If you get up to dance in a New York City bar, you’re breaking the law. “Call it whatever you like—writhing, shimmying, bumping, grinding, ‘the white-man’s overbite’ — but if three or more people are executing it in a bar, nightclub or music hall that does not have a valid New York City ‘cabaret’ license, the establishment will be fined. If such “violations” occur again, they can be padlocked.” Now the city is thinking about revising the 77-year-old law…
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BBC’s New Arts Show: All About Yentob
BBC1 has a new arts show. It’s not very good, writes Patrick Wright. Perhaps it’s because Alan Yentob the BBC exec is also Alan Yentob the producer and Alan Yentob the presenter. Is this too much Yentob around which to build an arts franchise?
The Ladies Of City Ballet
“All in all, things are looking up at New York City Ballet. Despite the erosion of detail evident throughout the Balanchine repertory (due, needless to say, to lack of appropriate coaching), there are at last enough strong ballerinas in place so that a number of Mr. B’s ballets are looking better than they were. And that’s what City Ballet is all about, pace Martins’ often-stated dictum that the company mustn’t become a museum. City Ballet is a museum, the central Balanchine museum, as the Prado is for Goya.”
Pay For Coming Attractions?
Are some movie studios paying theatres to run trailers of their movies? “Studios historically have been adamant in refusing to pay for trailer placement, arguing that the previews are as beneficial to theaters as they are to distributors. But exhibitors are on the hunt for new revenue streams as they regain their financial footing following the massive screen build-outs of the past few years — and the large cash outlays that made such expansion possible. While no studio would go on record as admitting to attempts at trailer placement, the subject has generated enough buzz around town to indicate that it is worth examining.”
Art Lives In New Jersey
New Jersey’s state budget is now official, and the arts have survived. “The budget calls for $19 million in funding for arts and cultural programs. That’s a drop from the $31.7 million the state gave to arts groups last year but a far cry from McGreevey’s original budget proposal, which called for eliminating arts funding entirely.”
First Impressions At Disney Hall
The Los Angeles Philharmonic won’t officially open its new Frank Gehry-designed digs until the fall, but a special open rehearsal/performance by the Phil this week allowed musicians and critics their first shot at assessing the acoustics of the much-anticipated space. The hall will have to be “tuned,” of course, a process which will last months if not years, but Mark Swed was encouraged by the “plentiful bass, crystalline clarity and forceful immediacy” of the orchestra’s new home.
Cleveland Orch Goes In-House For Top Hiring
“Gary Hanson, who was responsible for the restoration of Severance Hall as associate executive director of the Cleveland Orchestra, will become executive director when Thomas Morris retires from the position on March 1… Hanson’s biggest project – and triumph – was the $36.7 million Severance Hall restoration, which both improved existing areas of the orchestra’s home in University Circle and added needed administrative and public spaces. Hanson managed the $17 million renovation of Blossom, which opens Saturday with a gala concert conducted by Music Director Franz Welser-Möst.”
SAG/AFTRA Merger Fails By Slimmest of Margins
The proposed merger of the Screen Actor’s Guild and the American Federation of Television & Radio Artists has crumbled, after proponents of the plan failed to reach the 60% approval threshold necessary from the membership of both unions. AFTRA approved the merger by a wide margin, but only 58% of SAG members voted yes, scuttling the deal. The merger has been the source of much controversy among actors and TV/radio personalities, with several high-profile individuals all but staking their careers as union activists on its success.
The Marketing Machine That Ate The Universe
“We live at that moment in history when someone who has made a lot of money in the ad biz refers to fortune cookies as ‘a new marketing medium’ and ‘one of the last branding frontiers.’ And he is completely serious. His name is Mark Hughes. He is the CEO of Buzz Marketing, a firm specializing in that most desirable and elusive form of publicity – word-of-mouth, people talking to one another about your product. In a word, buzz.”
And Could The Conductor Wear An “Everybody Loves Raymond” T-Shirt?
Apparently, the “1812 Overture” is just too much music for CBS’s tastes. The network, which is supposed to be televising the Boston Pops’ annual 4th of July concert, has decided that it only wants the big, loud part of the Tchaikovsky overture – y’know, the part everyone can sing along to – and so it will ‘cut in’ to the performance near the end of the work, just in time for the cannons and the fireworks. The 1812 is approximately 20 minutes long when played without cuts, roughly 15 minutes longer than television executives believe that Americans are capable of paying attention to anything.