village location in Manhattan, a month after laying off several staff members. That will leave the comedy theater with three venues: Its struggling flagship in Hell’s Kitchen, which opened last year, and two locations in Los Angeles.” — The New York Times
Sergei Polunin Gets Himself In Trouble Again, This Time With Homophobic Instagram Post
“Though Polunin has long had a reputation for behaving inappropriately, in the last month his posts have been somewhat unhinged. … A troubling tirade about gender and sexuality remains on his feed, … though it’s hard to discern his point through his manic language.” In reaction, some Paris Opera Ballet dancers are objecting to his upcoming guest appearance in the company’s Swan Lake. — Dance Magazine
‘The Most Trusted Woman On TV’, Reporter Sylvia Chase, Dead At 80
“[Her] professionalism and perseverance in the 1970s helped a generation of women infiltrate the boys club of television news … She broke ground on topics like sex abuse in the workplace and in prison. She also reported on a diet pill that was linked to lung disease; … racism in law enforcement; and publicly funded programs that provided horrific care for disabled children.” — The New York Times
Royal Shakespeare Co., Punchdrunk, Philharmonia Orchestra At Work On New Immersive Virtual Reality Project
“The RSC-led performance project is a collaboration of 15 organisations, including Epic Games, the creator of online video game Fortnite. Other collaborators include theatre company Punchdrunk, the Philharmonia Orchestra and Manchester International Festival. … Public body Innovate UK is awarding the funding as part of its Audiences of the Future programme.” — The Stage
That Caravaggio That Turned Up In An Attic? French Gov’t Decides It’s Not Authentic And Can Be Sold
“The painting, found in April 2014 in the attic of a house near Toulouse, southern France, was thought to be another version of the famed [Judith Beheading Holofernes] by the maverick 16th-century Italian artist.” The French ministry of culture promptly put an export ban on it and reserved the right to buy it for a national museum — an option the government has now allowed to expire amid continuing questions about the Caravaggio attribution. — The Art Newspaper
Fighting Hindu Nationalism With Urdu Poetry
As prime minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party continues to encourage an exclusionary Hindu version of Indian nationalism, more liberal-minded Indians (by no means only Muslims) are reading, writing, reciting, and listening — in venues from tea shops to stadiums — to poetry in Urdu, the (to oversimplify) Islamized version of Hindi that has a revered, centuries-old tradition of verse across the subcontinent. — The Guardian
Once-Feted Dancing Girls Of Lahore Fall On Hard Times As Pakistan Becomes Ever More Conservative
“The dancing style is known as ‘nautch,’ and is a sophisticated art form that arose out of the Muslim Mughal empire and peaked in the mid-19th century.” After partition, many of India’s nautch dancers settled in Lahore, where the form had a new heyday. Now the Pakistani authorities have cracked down, closing venues and schools, and most of the best dancers have gone abroad. — The New York Times
Why Did All The Bells On Philly’s Avenue Of The Arts Stop Ringing?
In 1996, when a multimillion-dollar renovation of South Broad Street was completed, sound artist Robert Coburn attached 39 small bronze bells to lampposts along the newly-christened “Avenue of the Arts.” For a year or so, they played melodies fed from an electronic terminal, but they’ve been silent for two decades now. A reporter found out why. — The Philadelphia Inquirer