Very, very carefully. After the city went to phase three, the dancers and administration met over Zoom to figure out a return. “The new criteria for the one-hour show, now without an intermission: only married couples or roommates performing pas de deux, choreographic selections that lean heavily on solos and trios, and masks mandated for everyone in the building.” – Pointe Magazine
Author: ArtsJournal2
A Hungarian Banker’s Art Collection Was Looted By The Nazis, And His Heirs Are Still Trying To Get It Back
The claims are 75 years old, and much of the collection disappeared into the maw of the post-War Soviet Union. The remainder is mostly in Hungary. Hungary’s lawyer says “Hungary owns the artworks at issue through lawful purchase, gift, and the uniform application of property laws.” – The New York Times
Doreen Montalvo, ‘In The Heights’ And ‘Mrs. Doubtfire’ Actor, Has Died At 56
Montalvo, whom Lin-Manuel Miranda spoke about at length in a Twitter thread on Sunday morning, also performed in the forthcoming movies of In the Heights and West Side Story. – Variety
Australia Council Flips Out, Pulls Funding From Artist
It’s remarkably reminiscent of the NEA Four, for those who lived through that terrible time: A queer artist wants to use their body for their work; gets approval and funding; word is leaked to conservative outlets; said outlets absolutely flip out and condemn the council; council removes funding. All too gross and familiar. “The decision to kill the contract raises worrying questions about the potential government overreach and the possibility of censorship in Australian cultural policy at a time when the financial crisis in the sector is already threatening to shut out marginalised voices for good.” – The Guardian (UK)
Britain Will Investigate Whether Streaming Services Are Paying Musicians Enough
Honestly, does it truly take an investigation by Britain’s Members of Parliament to know the answer? Perhaps it does – to get honest, clear answers and clarity about where to go from here. – BBC
Seattle’s Intiman Theatre Finally Finds A New Home
After nearly dying – twice – and eight long deracinated years, the battered company has joined forces with Seattle Central College. – Seattle Times
The Lebanese Stained Glass Artist Who’s Trying To Rebuild After The Massive Beirut Explosion
Maya Husseini had celebrated her birthday and was feeling pretty good about her future as a retired artist when the explosion at a port in Beirut ripped the city, and her work, to shreds. “‘Thirty years of my professional life were gone,’ she said in an interview after the blast in her workshop near Beirut. ‘Dust!'” – The New York Times
The Small Arts Organizations That Missed Out On Britain’s Government Funding
One jazz venue: “Our club has £52 left in our business account for the future. … Without change I fear that the future of the arts in this country, especially for those less well off, will be in jeopardy.” – The Guardian (UK)
Doing Live Opera In Vienna During The Pandemic
To be in live opera right now, soprano Lisette Oropesa gets constant COVID nasal swabs, writes down everyone she’s spent more than 15 minutes with, and wears a mask in the building except when she’s on stage. “Now we are in close quarters, you just have to trust that you’re negative and everyone else around you is negative, and at the time it’s okay to touch and sing close to each other. But it’s still a tiny bit never-wracking.” – The Irish Times
Aching For The Return Of Live Theatre
Mary-Louise Parker isn’t unhappy about her Tony nomination. But it’s poking at some of the profession’s pandemic wounds. “I just want to see a ghost light. I want to hear someone call, ‘Places!’ I want to walk through the stage door. There’s just something about theater — even nights when I feel like I’ve only done a decent job, I feel like I’ve given something in a way I don’t on film or TV. It feels like I’ve exerted all my energy.” – The New York Times