“This flowering of ballet in Egypt, an East-meets-West tale of Cold War cultural politics, happened long ago, in the 1960s and early ’70s. … The Egyptian ballerina Magda Saleh danced the dream role of Giselle in Moscow as a guest star with the mighty Bolshoi Ballet … and in the opera house in her hometown, Cairo – where to call a woman a ‘dancer’ was an insult – with a full troupe of Egyptians trained by Russians in an academy established by the Egyptian state.”
Blog
This 1932 Opera By An African-American Woman Was A Hit When It Premiered. Why Haven’t We Heard It Since?
“Composed by [Shirley] Graham, who had studied at Oberlin … and would later marry W.E.B. Du Bois, the opera” – titled Tom-Tom – “tells the diaspora story of African-Americans, beginning in an unnamed West African village, traveling to a Southern plantation, and ending amid the Harlem Renaissance.” Why did it disappear? Says scholar Lucy Caplan, who re-discovered the score and hopes to see it produced, “Opera companies also would have been hesitant to put on a work by a black female composer affiliated with the Communist Party.”
Is There A Short Story Renaissance? Not Really
“[This] isn’t to say 2017 wasn’t a good year for the short story – it was, but the ‘renaissance of the short story’ story is an old one that is rolled out year after year. Does that matter? I think it does. By getting caught up in this recurring phantom narrative” – because the genre never really faded – “and dwelling on press release froth rather than the work being produced, we spurn the opportunity to talk about short stories in a way that might actually deepen how they are understood and engaged with by readers.”
Orchestras Aren’t The Only Ones Who Need To Get Over The ‘Maestro Myth’ – Theatre Companies Do, Too
“It’s not [Nicholas Hytner’s] fault that during his 12-year tenure at the National Theatre he wildly discombobulated expectations of what artistic directors could do. But that is what happened, because … in the wake of Hytner, it’s assumed that a single figure can be as brilliant directing as they are a chief executive, ultimately responsible for everything.” Steven Atkinson, himself artistic director of a theatre company, argues that it’s high time that the demands and expectations of the job be rethought.
Merriam-Webster Dictionary Admits 850 New Words, Including ‘Embiggen’
“The official ruling … gives embiggen the long-overdue recognition it deserves for being both an incredibly useful word and one of the greatest things to come out of The Simpsons. Though embiggen has definitely enjoyed more popularity because of its frequent use in Ms. Marvel, the word was first introduced (in a modern pop cultural context) in ‘Lisa the Iconoclast,’ the sixteenth episode of The Simpsons‘ seventh season.”
Guards At DC’s National Gallery Of Art Complain Of Years Of Hostile Working Environment
“Sexual harassment, various instances of discrimination and retaliation are among the top complaints, according to these employees. They describe supervisors who are inept at scheduling, a workforce that is chronically understaffed and managers who are not held accountable for their actions.”
Tap-Dance Genius Michelle Dorrance To Create Three Works For ABT
“[The MacArthur Fellow] will create three works for American Ballet Theater dancers, starting with a pièce d’occasion for Ballet Theater’s spring gala on May 21. The new works, announced on Tuesday by the company, are co-commissions with the Vail Dance Festival, where Ms. Dorrance will create the second piece.”
Director Of MOCA In L.A. Fires Chief Curator
“Helen Molesworth, the chief curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art whose exhibitions have included the critically acclaimed 2017 Kerry James Marshall retrospective that was also a rare popular hit, has been fired, according to sources close to the museum. … [MOCA board member Catherine] Opie said she called [director Philippe] Vergne after receiving the surprise [news] and was told that Molesworth had not written a letter of resignation but was terminated for ‘undermining the museum.'”
City Of Bordeaux Fires Museum Of Contemporary Art’s Chief Curator; French Art World Fights Back
“María Inés Rodríguez, the director of the Musée d’Art Contemporain de Bordeaux, was called into a town hall meeting last Tuesday, March 6, during which she was informed that her artistic program was ‘too demanding’ and she was being let go. … But a group of more than 50 art world luminaries … have now signed an open letter condemning Rodriguez’s forthcoming dismissal.”
Minneapolis-St. Paul’s Theater Awards Shut Down
“The Ivey Awards have been celebrating theatre in the Twin Cities for the past 13 years. But on Feb. 28, the organization announced that it will discontinue producing the annual awards event due to difficulty raising funds.” Allison Considine looks at the history of the prizes and reaction to their disappearance.