Who’s going to replace Jack Valenti as head of the Motion Picture Association of America? Valenti’s a legend, and after his glamorous 38 years on the job, you’d think there would be no shortage of candidates to replace him. But the job is harder now and…
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Weinsteins Buy Distribution Rights To Moore Film
Miramax might have been barred from distributing Michael Moore’s new movie, but the company’s owners aren’t. “The studio’s founders, Harvey and Bob Weinstein, personally bought back the rights from parent company Disney, which had refused to distribute it.”
UK’s Endangered Cities
“The civic pride and freedoms of Britain’s great regional cities have been “brutally gutted” during the past 100 years and power must be given back to them, the Guardian Hay book festival was told on its opening day.”
Australian Ballet Posts Record loss
The Australian Ballet has posted its largest loss ever. “The ballet posted a $1 million loss for the calendar year 2003, nearly half of which was attributable to problems renting out space in its Australian Ballet Centre at Southbank.”
Boston Dance Center Dream On The Line
Dan Yonah Ben-Dror Marshall had a dream to open a community dance center in the Boston area. “With a lot of help from friends and family, he opened the Brookline Community Center for the Arts in Coolidge Corner early last year. With six studios, provisions for live music and performances, and about 100 teachers on board, he thought this one-stop shopping for dance would sell itself in no time. One year later, the center is struggling to stay afloat, and the dream could very well die on July 15.”
Is Houston Ready To Step Up To Modern?
Houston throws a big dance festival but no ballet allowed. “The sheer number of choreographers surfacing at the Big Range Dance Festival suggests that a new fertile period has sprouted. But does Houston really have the chops to be a good modern-dance town? And how can it keep the momentum going this time around?”
New York’s Dance Guru
“Like the top teachers who came before him — Stanley Williams, Maggie Black, David Howard — Wilhelm Burmann, who has presided over this particular 90-minute class for nearly 20 years, is easily the most revered New York ballet teacher of his era. That his class is packed with ballet stars who forgo company class in favor of his instruction is a testament to his remarkable ability to see the problem, be it a wobbly pirouette or a sagging ankle, and fix it. What you see in his class is raw, exposed dancing in which members of American Ballet Theater, New York City Ballet and the Dance Theater of Harlem learn together, dance together and, most thrillingly, egg each other on.”
Does Scotland Know Enough To Judge Its Arts?
Scotland is undergoing a study of its cultural landscape in order to help the government formulate its funding priorities. But critics warn that a “scarcity of reliable facts and figures will hamper the work of the new commission, established a month ago by the Scottish Executive to inform and shape the future of arts and culture in Scotland.”
NY Phil Tests Handheld Concert PDA
The New York Philharmonic tests a new handheld device that beams information to audience members while the orchestra performs. “The device, nicknamed CoCo by its creators, also features program notes and video images, all delivered in real time from a computer backstage. Think of Cliff Notes for the musically challenged.”
Pulitzer Music Category Expanding
The Pulitzer Prizes are expanding in the music category, broadening the award in music that would “open the door to musical theater scores, film scores and works containing large elements of improvisation, in theory even an improvised jam session with a jazz ensemble. The move is sure to win plaudits in some circles, especially in Hollywood, on Broadway and within organizations like Jazz at Lincoln Center, while provoking criticism among more traditional composers at many of America’s universities.”