James Sewell is “no stranger to the city, but few New Yorkers have been able to watch him develop, at 43, into one of American ballet’s most inventive choreographers. A leading dancer in Eliot Feld’s company in the 1980’s, he founded his dance troupe in New York in 1990, but then moved it to his hometown, Minneapolis, in 1993.”
Blog
Seeing Stars – Billington Replies
Theatre critic Michael Billington responds to David Hare’s criticism of the newspaper stars system for reviews. “The problem is there are two sides to the case. As a critic, I often curse star ratings. Yet I know that a four- or five-star review can cause a stampede at the box office for a show that might easily be overlooked. As an occasional moviegoer and CD buyer, I also find the star system helpful in sorting wheat from chaff.”
Telegraph Weighs In On Review Stars
“I am very proud that we have held out against the tide, because I am with David Hare on this one: star systems demean the role of reviewers, and they devalue the art forms reviewed.”
Remaking The Young Vic – With Care
So the West End’s Young Vic Theatre is about to get a £12.5 million makeover. And does it ever need it. But hold on – much of the theatre building of the past ten years has had problems, and no one really wants to disturb the feel of the place. So how to go about it?
Sunday Morning’s Top-Rated Show (Quietly)
What’s the attraction of the arts/newsmagazine CBS Sunday Morning, which is celebrating 25 years on the air? “Sunday Morning” viewers, Osgood says, defy conventional wisdom. They do not watch with a clicker in their hand. They sit or lie in front of the TV for much of the show’s 90 minutes. It is the highest-rated Sunday morning program, easily outdistancing “Meet the Press” with more than 4 1/2 million viewers a week. They tune in for stories that are not told anywhere else on TV.”
Blighted Reality (And It’s Getting Worse)
“In the weeks ahead, channel surfers will find it virtually impossible to avoid aspiring pop stars, scheming careerists, thrill seekers, lovelorn geeks and all-star survivors. Why is this happening? The long answer might involve a florid excursion into the cyclical nature of television. A commentary on why pop culture is inherently disposable. Or how “reality” shows generate buzz and ratings by creating an artificial sense of urgency. But let’s start with the short answer: TV execs are big, fat liars.”
The End For Toronto Theatre Alliance?
The Toronto Theatre Alliance, which runs the city’s discount dicket booths and coordinates annual theatre awards, is in dire financial straits. Unable to meet expenses, and “in the face of what the organization’s new Executive Director, Jacoba Knaapen, calls ‘a major financial crisis,’ she gave four weeks notice to herself and her entire staff.”
All About The FX
“Once upon a time – say, back in the 1970s – the visual trickery employed by filmmakers was meant to look real. In many of today’s movies, however, the effects are meant to look cool. The difference is huge.”
Cuno Named To Head Art Institute Of Chicago
James Cuno, currently director of the Courtauld Institute of Art in London, has been named director of the Art Institute of Chicago. “For nearly 12 years Mr. Cuno was director of the Harvard University Art Museums, a complex that under his leadership doubled the size of its staff and budget and emerged as one of the best smaller museums in the United States. At Harvard in the 1990’s he directed a $37 million capital campaign that ended up raising $55 million.”
Bychkov – The Hot Young Thing…20 Years Later
Semyon Bychkov is making his Metropolitan Opera debut this week, 20 years after he seemed like the next hot conductor. What happened? “Bychkov’s career illustrates, among other things, the growing pains that take place in the trajectory from wunderkind to established maestro. At 51, with a mop of curly black hair, he’s still young in conductor years. But for conductors and musicians of his generation, those growing pains were exacerbated by the decline of the recording industry, meaning that big cushy recording contracts with major labels were not renewed. Meanwhile his newness wore off. Always a conductor with a certain amount of brio and showmanship, a crackling energy that gets the audience going, he is sometimes branded heavy-handed.”