“In the last century, originality has killed one once-flourishing art form after another, by replacing variation within shared artistic conventions to rebellion against convention itself. The moment artists were taught to consider themselves superior mutant creative geniuses rather than practitioners of traditional crafts, it was only a matter of time before some would get tired of creative variation within the inherited conventions of their art and start rejecting the basic conventions.
Tag: 01.11.17
Balanchine – A Teacher Above All
“As he saw it, that job, teaching, was his main job. Most of us think of him preëminently as a choreographer, but he insisted that he was above all a teacher. Class or not, he said that all dancers had to do a complete barre (supported exercises, executed while holding onto the rail) every day. It was like brushing your teeth, he said. You didn’t think about it; you just did it.”
Just How Persuasive Is Logic As An Argument? (Is It An Argument?)
“Reflecting on the history of logic forces us to reflect on what it means to be a reasonable cognitive agent, to think properly. Is it to engage in discussions with others? Is it to think for ourselves? Is it to perform calculations?”
New York’s Opera Choices Have Greatly Expanded
The combination of miniature, struggling, and titanic companies makes for an operatic ecosystem that is as rich as it is fragile. The question is: can the city sustain it?
Buddy Greco, ‘The Ultimate Lounge Singer’, Dead At 90
“Mr. Greco mixed talent, tenacity and a hot temper in a career that lasted more than 80 years. He was an oft-married ladies’ man and almost but not quite a member of the Rat Pack, the high-living gang of entertainers surrounding Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin that embodied the extravagance of Las Vegas in its glory days.”
Acting August Wilson: Nine Stars Speak
Phylicia Rashad. Laurence Fishburne, Leslie Uggams, Ruben Santiago-Hudson and others talk about their first exposure to the playwright’s work and the first time they appeared in one of his plays themselves.
So Stephen Colbert Put Opera On Late-Night Network TV – How Much Difference Will It Make?
The Met sent Pretty Yende over to sing “Una voce poco fa” from Barber of Seville, and both the studio audience and the Twitterverse were thrilled. “The question is, did the diva appearance foster any new opera fans, or was this just hopeful thinking?” Michael Vincent considers.
Will Apple Be The Next Big Hollywood Player?
Apple Inc. is planning to build a significant new business in original television shows and movies, according to people familiar with the matter, a move that could make it a bigger player in Hollywood and offset slowing sales of iPhones and iPads.
What A Russian Dancer Expected To Find When She Came To Work In The States, And What She Actually Found
For example:
“Expectation: The American dance community is super competitive and hardcore.
Reality: Coming from a world of Russian discipline, I was surprised to find out how joyful American dancers, choreographers and teachers are about what they do.”
The Five Types Of Trumpism In Pop Culture
“Trumpism – a blanket term I’ll use in this piece to reference the election of the former Apprentice host, the struggle to come to grips with [the] election, and the ever-expanding list of concerns raised by his impending presidency – is such an overwhelming phenomenon that it’s … hard to ignore in a way that’s so massive, it needs to be broken down into categories to be properly understood.” So Jen Chaney does.