Judith Mackrell: “Critics argue that the cosmopolitan make-up of the company threatens a dilution of the British ‘style’. But even that issue is moot. Dance in this country has always been a mongrel product.”
Tag: 05.15.13
National Dance Company Wales Co-Founder Resigns Following Suspension
“A co-founder of National Dance Company Wales has stepped down from his post as artistic associate. Roy Campbell-Moore’s decision comes after he was suspended following a complaint about his behaviour by members of staff.”
France Proposes Taxing Smartphones To Fund Culture
“Here’s a proposal that would have a hard time finding support in the United States. A new government study in France suggests levying a new tax as high as 1% on the sale of smartphones, tablets and other Internet devices, with the funds going toward funding cultural initiatives.”
Drury Lane Theatre Restored To ‘Original Georgian Splendor’ By Andrew Lloyd Webber
“Theatre Royal, Drury Lane has completed a multi-million pound restoration to improve its rotunda, royal staircases and Grand Saloon in the year of its 350th anniversary. The upgraded areas, which date back to 1812 when the current theatre at the site was built, have been refurbished to fit its Georgian style.”
Artists Occupy Budapest Museum Over Replacement Of Director
“Around 30 activists from the group ‘United for Contemporary Art’ have been occupying the entrance hall of Budapest’s Ludwig Museum in the Palace of the Arts since last week. The protest, which is still ongoing, is directed at the ‘lack of transparency’ in the selection process of the Ludwig’s new director.”
German Galleries Fight Against Hike In VAT On Art
“The German federal association of galleries and dealers … has, for the moment, won a major battle to keep VAT rates down on the purchase of original works of art. The European Commission has been trying to raise German VAT tax on original works of art from 7% to 19% to bring it in line with higher VAT rates in the rest of Europe.”
New York Philharmonic Plays The Dresden Volkswagen Factory
“A concert in a car factory using parts of a luxury sedan as percussion instruments is one thing, but a Volkswagen suspended above the New York Philharmonic creates another level of musical drama entirely.”
Beau Brummell, The Founding Father Of Dandyism
“It’s unusual for a tribe or breed to have such a definitive beginning, but all agree that Brummell was It. This Englishman of middle-class birth climbed into Regency-era aristocratic circles based on no more than his verbal wit and the eloquence of his dress.”
Do We Still Need Public Libraries?
“The relevance of these gloriously inflated book boxes is being questioned in an age that looks to the Internet for its intellectual resources.”
Even In The Internet Age, Cannes Is Still The Place To Be
“Though we now live in an age when films can be viewed via links on computers anywhere in the world, the number of journalists covering this maddening 12-day affair has multiplied by five in the last four decades, to nearly 4,000.”