“Susan Marshall presented a 20th-anniversary season at the Dance Theater Workshop that confirmed her reputation as an inventive and persuasive dance maker. Like very few other choreographers (Doug Varone is another), Marshall understands intimacy and is moved by it.”
Blog
Ownership Of Heritage? It’s Complicated
“Heritage is piously declared the legacy of all humanity. But the possessive jealousies of particular claimants pose huge obstacles to our global common inheritance. Confining possession to some while excluding others is the raison d’être of most heritage. Created to generate and protect group interests, it benefits us mainly if withheld from others…”
UK Movie Producers Fear New Tax Law Will Kill Shooting
New UK tax rules say “British films will no longer be able to claim tax relief on money spent overseas. The government says this is essential to bring the UK in line with European Union law. But some producers fear it may mean British movies that need to be filmed abroad will no longer be able to raise enough money.”
Renovation Plans Humming Right Along
Next year, Toronto’s Hummingbird Centre will close for a 20-month renovation, which is expected to revitalize the theatre’s place in the city’s cultural landscape. Which isn’t bad for a building that wasn’t expected to survive at all once its resident opera and ballet companies moved out three years ago.
Fighting For Justice And The “Lion”
Back in 1939 Solomon Linda wrote the song that would later be called “The Lion Sleeps Tonight.” “Some 150 artists eventually recorded the song. It was translated into languages from Dutch to Japanese. It had a role in more than 13 movies. By all rights, Mr. Linda should have been a rich man. Instead, he lived in Soweto with barely a stick of furniture, sleeping on a dirt floor carpeted with cow dung. Mr. Linda received 10 shillings — about 87 cents today — when he signed over the copyright of “Mbube” in 1952 to Gallo Studios, the company that produced his record. He also got a job sweeping floors and serving tea in the company’s packing house.”
Why Northwest Chamber Orchestra Folded
Why did Seattle’s Northwest Chamber Orchestra have to close? “A confluence of events forced the 33-year-old musical institution to draw its curtain. Chief among them, a decline in public funding of the arts and increased competition from other musical offerings. But the lion’s share of the blame lies with the orchestra’s history of dysfunctional leadership.”
Everybody Loves Jackman
Broadway’s most valuable leading man, Hugh Jackman, must feel pretty popular these days. Not only does he have multiple offers on the table, but some of New York’s most powerful theatre companies are openly fighting over his services.
Is It Time To Retire The Whitney Biennial?
Christopher Knight says that the Whitney Biennial has become so dull and predictable as to make one question why it still exists. “The need for a national art survey disappeared long ago. What use does it have in a global art world characterized by broad public popularity in international urban centers, inexpensive travel, instant communications and a roaring marketplace? Even with work by 101 artists, as the show boasts this year, surely no one considers the biennial a reliable survey of anything.”
Hook ‘Em Early, And They’ll Never Leave You
“A line of DVDs for babies and parents created by a national child advocacy group and the creators of Sesame Street is drawing heated criticism and renewing the debate over whether children under 2 should watch television.”
EU Lead Regulations Could Ban Pipe Organs
The European Union, known on the continent primarily for governmental overreach and excessive bureaucracy, is about to ban pipe organs. Seriously. “The reason? Organ pipes contain large amounts of lead, and the wind that blows through them is generated by electricity (rather than the older method of people pumping bellows behind the organ). The new directive, to come into force in July, limits the proportion of hazardous substances like lead, mercury or cadmium to 0.1 percent of a finished product that works on electricity.” The law was not intended to apply to pipe organs, but officials have continually refused to create a broad exemption, saying that each organ manufacturer must apply separately to be exempted.