“It could convert the giddy Olympian optimism of 2012 into wonders that will unfold over decades. It could be, to use the favourite adjective of eternally amazed sports broadcasters, incredible. But according to three venerable architects – Royal Academicians, still with fire in their bellies from their 1960s youths – it will not.”
Author: ArtsJournal2
Why You Sure Should Applaud The Ensemble Dancers In Big Shows
“I’m venturing to bet if there was a Lip Sync Battle between [Britney Spears] and a Broadway dancer, the Broadway dancer would kick her ass.”
How A Small-Town Bookstore Is Born
“Before there can be books, there has to be work: cleaning, sanding, painting, moving.”
The Complex Debate Over A Celebrated Black Director And All He Brings With Him
“Parker seemed like a significant new presence in both the film and activism worlds. Unfortunately, the promise of both him and his movie appears now to be too good to be true.”
Without Music, Shakespeare Might Never Have Been Shakespeare
“The revelatory experience of candlelight and music in these indoor playhouses – the Blackfriars, the Whitefriars, the Fortune – meant that a theatre and music revolution was occurring, simultaneously with the growth of literacy.”
The Real-Life Adults Of ‘Kids’ Show Us How New York Has Changed
“Before a bunch of yuppie goons took over the streets of Manhattan, they belonged to kids. It was the 90s. They were a bunch of broke teenagers from different boroughs who united in the East Village. High lived on St. Marks Place. Her mom was chill. Their apartment was the main base for the crew to crash, to eat. They smoked pot, drank 40s out of brown-paper bags, partied on rooftops, and skated through Washington Square Park.”
Looks Like This Banksy Work Has Been Destroyed
“The house on which the mural is painted is a few miles from GCHQ, home of the UK government’s surveillance operations. It appeared just months after Edward Snowden’s revelations of widespread phone-tapping by western governments.”
This Jazz Pianist And Composer Took Her Mentor’s Style And Made It Her Own
“Connie Crothers, a jazz pianist who carried the mantle of her famous mentor, Lennie Tristano, but built her own identity as an inventive composer, improviser and instructor, died on Aug. 13 in Manhattan. She was 75. … In all her work, from billowy solo piano to sharp ensemble playing, melody was her main concern.”
A Salute To Gawker, Which Is About To Die
“A media organization that is founded on hostility to the powerful and is run with almost no internal hierarchy will naturally be irregular. It will be invasive in ways that serve the public interest and in ways that cross a shifting public line.”
Top Posts From AJBlogs For 08.21.16
Who’s Telling Your Story (Storytellers Are Now Our Leaders)
He who tells the story sets the agenda. Looking for artistic leadership? Look for who is telling the most compelling stories… read more
AJBlog: diacritical | Douglas McLennan
This Week In Audience: Understanding Troll Culture
This Week: A look at online troll culture – were these awful people always among us?… Here’s who goes to choral concerts… A look inside the brain as it watches movies… Lin Manuel Miranda’s crusade … read more
AJBlog: AJ Arts AudiencePublished 2016-08-21
Almanac: P.G. Wodehouse on drama critics
“Nobody loves them, and rightly, for they are creatures of the night. Has anybody ever seen a dramatic critic in the daytime? I doubt it. They come out after dark, and we know how we … read more
AJBlog: About Last NightPublished 2016-08-19
Queering the canon – the new normal?
In John Tiffany’s absorbing production of The Glass Menagerie (seen in New York in 2013, now playing at the Edinburgh International Festival), isolation is a defining note. The Wingfield family’s St Louis apartment … read more
AJBlog: Performance MonkeyPublished 2016-08-19
Ystad Followup: Kathrine Windfeld
The Rifftides wrapup report on the Ystad Sweden Jazz Festival included a brief, enthusiastic comment about a performance by the Kathrine Windfeld Big Band of her piece “Aircraft.” This young Danish composer, arranger and pianist … read more
AJBlog: RiffTidesPublished 2016-08-18
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