Robert Gottlieb looks back at a season of dance that didn’t add up to much. “Large talent, of course, can’t be legislated into existence, and it’s not the fault of the Rhodens and O’Days and Kudelkas and Greenbergs that they don’t have it. But let’s not be deceived by the culture’s machinery of publicity and self-promotion or by our ardent longing for the real thing. That we have so few first-rate choreographers today is a sad fact; better to accept it than to lie to ourselves.”
Tag: 04.20.05
Oprah To Publish Books
Oprah has decided to launch a series of hardback books spun off from stories from her magazine. “The deal with Oxmoor reflects continued audience growth for Ms. Winfrey and her feel-good message directed mainly at women. Ratings for her daily talk show are the highest they’ve been in years. The May issue of the magazine, which will mark the its fifth anniversary, will be packed with 200-plus pages of ads–a record for the title.”
Turning Around The Met
The Metropolitan Opera has been struggling. “As the 2004-5 season enters the homestretch, the Met’s box office has been running at roughly 10 per cent lower than it did before 9/11, when more than 90 percent of the hall’s 3,800 seats were regularly filled. Although nothing short of Armageddon would keep local opera fans away, many out-of-towners for whom a visit to New York used to be unthinkable without a pilgrimage to Broadway and 65th Street have apparently found that they can lead a perfectly happy life by spending the same amount of money on, say, a beach in the Caribbean. Even at a time when the dollar is down, going to the Met remains an expensive habit; once broken, it’s easily kicked.” But there’s reason for hope…
Where To Sit In The British Library?
Finding a seat in the British Library is getting difficult. “It had always been the case that the British Library kept users down to manageable levels through a series of polite, but formidable, barriers. You were interviewed, and had to demonstrate a need to use the library. A reader’s ticket was, one understood, a scholar’s privilege, not a citizen’s right. Above all, the BL was at pains to keep at bay London University’s 100,000 students. But, in the last few months, undergraduates have suddenly been made very welcome. Word of mouth means more are streaming in every day. Why is the British Library now Liberty Hall? Bums on seats is mission statement 2005. And, if there are more bums than seats, it’s hard luck for the seat-less.”
Nice Building. What’s It For, Again?
The San Francisco Conservatory is moving into a beautiful new building and hopes to raise its national profile and become recognized as one of the world’s top training ground for classical musicians. But it’s difficult to escape the elephant in the room: with classical music widely viewed to be on the decline, what sort of professional world will exist for today’s conservatory students after graduation?
Leave Cable Out Of The Decency Debate
Much of the raging debate over broadcast indecency centers on programs airing on cable networks, which are not regulated by the FCC, since their programming is not distributed over the public airwaves. So why exactly do politicians and bureaucrats think they have any right to interfere with what we watch on channels that use no public resources, accept no public subsidy, and for which the public voluntarily pays on a month-to-month basis?
The Arts Of Politics
Politicians are in a bind when it comes to talking about the arts. “Say nothing about the arts, and you outrage influential metropolitan liberals and buffet socialists, whose cocktail-party cri de coeur is the under-funding of their cultural playgrounds. Say too much, and you force diehards in the shires to join with chavs and “neets” to protest at taxpayers’ money going to fancypants bollocks that ought to pay for itself.”
NEA Awards $61 Million In Grants
The National Endowment for the Arts has awarded $61 million in grants. “Just over $40 million of that amount will fund 64 grants to state and regional partnerships. The state partnerships provide support for state arts agencies’ basic plans to address local priorities, as well as funding arts education and local Challenge America initiatives. The regional partnerships provide basic support for regional arts organizations’ plans and for regional touring initiatives.”
Finding Nemo Accuser Convicted Of Fraud
A French children’s book author who claimed Disney’s Finding Nemo copied a fish of his creation has been convicted of fraud and ordered to pay damages.
The New Walker, Brought To You By…
“There are a lot of good things you can say about the [Minneapolis-based Walker Art Center’s] reopening–not the least of which is that it has reopened. This past Walker-less winter was a reminder of just how much a world-class arts institution adds to the life of our little metropolis; without it, Minneapolis might as well be Houston. And it’s worth mentioning that, with a price tag of a mere $70 million… the Walker’s new addition was a relative steal. [But] everything in this new wing seems to be sponsored by some corporation or another. You walk from the General Mills Lounge to the Best Buy Arcade to the U.S. Bank Orientation Lounge. In its proliferation of corporate sponsorship, the Walker is less MoMA than [Mall Of America].”