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What’s The Secret To The Songs That Make People Want To Dance? Syncopation, Says New Study

But not too much — just "a moderate level of syncopation to the point where our brain can still extract the periodic beat from the melodies. (These researchers) contend that the brain is essentially trying to anticipate upcoming beats amid a melody’s syncopation. The result is the impulse to dance." - Scientific American

Christopher Knight: Questions About The Broad Museum Expansion

The conceit of a vanity museum’s design being dubbed “the veil and the vault,” with a perforated exterior draped over a treasury for a private collection being made public, was always more pretentious than meaningful. It’s good to see it go. - Los Angeles Times

LA’s Broad Museum Announces Major Expansion

The Broad on Wednesday announced a $100-million building expansion that will increase gallery space at one of Los Angeles’ most popular museums by 70%. The sweeping plans could provide a critical boost to downtown L.A. - Los Angeles Times

Florida’s New Budget Increases Arts & Culture Funding By Over 60%. However, …

"Allocations for fiscal year 2025 total $93.9 million, funding 669 different arts and culture projects or organizations. Just $32 million of that is allocated for grants overseen by the Florida Department of State’s Division of Cultural Affairs, while the rest is earmarked for what are known as member projects." - Sarasota Herald-Tribune

Toymakers Design Human Characteristics Into Their Work. And AI?

Large language models can seem to do more than what we ask them to; they exhibit something that we might call creativity if a human did it. What is actually happening in these moments? - The New Yorker

Māori Postmodern: Indigenous Architects In New Zealand Are Creating A New Style of Design

"The country’s Māori population now numbers 17% and rising, and the new generation’s enthusiastic embrace of tribal cultural identity is making their presence more visible than ever, … (with) a new wave of Māori architects keen to make their mark. … Māori design principles have even been written into urban planning policy." - The Guardian

London’s Wigmore Hall Announces Endowment Campaign To Eliminate Its Public Funding

The venue has an annual grant of £344,206 from Arts Council England (ACE) but John Gilhooly, Wigmore Hall’s artistic and executive director, says that it is “already 97% self-funded”. - The Guardian

“Merrily We Roll Along” And The Nature(s) Of Long-Term Friendship

"Frank's and Charley's very different definitions of what constitutes a friend offers an astringent alternative to our culture’s sometimes treacly, overly simplistic portrayal of the bond. Even more than Broadway, Hollywood has fetishized friendship to (a fault)." - Los Angeles Times (MSN)

“Mama Mia” Star Informed She’s Being Replaced By AI Voice

Musical theater star Sara Poyzer publicly shared a screenshot of an email she received from an unnamed production company which read: “Sorry for the delay—we have had the approval from BBC to use the AI generated voice so we wont need Sara anymore.” - The Daily Beast

What’s An Intimacy Director To Do On A Musical About Ladyparts With Chompers?

"(In Teeth,) a show in which violence begets vengeance, … it’s a lot to endure, for both biter and bitee. … Campy or not, choreographing the many scenes of intimacy and assault required extraordinary sensitivity." Enter Crista Marie Jackson. - The New York Times

Choreography On Broadway Is No Longer Broadway-Style Choreography

"Today’s shows are increasingly using movement makers from genres outside the musical theater world altogether, like experimental dance (David Neumann, Annie-B Parson, Raja Feather Kelly), commercial dance (Sonya Tayeh, JaQuel Knight, Keone and Mari Madrid), modern dance (Camille A. Brown), and physical theater (Steven Hoggett)." - Dance Magazine

How The “Star Trek” Franchise Keeps Going After 58 Years

"Since the original series debuted in 1966, … the Star Trek galaxy has logged 900 television episodes and 13 feature films, amounting to 668 hours. … Every single person I spoke to for this story talked about Star Trek with a joyful earnestness as rare in the industry as a Klingon pacifist." - Variety

Ex-Art Dealer Inigo Philbrick Is Out Of Jail, Trying To Figure Out What’s Next

In 2021 he pled guilty in an enormous art-fraud case and was sentenced to seven years in prison. This past January he was released into home confinement. He's now searching for — if not redemption, a way to earn a living, as Hollywood fights over the rights to his story. - Vanity Fair

Strike At Mass MoCA Is Over As Union Ratifies Contract

"The agreement, which (ended a three-week strike and) will be in effect for two years, will increase average pay for bargaining unit’s roughly 120 members by more than 12 percent by the second year." - The Boston Globe (MSN)

Hoping To Move Beyond Thefts Scandal, British Museum Appoints New Director

"The outgoing National Portrait Gallery director (Nicholas Cullinan) replaces former Victoria and Albert Museum head Sir Mark Jones, who was made interim director following the resignation of Hartwig Fischer over the thefts at the London-based institution." - The Independent (UK)

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