an interdisciplinary Northwestern research team for the first time provides biological evidence that musical training enhances an individual’s ability to recognize emotion in sound.
Tag: 03.03.09
Here’s A Choreographer Who Can Draw A Young Audience
“Last week, at the Roundhouse, choreographer Hofesh Shechter pulled off a coup. For years, pop stars have been turning their gigs into dance spectaculars. What he now did, in large part at least, was to transform a contemporary dance show into a rock gig… [T]he standing area was packed with teenagers snapping the stage with their phones.”
Cirque du Soleil To Premiere Its Next Show In Chicago
The piece, to be titled Vaudeville, would be the troupe’s first attempt at a Broadway-style show; “The idea is to create a 90-minute hybrid of a Cirque circus-style show and a more traditional musical-theater production.” Cirque plans to rehearse the show in Chicago with an eye to opening in November; a run of six months at New York’s Beacon Theatre is anticipated for next year.
Tough Crowd: Mary Zimmerman’s Bumpy Ride At The Met
“The Chicago director Mary Zimmerman, by several accounts, is having a rough time at New York’s Metropolitan Opera with her production of Vincenzo Bellini’s ‘La Sonnambula.’ … And then last night at the Met, Zimmerman and her team of Chicago designers were met with boos and catcalls when they took the stage during the bows.”
Showtime Makes Emmy Screeners Viewable On iPhone
“After leading the charge to put Emmy screeners online, Showtime will show off its wares to TV Academy voters this year on both the iPhone and the iPodTouch. Emmy voters with the Apple mobile devices will be able to screen full episodes of Showtime series including ‘Dexter,’ ‘Weeds’ and ‘United States of Tara’ simply by entering a passcode.” The channel says the tiny screens won’t compromise the experience.
Book Critical Of McGraw-Hill’s S&P Unit Goes Elsewhere
“A book critical of Standard & Poor’s credit-rating service will be published by John Wiley & Sons Inc. after the author took back his manuscript from S&P-owner McGraw- Hill Cos.” Author Barry Ritholtz has said that “he withdrew the manuscript from McGraw-Hill after the New York-based publisher edited a section in which he wrote that its S&P unit, Fitch Ratings and Moody’s Investors Service inflated their opinions in exchange for fees.”
Orchestras Of Pasadena Get A Name Change
“Scratch the Orchestras of Pasadena. No, the financially up-against-it Pasadena Symphony and Pasadena Pops have not gone belly up, but their new management has determined that the name the formerly independent organizations had adopted when they merged in 2007 was a flop.” Now dubbed the Pasadena Symphony Association, it “has raised about $2 million since November, when it declared a fiscal emergency, laying off staff and canceling several concerts.”
NEA Moves Swiftly To Post Stimulus Grant Guidelines
“The National Endowment for the Arts is fast off the block today with [stimulus] grant guidelines,” which it has posted on its website. “The deadline for applying is April 2, with grants being awarded as soon as July 1. Among the options is salary support — full or partial — for jobs that have been eliminated (or are in jeopardy) because of the current economic slide but are critical to carry out an organization’s artistic mission.”
Flemming Flindt, Dancer And Choreographer, Dies At 72
“Flindt was educated at Copenhagen’s Royal Ballet School and was appointed a solo dancer at the age of 21. He then went on to begin an international dancing career with the Paris Opera Ballet and the London Festival Ballet, returning to head the Danish Royal Ballet from 1966 to 1978. In 1981 he went on to become the artistic director of the Dallas Ballet until 1988.”
Is England People Very Nice Offensive? Good!
“[W]henever I hear of any play causing protests, I rejoice. Offending the audience is part of the function of theatre, as is its ability to test the limits of freedom in general and free speech in particular. […] The play’s deliberately crude, Carry On-style of humour has also offended some… Vulgar raucousness is very much a part of the British character, however.”