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Dance
The Photographer And The Photos Of A Ballerina Who’s 33 Weeks Pregnant
Photographer Sayuri Ichida and NY Theatre Ballet dancer Maya Oguri formed a fruitful artistic friendship – one that set the ballerina dancing in photos from across the city. That didn’t stop when the dancer got pregnant. – The Paris Review
Living At The Intersection Of Dance, Social Media, And Teenage Life
Who profits when a 14-year-old Black teenager creates a dance and shares it – and it goes viral? Not she.”TikTok, one of the biggest video apps in the world, has become synonymous with dance culture. Yet many of its most popular dances, including the Renegade, Holy Moly Donut Shop, the Mmmxneil and Cookie Shop have come from young black creators on myriad smaller apps.” – The New York Times
Gibney Dance Reinvents From The Inside Out
Gibney is becoming a commission-based repertory group—that is, a company not grounded in the aesthetic of a founding choreographer—and allow it to double in size from six dancers to 12. The model will allow Gibney to work with renowned and rising international choreographers representing a broad range of aesthetics and techniques. “The stage is set,” Davis said, for Gibney “to establish a wholly new paradigm for a contemporary dance company.” – Inside Philanthropy
Wayne McGregor Is Choreographing A Margaret Atwood Ballet
In a joint project for the Royal Ballet of Great Britain and the National Ballet of Canada, McGregor will create MaddAddam, a three-act work based on Atwood’s trilogy Oryx and Crake, The Year of the Flood and MaddAddam with a new score by Max Richter. The world premiere will be this coming November in Toronto, with London performances in 2022. – The Guardian
When The Doctor Called The Star Ballerina With Terrible News
“He said, ‘You have to promise me you won’t go into work today. I just could tell by the tone. I said, ‘I’m going to be able to dance again, right?’ And he said to me, ‘Well, we’re just going to take it one day at a time.’ It was one of the worst days of my life.” – The New York Times
Ideas
Why The Business Case For Diversity Doesn’t Work
Why doesn’t the business case work? Recent research suggests that what’s required for transformational action is a moral and legal case. The business case, because it is based in an economic logic, undermines moral arguments and weakens resolve to make anything other than incremental change. Indeed, experiments show that making the “business case for diversity” can increase bias against diverse groups while the legal case can inhibit bias and increase equitable behavior. – Fast Company
Making Sense Of Through Tiny Nuggets Of Narrative
Tropes actually help us all make sense of the world (so writers, calm down; even trying to go against tropes is a trope of its own). Take a famous narrative of the late 1990s and early 2000s: “How do you make sense of something sprawling like Harry Potter? You divide it into digestible pieces. The Chosen One goes to a Wizarding School and forms a Power Trio. He’s opposed by the Evil Overlord who is Only Mostly Dead. The books get Darker and Edgier leading up to a Final Battle and a widely mocked Distant Finale.” – Slate
The Purpose Of Boredom
Let’s look more closely at the anatomy of boredom. Why is it so damned boring to be stuck in a departure lounge while our flight is increasingly delayed? We are in a state of high arousal, anticipating our imminent arrival in a novel and stimulating environment. – Aeon
Have Economists Led Us Astray About How The World Works?
In the first half of the twentieth century, especially after the calamity of the Great Depression, the conventional wisdom held that the power of corporations must be held in check by other comparably sized organizations—churches, unions, and, above all, a strong national government. But in the decades that followed, a new generation of economists argued that tweaks to how companies operated—more hostile takeovers, more reliance on corporate debt, bigger bonuses for executives when stock prices increased—would enable the market to regulate itself, obviating the need for stringent government oversight. Their suggestions soon became reality, especially in a newly deregulated financial sector, where they precipitated the emergence of junk bonds and other questionable innovations. – Foreign Affairs
What Do We Want From History?
