“The road to success as a music-based social network is riddled with obstacles that so far, and so far no one seems to have figured out how to overcome them.”
Clement Crisp Remembers The Bolshoi Ballet’s First-Ever Visit To The West, 60 Years Ago In London
“Three days before booking opened, there was a queue for the box office that stretched down the street and, Topsy-like, kept on growing. … We settled down to wait for the opening night on October 3 – with wild hopes that requests for first-night tickets might be answered. Then came the affair of Nina and the hats.”
Nearly Half Of English Public Against More Arts Funding: Survey
“Only 9% of English adults think Government spending on the arts should be increased, compared with 45% who think it should be decreased, according to new research by consultants ComRes. It also found that more than half know ‘nothing at all’ about Arts Council England (ACE), and the vast majority (89%) don’t think that it is good at communicating the value of arts and culture.”
Edoardo Müller, Longtime Conductor At San Diego Opera, Dead At 78
“Müller was recognized as an ‘old school’ conductor who worked with two generations of opera artists around the world. He was also known for his scholarly study of singing and at least once stepped in to perform a major tenor role in La Traviata at a San Diego Opera dress rehearsal.” He conducted 45 productions at the company over 31 years.
Historians, You Can Save The Internet
If by “save” we mean “archive”: “Philip Napoli (Rutgers Univ.) argued that with current news archiving practices, it would be easier for future historians to study local newspapers from 1940 than from 2015.”
Québecois Artists Get A Lot More Exhibition Space
“One special feature is an underground passageway that links the new pavilion to the museum’s three existing buildings—which include a converted 1867 prison—that doubles as an exhibition space for a work from the permanent collection the museum has never been able to display in its entirety.”
This Writer Spent Eight Years Investigating Every Claim Made About Pit Bulls, So Of Course She’s Met With Death Threats At Every Turn
“After voluminous research, Dickey came to the conclusion that the venom of the haters, who themselves possess the uncontrollable obsession with violence they ascribe to their canine target, is aimed not at these dogs but rather at the cypher of their stereotyped owner.”
A Fiery Tribune Column Says George Lucas’ Arrogance Is The Reason For Museum Plan’s Failure
“George Lucas didn’t court Chicagoans. He never made the equivalent of a visit to the front parlor to ask if he might build his narrative arts museum (whatever that was) in the city’s front yard. He seemed to consider city approval a matter of entitlement.”
What Happened To One Young Dancer After The Fallout At The Pennsylvania Ballet
“He continued to attend company class those final weeks and got ready for the next phase of his life. Which will not include ballet.”
How Dolly Parton Writes Songs Now That She’s 70
“I can’t think unless I’ve got a pen or a pencil in my hand, with a big old yellow legal pad.”
Artists In The UK And EU React To The Brexit Vote
“Many artists in London who are already accustomed to uncertain incomes are increasingly concerned about the effect Brexit will have on their lives.”
That ‘Shuffle Along’ Closing Decision Is Meeting Serious Resistance
“‘It was just mishandled all around,’ said Andrew Shade, the founder and editorial director of BroadwayBlack, a website that champions black performers and creators in theater.”
The ‘Hamilton’ Movie Is Probably 20 Years Away, And Other News About The Show
“Since Broadway producers are loathe to put out a movie that might cannibalize their ticket sales, most film adaptations are only released years after the initial frenzy has died down. (The Wicked movie will hit theaters 15 years after the show opened; Les Miz took 25.)”
Michael Herr Wrote ‘Dispatches,’ Widely Considered The Best Book On Vietnam – And One Of The Best Books, Full Stop
“Published in 1977, almost a decade after his yearlong sojourn in Vietnam and after he had recovered from his own bout of depression brought on by his war experience, the book was a sensation, an acutely observed, acutely felt, wisely interpretative travelogue of hell, deeply sympathetic to the young American conscripts, and deeply skeptical of the political and military powers that kept them there.”
Practical Explanation: Why There Are So Few Women Ballet Choreographers
“Male dancers simply aren’t as busy as their female counterparts, who, on top of everything else, are trained from a young age to be obedient and to not step out of line. In modern dance, composition is part of the training, but in ballet there is a lack of structured choreographic training. Most ballet choreographers emerge from companies, and most — including today’s pre-eminent ballet-makers Alexei Ratmansky, Christopher Wheeldon and Justin Peck — begin creating works while still performing.”
In Female-Dominated Ballet, Where Are The Women Choreographers?
“A question for the future is whether there are enough opportunities for women to become ballet choreographers — a position for which there is no one career path.”
The Literary Subversives Who Boosted America’s National Parks
“Sadly, the parks rarely get much attention on the national stage unless some knucklehead displaces a cute little baby bison or tries to feed a grizzly bear. But in this year when the Park Service is celebrating its centennial with all sorts of hand-wringing about the future, it’s instructive to remember how language can save landscape. Powerful prose has been put to good use in the cause of America’s Best Idea.”
Will Brexit Isolate UK Artists?
“The ability for the UK to access the €1.3 billion Creative Europe programme could now be in jeopardy, while arts figures have warned of the effects Brexit will have on access to and movement of talent.”
Brexit Fears About The Arts
“There is obviously now great financial uncertainty — the effect on European funding streams for the arts, for example — but quite as important is the potential effect on the spirit that drives a myriad of international partnerships in the arts.”
More Art Museums Are Using Focus Groups In Planning Marketing And Programming – Is This A Good Idea?
“Museums are increasingly using the popular market research tool to gather input from the public and refine exhibitions and programmes. … [Yet] some feel that the use of focus groups to develop exhibitions – a practice pioneered by science and history museums – encourages institutions to act more like for-profit businesses than mission-driven entities.”
How The Dallas Symphony Came To Pay Jaap Van Zweden $5.1 Million In One Year
“Mr. van Zweden, a Dutch-born maestro with a growing reputation, received more that year than any other orchestra conductor in America, including Gustavo Dudamel at the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and his total pay was more than twice that of the nearest runner-up, Riccardo Muti at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.” Michael Cooper explains how this came to pass.
Without Audra, ‘Shuffle Along’ Won’t Be Shuffling At All
“Shuffle Along, one of the most ambitious and anticipated musicals of the theater season just ended, will close next month, abruptly and unexpectedly … [The show] was apparently facing a sharp drop-off in ticket sales this summer, after its leading actress, Audra McDonald, is scheduled to begin a maternity leave.”