Those Slow-Moving Canadians

National Ballet of Canada director James Kudelka on the difference between Canadian and American dancers: It hardly needs mentioning that work like this is harder to do in a cold climate, and Kudelka believes that the weightier, slower look of Canadian dancers may actually have something to do with things like thicker blood and winter lethargy. ‘We’re less energetic than American dancers. Balanchine got dancers from Texas and Florida and California, where it was always summer. The bodies from the Midwest got left on the tarmac’.”

Writing After The Kid’s Market

“It is strange to find that I have joined the swelling ranks of children’s authors, since that was never either an ambition or an intention. But maybe we are all subconsciously influenced by the rags to riches story of Joanne Rowling. Certainly, children’s literature is no longer the poor relation in the publishing world. If you want to be an author, children’s literature is the place to be and agents are certainly on the hunt.”

Your Local Record Store’s Days Are Numbered

Traditional record chains are hurting and going out of business. “A recent study by Forrester Research, which examines technology trends, predicts that in five years fully one-third of all music will be delivered through modems, and the CD itself will be passe, if not obsolete, in the years after. This isn’t necessarily bad news for the record labels, but it could be lethal for brick-and-mortar stores.”

Atwood: Writing For Fun And Profit

Margaret Atwood on how she became a writer: “I just started writing, and started writing poetry. I was too ignorant to know you couldn’t just walk into it and make a living that way. I got a magazine called Writer’s Market and thought maybe I will write true romances in the daytime, because you can make quite a lot of money doing that, and in the evenings I will write my works of genius.”

Philadelphia Orchestra Asks Staff, Musicians To Take Pay Cuts

Trying to stem a deficit expected to exceed $4 million, the Philadelphia Orchestra has asked all its employees to help cut the red ink – including asking salary cuts for musicians and a ten percent cut in guest artist fees. “We are asking for voluntary help from all of the people who make this great art form happen, all the people who have benefited from its success over the years.”

All The 411 On You (And They Have It)

Wonder what information is contained in that barcode on the back of your driver’s license? “Visitors to an art exhibit at the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts got more than their martinis when they ordered drinks at a bar inside the gallery’s entrance. Instead of pretzels and peanuts, they were handed a receipt containing the personal data found on their license, plus all the information that could be gleaned from commercial data-mining services and voter registration databases like Aristotle. Some patrons also got receipts listing their phone number, income range, marital status, housing value and profession. For added effect, the receipt included a little map showing the location of their residence.”

Urban Music Rules

What’s the world’s most popular music now? “The urban scene – broadly covering hip-hop, rap and R&B – is firmly at the heart of mainstream culture in 2004, with its music and imagery impossible to ignore. Urban music is officially the most popular style in the US – overtaking rock in 2002 and now accounting for 25% of sales. Another landmark was reached in October 2003 when, for the first time, all the artists with top 10 singles in the US were black.”