“The BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra (BBC SSO) under chief conductor Thomas Dausgaard will perform during the six-day festival, from 30 October to 4 November, in Tokyo and Osaka. … This is part of an expansion of BBC Proms International, following successful tours of Australia and Dubai in 2016 and 2017.” — Classical Music (UK)
Author: Matthew Westphal
Ballet Is Catching On In Saudi Arabia (!)
They’re certainly not at the point of having public performances by women in tights and tutus yet, but ballet classes are becoming ever more popular, for adult women as well as for girls, especially in Jeddah. — Arab News
Remember Infomercials? They’ve Got More In Common With Apps Than We’d Like To Think
Ernie Smith gives a brief history of the very American phenomenon, from its 1949 birth (pitching Vitamix blenders, actually a legit product) through the Psychic Friends Network and Miss Cleo. “In a lot of ways, the modern app-store ecosystem shares much in common with the televised grift that many vintage infomercials specialized in. The difference, of course, is scale and intent.” — Tedium
Propwatch: the crown and buckets in Richard II
Richard II gives up power – though it’s not his choice. Shakespeare stages this concretely – a crown passed from one to another. The supposed divinity of majesty proves portable as a party hat. Richard, as often, reaches for an arresting metaphor: here, two buckets on a well. — David Jays
The Most Difficult Special Effect I Ever Got On Film (Or Didn’t Quite)
“We spoke to 35 filmmakers — directors, cinematographers, effects artists — about the toughest effect they’ve ever pulled off. The resulting stories run the gamut from the computer-generated to the practical, the spectacular to the subtle, and all of them remind us of the sweat that goes into making movie magic.” — Vulture
Dept. Of Homeland Security Has Mistaken This 90-Year-Old Theatre Historian For An ISIS Terrorist
David Mayer was a lieutenant in the US Army and spent decades living and teaching in Britain. Unfortunately, “David Mayer” was also an alias of one Akhmed Chatayev, a Chechen militant suspected of masterminding the 2016 attack on Istanbul’s airport. Several branches of the US government have gotten the two confused, and now the real Mayer can’t receive packages from the US and has trouble traveling. — The Observer (UK)
Scientists Virtually Reconstruct 1,500-Year-Old Bolivian Temple
“Using historical data, 3D-printed pieces, and architectural software, archaeologist Alexei Vranich from UC Berkeley has created a virtual reconstruction of Pumapunku — an ancient Tiwanaku temple now in ruins.” — Gizmodo
Wall Street Banker Gives It Up To Turn Around Struggling Brooklyn Conservatory Of Music
Chad Cooper, a 45-year-old former managing director at Deutsche Bank in New York, left that lucrative job to become executive director of the conservatory, 121 years old but at that point nearly insolvent. And he seems to have rescued the BCM, which brings the only music lessons available to hundreds of public school students and provides music therapy to 1,500 clients, including seniors with dementia and children with autism. — Fast Company
How’s A Poor Corps Member To Survive The Annual ‘Nutcracker’ Marathon?
Dancers from San Francisco Ballet, Ballet West in Salt Lake City, Tulsa Ballet, Boston Ballet, and Ballet Austin tell how their performances have changed over the years and share their key self-care tips. — Dance Magazine
So Just How Dependent Are Ballet Companies On ‘Nutcracker’ These Days?
“[Dance/USA] just reported on the state of The Nutcracker for the first time since 2008, and the data shows just how much the ballet’s prevalence has grown in the past 10 years — and how much companies have come to rely on it as a revenue source.” — Dance Magazine