What might I want history to do to me? I might want history to reduce my historical antagonist—and increase me. I might ask it to urgently remind me why I’m moving forward, away from history. Or speak to me always of our intimate relation, of the ties that bind—and indelibly link—my history and me. I could want history to tell me that my future is tied to my past, whether I want it to be or not. Or ask it to promise me that my future will be revenge upon my past. Or warn me that the past is not erased by this revenge. Or suggest to me that brutal oppression implicates the oppressors, who are in turn brutalized by their own acts of oppression. Or argue that an oppressor can believe herself to be an oppressor only within a system in which she herself has been oppressed. – New York Review of Books
Issues
California’s New Freelance Law Is Playing Havoc With Artists
“Since AB5 took effect on January 1, hundreds of thousands of Californians are finding their businesses in tatters. Musicians can’t join bands for a one-night gig, chefs can’t join forces with caterers, nurses can’t work at various hospitals, and writers must cap their submissions per media outlet to 35 per year.” – City Journal
Let’s Talk About This ‘Classical’ Architecture Thing, Strongmen, And Fascism
Dear United States, this isn’t new – but it is alarming. “For centuries, autocrats, authoritarians, and dictators have held a fascination with using architecture as a political tool to glorify their regimes, often while also dismissing modern architectural styles as lowbrow, cold, or weak. The current crop of far-right world leaders with authoritarian impulses is no different—and that now appears to include President Donald Trump.” – Slate
Some Writers Are ‘Secretly’ Working With Fired Agents
And the Writers Guild is ready to crack down on their wayward members. The WGA president wrote, “‘For any writers breaking the rules there must and will be accountability.’ He added: ‘We know that some agents are harassing former clients to work with them in secret under the false premise that ‘everyone else has come back.’'” – Los Angeles Times
The Need For Civic Protest
Protest is meant to bring a reality that lurks beyond the sight lines of most people crashing down in front of them. When resistance to the current order arises, citizens are put to the test. We are forced to reveal where our allegiances lie. What are we willing to support, or do, in the pursuit of rightness and justice? – Maclean’s
Has Fan Culture Gotten Out Of Hand? Should They Have So Much Influence On The Art?
The last decade or so has witnessed huge changes in the awareness, perception and tools of fandom. In terms of television and film, the enormous successes of Game of Thrones and the Marvel Cinematic Universe have introduced geek culture – and its brand of participatory fandom – to the mainstream. At the same time, the internet – and more specifically social media – has amplified fans’ voices, while also breaking down the boundaries between them and the artists they love/hate. – BBC
Media
Independent Cinemas In Canada Say They’re Being Shut Out By Cineplex
How’s this for a near monopoly? Cineplex owns 75 percent of movie screens across Canada – and indie theatres say the behemoth is shutting them out of Oscar winners and nominees like Parasite and Little Women. “Industry insiders say the practice of exclusive runs at certain cinemas isn’t new. But independent theatres say that exclusivity has become excessive and keeps them from showing award-winning movies for longer than ever.” One wrote a petition saying this practice is “crushing indie theatres across Canada.” – CBC
While Boris Johnson Wants To ‘Massively Prune’ The BBC, Senior Tory MPs Say No
One MP called the idea an “act of cultural vandalism,” and another wrote, “”his is not a fight the BBC is picking nor a contest my party promised if we got elected. … If the BBC ends up in decline, it will be the government which will be accused by the very people we will rely on for support at the next election.” But Johnson is determined to pick the fight. – BBC
More Eyes On South Korea’s Class Divisions After ‘Parasite’ Hits Big On The World Stage
The semi-basement that the Kim family lives in is a reality for about 2 percent of South Koreans living in Seoul – one of the most expensive cities in Asia. One of them, who shares a name with the daughter in the film, says it’s very similar. “Kim, who moved into her $211-a-month banjiha apartment after leaving her job to take care of her mother, is no fan of her current accommodations, which flood during the rainy season.” – The Washington Post (AP)
The Oscar Bump Was Real This Week For ‘Parasite’
Well, debate over, at least for films with subtitles: “The twisted South Korean thriller collected $5.5 million over the weekend, an exceptional 234% increase in ticket sales and the biggest post-Oscar boost for a best picture winner in the past decade.” (And that’s not including the massive overseas bump as well.) – Variety
So ‘Parasite’ Won A Lot Of Oscars. What Happens Next?
Will Parasite‘s best picture win goose more international fare from the big studios – as opposed simply to Netflix – or will it only help both Bong Joon-ho and then other films that seem, in Hollywood terms, similar to Parasite? The biggest winner might be the Academy. “A vote for Parasite served as more than just a cast ballot: It was an investment in the Oscars’ future as a relevant institution.” – The New York Times
Music
NYT’s Classical Music Critic Hosts A House Concert
Zachary Woolfe: “For someone who’s never grown quite used to my late-night subway journey home after an opera, it was hard to turn down a performance that would take place a few steps from bed.” – The New York Times
Can The Worldwide Vinyl Boom Recover From The Apollo Factory Fire?
