Author: sbergman

Where Are All The Black Ballerinas?

Modern American ballet is innovative, exploratory, diverse… and strangely devoid of black women. “While other minorities have made inroads in classical ballet, the complicated reality of racial inequality persists, especially for black women… Many black dancers suggest that a primary obstacle is stereotyping. Black women are perceived as being forceful, which doesn’t square with the ethereal image of a ballerina.”

Spidey Senses A Record

The heavily promoted (but critically unpopular) Spider Man 3 smashed box office records this weekend with its US release, raking in $148 million in two nights while playing on more than 4,200 screens (also a record.) The previous record for an opening weekend was $136m, set by last year’s Pirates of the Caribbean sequel.

Opera Cleveland Stumbles Out Of The Gate

The newly formed Opera Cleveland (product of a merger of two other companies) decided to aim high with its first production, staging Richard Strauss’s challenging “Salome.” But at a time when the public in any city in America can see the Met’s lavish New York-based productions on movie screens, Donald Rosenberg says that smaller-budget companies must display not only musical skill, but creativity of staging, qualities that were lacking in the new company’s debut effort.

Jazz & The Classics, Together Again

Classical music and jazz have long danced around each other’s outer edges, but lately, there seems to be a proliferation of crossover projects between the two. Is it Gunther Schuller’s famous “Third Stream” finally growing into a widespread cultural phenomenon, or a new evolution of both genres of music?

Venezuela’s Orchestral Magic

Venezuela’s dynamic music education system is no longer the well-kept secret it once was, and with the appointment of Gustavo Dudamel as the next music director of the LA Philharmonic, the country is being recognized as a virtual factory of orchestral talent. “So far, the Venezuelan music education system has not produced a generation of young composers on par with Mexico’s. Yet it’s indisputable that its musician training program produces top-notch orchestra players.”

LA History Museum To Raise $115m For Renovation

“The Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History quietly has begun a $115-million fundraising campaign and five-year renovation project to update the oldest segment in its string of connected structures in Exposition Park. The renovations, already underway, include restoring the museum’s original 1913 rotunda, letting in a lot more light and girding it with modern earthquake protection. Existing exhibition spaces in the rotunda building and adjoining 1920s-vintage areas will be reconfigured to create six new galleries.”

Does This Mean Fewer Godawful Andre Rieu Shows?

At a time when many public television stations are cutting back on local programming, LA’s KCET is taking the daring approach of dramatically expanding its local reach in an effort to draw in new audiences. “KCET’s proposal is just the sort of programming public broadcasting needs to keep government funds, a small but significant portion of its budget, from shriveling.”

Consistency vs. Turnover

Singing a lead role in a Metropolitan Opera production is a tough job. Replacing a popular lead in the same Met production is flatly terrifying. “How is it possible to maintain integrity in the staging when major roles in the cast change, especially when the changes occur weeks and even months apart?” It’s a delicate balancing act.

PBS Standing Firm Behind Burns

PBS says that Ken Burns has earned the right to tell the story of World War II as he sees fit, without interference from the Hispanic interest groups which have been demanding changes to the documentarian’s latest work. As the Congressional Hispanic Caucus gets into the act, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting “reminded Congress of the editorial independence that was guaranteed in the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967.”