“Pantsula took its early influences predominantly from tap dance, with traces of jive, gumboot, tribal African dance and everyday gestures like dice-rolling. … Sixty years on, [it] still thrives in townships across South Africa, but its character and style have morphed in line with the lives of the people who cultivated it.”
Blog
Art For Art’s Sake, And For Social Justice’s Sake, Too: In Defense Of ‘The New Moralizers’
Inkoo Kang, responding to Wesley Morris’s essay “The Morality Wars”: “Whoever they are — lefty tweeters, emerging critics, the thinkpiece industry, or millennials and Gen Z at large — I’m probably a member. But I don’t recognize the collapse of nuanced debate that Morris presents. In part that’s because the generational shift Morris posits feels simplistic, given its lack of generosity toward these rabble-rousers.”
How A Director Under House Arrest In Moscow Directs An Opera In Zurich
Kirill Serebrennikov has been confined to his home for well over a year on embezzlement charges many say are trumped-up. Zurich Opera House had engaged Serebrennikov to direct Così fan tutte two years ago and decided to go ahead, figuring that he’d be released by now. No such luck — worse, he’s not allowed to use the internet or even a telephone. Shaun Walker reports on how Serebrennikov is managing to stage the production anyway.
For The First Time, Met Museum Exhibits Native American Art In American Wing
“The pieces, which represent the diverse cultural heritage of a wide range of indigenous peoples throughout the ages, have traditionally been displayed in the galleries of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas, but a milestone show at the Met is now seeking to situate Native American works within the broader narrative of American art.” The objects come from the collection of Charles and Valerie Diker, who required that they “be presented as American art rather than tribal art.”
Fangoria Has Risen From The Dead
“The fabled horror magazine that has thrilled and terrified readers since 1979 looked dead and buried last year. But now, just in time for Halloween, Fangoria has crawled out of its own grave in the form of a new quarterly journal with photos so high-gloss that the blood looks wet.”
Two More Former Students Accuse Cleveland Orchestra Concertmaster Of Sexual Harassment
This is the third such accusation against William Preucil, who has been suspended by the orchestra while management investigates the initial claim. As with that first allegation, both of the women who have just come forward say that the incidents happened during private lessons with Preucil.
Nigeria Is In A Creative Golden Age, And Its Influence Is Spreading All Over
“It’s been a seeping, decentralized thing; to call it a takeover would be hyperbole. But the assertive Nigerian global influence today cannot be denied, whether it’s in literature, music, fashion, or art, with new talents appearing at a relentless pace. Many hold court in London, … [and] others are in the United States, where middle-class immigrants have flourished in places like Houston and Atlanta. But all of them feed off the scene in Nigeria itself — and in its megacity, Lagos, a frenetic engine of creativity.”
One Of Britain’s Leading Contemporary Dance Companies Is Shutting Down
“The Richard Alston Dance Company, which has played an important role in British dance, will close in spring 2020, the company announced on Monday. Since the company’s inception in 1994, it has been resident at The Place, a contemporary dance center and performance space in north London where Mr. Alston, 70, has been the artistic director, also since 1994.”
Our Admission Prices Are Not Exorbitant, Says Director Of V&A
Tristram Hunt: “They have risen. Have they risen more than cinema prices? I doubt it. Have they risen more than train prices? I very much doubt it. … If people are willing to pay hundreds and hundreds of pounds on football season tickets then seeking to have a fair price for a work of great curatorial excellence does not seem to me wrong.”
In Divided, Right-Leaning, Very Catholic Poland, Film About Child Abuse By Priests Is A Major Hit
There was controversy around the movie, titled Clergy, even before it hit cinemas: at a film festival last month, once it was clear that the film would likely win the audience award, organizers canceled that category. Even so, Clergy attracted 1.7 million viewers in its first week; that’s about 4½ percent of Poland’s entire population and the equivalent of 14.5 million in the U.S.