A billion dollar industry dependent on one factory in California? That’s physical manufacturing, so perhaps not. The factory, where 75 percent of the world’s blank lacquers were made, burned in early February. “Pressing plants and mastering engineers are assessing the future. Some have expressed fear that the fire will disrupt the global production of new album releases and slow the seemingly endless supply of reissues that major labels churn out.” – Los Angeles Times
After Robert Massey Has One Year As CEO, The Louisville Orchestra Moves Him On
Massey claims the separation of ways was a mutual decision and adds that “the job was not what he expected when he came to Louisville a year ago from Florida, where he had been the president and CEO of the Jacksonville Symphony for four years.” – Louisville Courier Journal
When Airlines Break Musicians’ Instruments
The stakes are high. Not only does a musician have an emotional connection to their instrument, but a break, even if it is repaired to pristine condition, can bring down a valuable instrument’s price. It is also highly likely that a musician traveling with an instrument is on their way to their next gig. – The Guardian
This Composer Just Made History At The Oscars. Get To Know Her Music With These Seven Pieces
Hildur Guðnadóttir is actually three-quarters of the way to an EGOT: she has an Oscar (and a Golden Globe) for her score to The Joker and an Emmy and a Grammy for her music for HBO’s Chernobyl. “But it’s on her own, and in the occasional duo or trio setting, that Guðnadóttir has established her signature sound: a moving fusion of ambient drone and contemporary classical that places an emphasis on her exceptionally controlled tone; she’s capable of conjuring entire worlds out of just a few carefully chosen notes.” – Pitchfork
People
The Young Star Of ‘Queen Of Katwe,’ Nikita Pearl Waligwa, Has Died At 15
Waligwa was diagnosed with a brain tumor the same year she starred in the movie with David Oyelowo and Lupita Nyong’o. Oyelowo wrote on Instagram, “We mourn the loss of our beautiful Nikita Pearl Waligwa. … She was a ball of light in @queenofkatwemovie and in life. Her battle with a brain tumor was humbling to witness. Her light will live on.” – The Hollywood Reporter
Elizabeth Cullinan, Who Helped Redefine Irish American Literature, Has Died At 86
Cullinan was hired as a typist at The New Yorker when she was 22, but soon the magazine started publishing her stories as well. “Ms. Cullinan helped redefine Irish-American literature, veering away from the male tradition of ‘ward bosses and henchmen, larger-than-life political fixers, tavern social life and father-son relationships,’ Patricia Coughlan, who taught Irish literature at University College Cork, wrote in a 2017 essay in The Irish Times.” – The New York Times
Nedda Casei, Mezzo-Soprano Who Became A Labor Leader, Has Died At 87
Casei “in the 1960s and ’70s could be reliably heard as Suzuki, Maddalena, Lola and other bread-and-butter mezzo-soprano characters at the Metropolitan Opera before transforming herself into a pathbreaking labor leader.” She performed at the Met for 20 years, starting with Maddalena in Rigoletto and ending as Larina in Eugene Onegin. Then she became president of the American Guild of Musical Artists – and she was a transformational labor leader for the performers’ union. – The New York Times
A.E. Hotchner, Writer And Co-Founder Of Newman’s Own, Has Died At 102
Hotchner was “a novelist, playwright, biographer, literary bon vivant and philanthropist whose life was shaped and colored by close friendships with two extraordinarily gifted and well-known men, Ernest Hemingway and Paul Newman.” – The New York Times
Lynn Cohen, Magda Of ‘Sex And The City’ Fame, Has Died At 86
Cohen was a veteran stage and screen actor who found extra fame late in life as Miranda Hobbes (Cynthia Nixon)’s housekeeper and nanny on Sex and the City (and both movies). “On Broadway, she appeared in Orpheus Descending and Ivanov, and received Lucille Lortel and Drama League award nominations, as well as the New Dramatists’ Bowden award, the Fox Foundation’s Lilly award and the Richard Seff award from Actor’s Equity Association.” – Variety
Theatre
A Theatre Director Rates The Presidential Candidates On their Performance Style
“Maybe it’s an occupational hazard, but I tend to view politicians, and especially the current crop of contenders for the Democratic nomination, through the lens of performance. As a director I’ve watched thousands of actors audition; it’s a truism in the field that you can tell whether or not someone is of interest within the first 60 seconds.” – ArtsFuse
The Royal Shakespeare Company Hires Its First Spanish Actor
David Luque, a 47-year-old actor from Madrid, has been working steadily in theatre for decades, starting when he was a student using the EU’s programs to study in Germany. But really, right as Brexit hits? He says, “The RSC is in an opening moment, breaking old schemes to try to reflect on the stage the diversity. … It may seem paradoxical at this time when Brexit has just taken place, although perhaps it is precisely the reaction of the art world.” – El País (Spain)
When Plays Explore Trauma, Performers Bear The Brunt Of The Pain
Especially during fringe festivals, playwrights are often performers, and because of the pressure of budget and time, they’re exploring their own experiences and pain. “Rawness can make for heady theatre – it can be exhilarating – but it can also leave you worrying about the psychological implications, the emotional toll.” – The Stage (UK)
Saturday’s Matinee Of ‘Jagged Little Pill’ Evacuated After A Pepper Spray Incident
It’s not clear who sprayed the irritant, or what it was, exactly. “Two people were treated at the scene for breathing difficulties following the 4:15 p.m. incident at the Broadhurst Theater in Midtown, which has 1,156 seats.” – New York Daily News
“Les Miz” Song Has Become A Defiant Protest Anthem In China
Do You Hear the People Sing?, the defiant chorus from the musical Les Misérables, has become a song of protest in Hong Kong and, more recently, mainland China. Explicit references to Li Wenliang, the Wuhan doctor censured for his warnings about the coronavirus outbreak, and to Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement, are stamped upon – but lines from the song slip through the net on China’s social networks Weibo and WeChat, fostering a community of covert opposition. – The Guardian
Visual
Remember The Stolen-Klimt-Hidden-All-These-Years-In-A-Museum-Wall Story?
