For The Washington Ballet, Dr. Natalie Rouland studies the history of great Russian story ballets such as Sleeping Beauty and Swan Lake, going all the way back to the written stage directions and Stepanov choreographic notation of the originals. – Dance Magazine
How The Smithsonian’s Natural History Museum Is Helping The Public Understand Pandemics
“Ebola was not a pandemic, but it created a panic rarely seen in the U.S. It was on the heels of the Ebola mania that the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History developed Outbreak: Epidemics in a Connected World, a major exhibition proposed by Daniel Lucey, an infectious disease physician on the frontlines of the epidemic in West Africa. His idea came with the recognition that the public needed a better understanding of how outbreaks of unknown (or unfamiliar) infectious diseases start and spread.” – Smithsonian Magazine
NPR Is Turning 50 – Here’s How It Happened
In 1971, there were 88 member stations and a total staff of 65; now NPR’s total staff is 862, with 390 in news and 17 overseas bureaus, and the network has 1,008 member and affiliated stations. The total weekly audience for NPR stations is 37 million; 27 million for NPR programs. Ninety-nine million consume NPR content from some platform in a month. NPR is the leading publisher of podcasts and reaches 23.7 million listeners monthly with its offerings. – Current
What In The Heck Is Going To Happen To All Of Our Books?
At some point, academics and scholars but also fiction lovers have to face the facts: Kids or other descendants aren’t going to want all of those lovely books. What happens to them? (And, uh, everything else in a country that “has become awash in stuff.”) – Inside Higher Education
How One Expert Discovered The Creative Freedom Of Early Music
“I finally realized it felt more creative to be doing what I was doing in early music because there was so much that we hadn’t figured out; there was so much that was not in the scores. And just because you can’t make up all the notes doesn’t mean you can’t make up most of them. I played continuo, where you’ve got a bass line and you make it up. And I liked that.” – Van
Above Politics? Classical Music As Uniter…
Classical music is a rare remaining area where citizens of countries that are at loggerheads (or worse) with one another can interact in a productive manner. “The most important aspect we’re missing in the public debate today is the ability to listen. Listening is fundamental in music-making,” Gianandrea Noseda, an Italian, told me. – Standpoint
What Philadelphia’s University Of The Arts Has Learned About Using Virtual Reality In Classes
It allows students to design and test ideas in ways not possible in traditional classes. The school decided to dip its toe into the VR world, then discovered its classes quickly filled up. – Philadelphia Inquirer
Twenty Years Of ‘The Laramie Project’
By now the documentary theatre piece about the murder of Matthew Shepard has been performed thousands of times by professionals, amateurs, and students; an estimated 10 million people have seen it live in 13 languages and 20 countries, and another 20 million have seen the HBO adaptation; arguably, The Laramie Project even helped change federal law. Journalist John Moore looks back at how the play developed and spread. – American Theatre
Head Writer Of ‘The Laramie Project’ Looks Back 20 Years To The Play’s Creation
Leigh Fondakowski: “When we arrived in Denver, the play was not yet finished. It had only two acts then. … Moments were shifting, and the order of scenes kept changing all through previews. … The actors would be running offstage doing their costume quick-changes and looking at the poster boards to know which scene came next.” – American Theatre
The Rise Of ‘Relaxed Performances’
“What does make a theatre feel like home? Negotiating mobile phones, sweet wrappers and chatty Kathys is a well-documented headache for theatre staff and spectators alike. The academic Kirsty Sedgman … notes: ‘We may say we want audiences to feel at home in the theatre, but we are still not willing to go so far as to let them act like they are at home.’ So can you make everyone feel at home?” – The Guardian
Pavement Libraries Are Popping Up At Protest Sites All Over India
“These libraries are offering an alternative form of resistance, opening up platforms traditionally reserved for committed activists to waves of first-time protesters — from high school students to homemakers — who have joined hands against moves by the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to introduce a religious test for naturalized citizenship.” – OZY
The Newseum Does Still Exist, In A Diffuse Sort Of Way
“Pop-up shows at Washington’s two airports and an immersive display in a 12th-floor suite at the Hamilton Hotel offer the first glimpse of its future. The suffrage-themed displays represent a significantly diminished footprint for the long-struggling museum of journalism, which last year sold its building, laid off 88 employees and moved the remaining staff of about 40.” – The Washington Post
Do Big Regional Theatres Still Need Artistic Directors Who Get Paid Hundreds Of Thousands Of Dollars?
“[A generation ago], it was widely assumed that a theater needed a single, visionary artistic director. … As the years went by, this model became so settled and essential that experienced artistic directors at the biggest theaters were able to command high salaries … of $500,000 per year or more. … But there are signs this longstanding model is beginning to crack.” Chris Jones looks at the reasons. – Chicago Tribune
Author And Explorer Clive Cussler Dead At 88
“[He was a] million-selling adventure writer and real-life thrill-seeker who wove personal details and spectacular fantasies into his page-turning novels. … In real life, Cussler … participated in dozens of searches for old ships, including one that turned up a steamship belonging to Cornelius Vanderbilt. He also had a long history of questionable claims — some admitted, some denied.” – Yahoo! (AP)
Watching ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’ With 18,000 Schoolkids At Madison Square Garden
“The classic story of Atticus Finch, a small-town lawyer who defends a black man in a racist town, was told under the championship flags of the New York Knicks (who have played their own tragedy there for years) and the Rangers. And with a new venue and a younger audience came new standards of theater decorum: The middle and high school students groaned when things went badly for the protagonists and cheered shamelessly at insults lobbed at the town’s most virulent racists.” – The New York Times
Marin Alsop Will Leave Baltimore Symphony At End Of Next Season
The maestra will be 64 when she steps down at the end of August 2021 after a 14-year tenure. While she has reportedly been quietly frustrated by the orchestra’s recent struggles, she will remain involved with OrchKids, the music education program for poor Baltimore students that she founded, and will conduct three programs in each of the next five seasons. – The Baltimore Sun
Barcelona Cancels Plans For Branch Of Russia’s Hermitage Museum
“Barcelona’s city council has refused to greenlight a planning application for an outpost of [St. Petersburg’s] State Hermitage Museum. The council took issue with the site chosen for the project … and traffic congestion in the area as well as unanswered questions about the new institution’s staffing, projected visitor numbers, and admission prices.” – Artforum