With the country having at least half a dozen thriving classical dance forms of its own, European-style ballet never caught on in a big way in India. Yet Yana Lewis, a veteran ballerina and teacher from England who settled in India in 1998, founded and runs the Lewis Foundation of Classical Ballet in Bangalore, where she’s training dancers and, crucially, dance instructors who can understand and respect Indian social mores in a way that most foreign ballet masters don’t. – The New Indian Express
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What Purpose Do Book Fairs Serve In Today’s Market?
Aching feet. Poor access to caffeine. But much more important, what business needs does a publishing trade show serve in the 21st century? – LitHub
Louis Andriessen Has Dementia And Has Written His Last Music
The 81-year-old composer suffered a fall last year; this past January, his condition having worsened, he was diagnosed with a combination of Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia and has moved into a long-term care facility. That means that May, a cantata written for Cappella Amsterdam and the Orchestra of the 18th Century that has its world premiere on Saturday (Dec. 5) at the Concertgebouw, is almost certainly his final work. Journalist Guido van Oorschot interviews Andriessen’s wife and his assistant and orchestrator for May about how the score came together and the composer’s state of health. – de Volkskrant (in Dutch)
The Great Library That Was Completely Destroyed Twice In 26 Years
By the early 20th century, the Catholic University of Leuven/Louvain in Belgium had one of Europe’s great libraries, with 300,000 volumes in total, including rare manuscripts from medieval Europe and the Near East as well as early printed volumes. What’s more, it was open to the general public. Then, in 1914, Kaiser Wilhelm’s army marched through and burned the place down, an action which drew worldwide condemnation. An international effort after World War I rebuilt the collection — and then, in 1940, Hitler’s army blew the place up. Richard Ovenden, director of the Bodleian Libraries at Oxford, recounts the sad history. – Literary Hub
Why The NY Times Didn’t Include Meryl Streep On Its ’25 Greatest Actors Of The 21st Century’ List
“Late last month, after the list published online, [Manohla] Dargis and [A.O.] Scott discussed notable disagreements, that Meryl Streep exclusion” (had it been a list of 20th-century actors, she’d have been there) “and the importance of representing performances from around the globe.” – The New York Times
Alison Lurie, Pulitzer-Winning Comic Novelist, Dead At 94
“In addition to writing 11 works of fiction, Ms. Lurie was an essayist and a scholar of children’s literature who taught at Cornell University for years. But she was best known for her comedies of manners — many of them set at the fictional Corinth University — about well-educated women who have plunged into a marriage or career that fails, sometimes woefully, to live up to expectations.” – The Washington Post
Altar To Ancient Greek God Found Embedded In Wall Of Byzantine Church
“Researchers excavating a Byzantine church in northern Israel have uncovered a second- or third-century altar to Greek pastoral god Pan. Incorporated into a church wall, the basalt pillar sheds light on the intertwined nature of early Christianity and pagan beliefs.” – Smithsonian Magazine
BBC To Broadcast Series Of Plays Recorded In Theatres
“Lights Up, the latest phase of the broadcaster’s Culture In Quarantine initiative, will feature a combination of premieres and older plays recorded for the first time. … The initiative begins in February 2021 and seeks to ‘light up’ stages and studios across the UK as productions are recorded in spaces that have remained largely empty during the pandemic.” – Yahoo! (Press Association UK)
Tate Galleries To Cut Another 12% Of Workforce
“For the second time this year, the Tate is cutting jobs — 120 of them, or about 12 percent of the institution’s overall workforce. The staffing reduction comes as the museum faces an expected loss of £56 million ($75.3 million) in self-generated income due to closures for almost half of 2020.” Earlier this year, 295 staffers were made redundant across the Tate’s four branches in London, Liverpool, and Cornwall. – Artnet
They’re Trying A New COVID Tactic At Australia’s Largest Arts Festival
“The Adelaide Festival has launched its 2021 program after a nightmare year that has seen more than 200 international artists scratched from its form sheet – and the program announcement itself pushed back after South Australia went into immediate lockdown a day before it was due. … But a number of international acts will now be livestreaming their performances into Her Majesty’s Theatre from their home bases in Europe and the US.” – The Guardian