“Supers, as they are commonly known, stand on their feet for hours on end but only rarely get to take a bow. They nod and smile imperceptibly after a ballerina like Michele Wiles whips off rounds of triple fouette turns in “Swan Lake” but are forbidden to applaud. Being a courtier in “Raymonda” or a gritty butcher in “Romeo and Juliet,” is a thankless job. But in a full-length story ballet, someone has to blend into the crowd. Apart from having a love of dance and strong legs, supers, who generally are decades older than the dancers with whom they share the stage, must also be reliable.”
Blog
Complex Ideas Made Child-like
“It is invigorating to see adults make complex ideas available to children. But there is a less welcome, regressive trend in evidence, too – authors who hijack children’s literature to make their work more cosy.”
English Writers’ Group Caught Up In Free Expression Dispute
“English PEN, the writers’ organisation dedicated to freedom of expression and the support of persecuted writers, is caught up in an in-house row over freedom of expression.”
Theatre’s Facts-On-File, 2003 Edition
The American theatre community’s annual report on its health makes interesting reading. “In an economy that is seemingly in recovery — yet one in which the threat of uncertainty seems constant — the report is a curious mix of good news, not-so-good news, and plenty of well-considered spin. The announcement that the nonprofit theatre industry contributed a total of $1.4 billion to the U.S. economy, in the form of salaries, benefits, and payments for goods and services, is certainly a positive, yet this was also the figure cited in Theatre Facts 2002. Still, that figure is considerably more impressive than the $923 million figure cited in Theatre Facts 2001.”
15th Century Fresco Discovered Behind Pigeon Hole
A 15th Century fresco has been discovered on the ceiling of the Valencia Cathedral in Spain after art restorers became intrigued with pigeons flying through a hole in what turned out to be a false ceiling. “The fresco, which depicts four angels against a starry blue background, was painted by two Italians, Francesco Pagano and Paolo de San Leocadio, in the late 1400s.”
Schools Assess Artwork They Own
Across America, schools are making inventories of the artworks in their possession. “The steps come with a growing recognition that schools for decades have received valuable artwork that has not always been preserved or used well.”
Art Of Harassment
“Israeli military police have interrogated five reserve soldiers who put on an art exhibition detailing their gratuitous harassment and abuse of Palestinians in the city of Hebron.”
Indies Vs. Big Music – Guess Who’s Winning?
Small independent recording operations are thriving as the costs of recording and producing music drops. Indie music is “as healthy, one may even observe, as the mainstream is sick. Worldwide, hit records have become the privilege of a select few as embattled major labels take refuge in safe, carbon-copy acts.” Meanwhile, maverick artists are “increasingly taking music into their own hands, although no one is under no illusions about toppling Global Pop Inc any time soon.”
British Museum Reveals Innards Of A 2,800-Year-Old Mummy
This weekend the British Museum “unwrapped” a 2,800-year-old mummy by use of a high-tech scanner. “Using scanning technology developed by neurological researchers in a London hospital, the British Museum has recreated the kind of public ‘unrolling’ of a mummy that used to draw crowds in the 19th century. In those days irreversible damage was often caused to the remains inside and many mummies were discarded and lost forever.”
Langer – Pass On The Controversy
“Eli Langer, the artist most famous for having beaten Canada’s child-pornography law on a defence of ‘artistic merit,’ says he’d like to ‘pass the mantle on to some other artist, some other case.’ After more than a decade of being the one everybody calls when threats of censorship erupt, he wants to stop “contextualizing myself within the dialogue of child pornography in Canada’ and get on with his real life as a figurative painter.”