Weird, right? While the painting is definitely authentic, police are still trying to puzzle out the odd story of how it ended up there and who really did it. It’s complicated. – The Daily Beast
Overheard At LA’s Art Fairs
“I walk into the wrong entrance at the large industrial building hosting the Spring/Break Art Show. ‘Sorry!’ a young cheery Englishwoman at a desk tells me. ‘This is a dumpling-associates popup!’ I don’t think I’ve ever heard a more beautiful sentence.” – Hyperallergic
Adding Back In The Workers That Art About Los Angeles So Often Forgets
For instance, David Hockney’s “splash” paintings created an idea of Los Angeles that was cool and secluded. Artist Ramiro Gomez imagines what was going on behind the scenes in No Splash – and other scenes of “cool” LA. “He creates these paintings more as questions than as heavy, social statements, using the words ‘subtle anger’ to explain his motivation. ‘I try to stay away from didactic work,’ he says. ‘I leave that to the activists. I’m trying to find the middle ground.'” – The Guardian (UK)
The Wedding Dress That Cost The Cooper Hewitt Director Her Job
In a reversal of fortune story that seems nigh-on impossible given certain trends in federal government, Caroline Baumann “was forced to resign as director of the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum in Manhattan last week following an investigation by the Smithsonian’s inspector general into potential problems regarding the procurement of the dress and the wedding space.” – The New York Times
What Philly Must Do To Preserve Its Jazz Legacy
A ton of Philadelphia jazz history – including John Coltrane’s house – is in danger of disappearing. Property neglect, loss of institutional memory, gentrification by Temple University and unprotected development threaten several foundational spots in the city – but steps could be taken, were there someone to take them. – The Philadelphia Inquirer
Words
Is E.L. James The Best Writer Of The Past 30 Years?
Or is it Barack Obama? How about Hilary Mantel? That’s right, all of them are squaring off in a new book prize in Britain. (But seriously: Who put the author of Fifty Shades of Grey on the same list as the author of Wolf Hall?) The British Book Awards “celebrate the best of writing and publishing: the books that defined their genre or launched a trend” (in which case, we’re pretty sure E.L. James is the actual winner here). – The Guardian (UK)
Taking Aim Against (Part Of) Amazon With A New Website
Can a new website help indie bookstores compete with the retail behemoth? The American Booksellers Association thinks so. “‘We believe that there are consumers who shop online and would choose to support indie bookstores if there were a visible and convenient alternative to Amazon and others,’ the ABA said when it announced its partnership with Bookshop last month.” – Forbes
Two Men Broke Into A London Bookshop Intending To Rob It, But Then They Found The Prosecco
They found no cash, but there was alcohol. “Front and back windows at Gay’s the Word, which became the UK’s first gay bookshop when it was opened in 1979 and which featured in the film Pride, were smashed last Sunday. But after ransacking the shop and drinking a bottle of tequila left on the premises after a member of staff’s birthday, the burglars were caught by police in the store’s kitchen drinking prosecco.” – The Guardian (UK)
Checking In On (What’s Left Of) This Professional Writers Organization
After massive fallout from accusations of racism and pandering to a small (possibly racist) publisher, Nora Roberts weighing in on the homophobia of the organization, Twitter-led discoveries of years of lies and ignoring actual ethics violations, and numerous chapters resigning their memberships, you’d think things might be changing, but the Romance Writers of America continues to face consequences: The entire board (some of whom had been appointed by a president-elect at the center of the controversy, who resigned in January) just resigned. – Publishers Weekly
The New York Public Library Is Turning 125, And Here Are Its 125 Most Favorite Books
“The list is full of classics, of course, but it’s also got a few refreshing surprises in there.” – LitHub