Dance Theatre of Harlem is reopening its school, a few months after the company shut down to reorganize. The reopening is made possible by $1.6 million raised in the past month. A third of that amount is attributed to New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg. “This remarkable institution has represented the best of New York. With its shutting down, “you could immediately sense the void.”
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Boal Takes On PNB
Peter Boal is taking on a big challenge as new director of Seattle’s Pacific Northwest Ballet. PNB has big financial challenges and the leadership team he replaces are long time institutions with the company.
New Lobbyists Lobby For Fairer Copyright
A new lobbying group has been formed to argue for copyright laws that are fairer to consumers. “IPac pledges to support candidates and elected officials who fight for a balance in copyright law: The group will support those who advocate for laws that will pay creators without limiting political expression, innovation or research and education, and back laws that foster new creativity. The group says it believes that intellectual property laws should be clear so technologists can innovate without being sued.”
Did Vikings Discover America?
A controversial parchment map might rewrite the historical record of who “discovered” America. “The map, which is said to date from 1434 and was found in 1957, is believed by some to be evidence that Vikings who departed from Greenland around the year 1000 were the first to discover America.”
Greek Lawyers Withdraw Threat To Sue Over Alexander
Greek lawyers who had threatened to sue to keep the movie “Alexander” from being shown in Greece (because it depicted Alexander as gay) have withdrawn the threat. “The lawyers have withrawn their demand to have the film’s opening on Friday delayed, so they can watch a preview screening of it.”
Will Las Vegas Be The New Broadway?
“About 2,500 miles to the west of Times Square, another major U.S. tourist Mecca, Las Vegas, is now being referred to by some as “Broadway West.” Could a growing live-theatre industry in this glittery playground for gambling aficionados and lovers of flashy thrills pose a threat to the Great White Way and to the national theatre-tour market?”
When Is A French Film Not French?
A movie made by French and shot in France has been declared not French by a Paris court. “The film, which lands in theatres in North America on Friday, was shot in France using French actors and a French crew. However, the administrative court ruled that the film does not qualify as Gallic because the production company behind A Very Long Engagement, 2003 Productions, is backed by the Hollywood studio Warner Bros.”
Tivo: Commercially Yours
So Tivo is finding ways to hit us with commercials, even as we fast-forward past them in programming. “TiVo officials contend that the new features will not be any more intrusive than the “thumbs-up” icons that already appear during some commercials and shows. But to some customers, the impending advertising changes smack of betrayal from the innovators whose hard drive-based gizmo lets TV viewers record programs, fast-forward through ads and pause at will.”
Issue: Does A Critic Own Review Copies He’s Been Sent?
When Greg Gatenby was director of Toronto’s Harbourfront Centre’s literary programming, he collected review copies of books. Thousands of them. Now he’s planning to sell about 28,000 volumes worth an estimated $2-million, amassed in part during his time as director of Harbourfront. The issue (and the controversy): “When publishers send out free review copies of a book for promotional purposes, are they sending them to the individual or to the institution the individual works for? Gatenby maintained that the publishing industry sends them to the person and that the books then become that person’s property.
Best Of Nothing
Who looks at those best-of-the-year book lists? “Every year, literary editors feel that there is nothing their readers want more than a group of superannuated literary types telling them what they have enjoyed during the previous 12 months. There is no evidence that anyone reads these self-satisfied musings, but the papers persist anyway, competing desperately for the glitziest names.”