“Sophie Letendre sits in an office at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, a spreadsheet open on her laptop. In front of her, the arduous task of creating next week’s schedule for the National Ballet of Canada. It’s March, a month of 31 days and 21 performances.”
Tag: 03.16.11
Using Fine Art To Train Physicians
“Evidence has pointed to inadequate physical examination skills among medical students, and declining teaching of these skills. Some medical colleges are using art as an antidote to the trend. They are holding courses in which students visit museums such as the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts to observe art and devise a ‘visual diagnosis’ through close attention to subtle details in facial expression and body language.”
Pasadena Playhouse Headed Back To Full Five-Play Season
“The Pasadena Playhouse took another step in its recovery from bankruptcy Tuesday, announcing a 2011-12 season of five plays and courting subscribers again after operating on a show-by-show basis since its October return. Two and possibly three of the plays will be world premieres.”
Can Neuroscience Explain Art?
“Twenty percent of art can now be explained by neuroscience. That, at least, is what V.S. Ramachandran thinks.” But what of the other eighty percent? And how much of it could get lost in the search for neurological explanations for humans’ experiences with art?
Looking At Paintings With Pianist Simone Dinnerstein
“One of the most important things I’ve learned from looking at art, especially with my father [noted painter Simon Dinnerstein], is understanding how the quality of line holds a form together. This visual idea directly relates to musical phrasing. The pulse of a tempo is never mechanically even, but always expanding and contracting, like Modigliani’s line.”
Oliver Sacks – Physician Or Author? (He Can’t Do One Without The Other)
“I love writing when the writing goes well, which is far from always. It’s not only a joy but things seem to come together and integrate themselves in the act of writing. I often can’t put things together unless I write about them.
More Spider-Man Schadenfreude: Neil Jordan Says He’s Glad He Walked Away
Says the writer-director of Mona Lisa and The Crying Game: “I remember meeting Bono and Julie at Bono’s house in the South of France and discussing ideas for the book. But it rapidly became obvious to me that Julie’s ideas were not very sensible. She was not headed in, let us say, a coherent narrative direction.”
Olivier-Winning Boheme Under Fire For Not Paying Chorus
“OperaUpClose’s version of La Boheme was named best new opera at the prestigious Laurence Olivier Awards on Sunday. Members of the chorus were not paid and have contacted actors’ union Equity.”
Garrison Keillor’s Retirement Isn’t Exactly Imminent, Says MPR Chief
Minnesota Public Radio CEO Bill Kling: “I don’t consider it news because Garrison has been talking about things like this for the last couple of years and when Garrison says it, it doesn’t necessarily mean anything more than that morning’s musings … I’ve known him for 44 years and I don’t think there is a version of Garrison that you could call ‘retirement’.”
When Football Players Turn To Opera
Says one fullback-turned-bass-baritone, “When you stand in front of a man, jaw to jaw and toe to toe, and you have to determine how you can break this man’s spirit and do it again and again despite physical exhaustion and mental anguish, that requires a spirit that aligns itself to the opera.”