Post-Kobborg Exodus From Bucharest Begins With First Foreign Dancer To Resign

Two years ago, Dawid Trzensimiech left a promising career at London’s Royal Ballet to follow Johan Kobborg to the Bucharest National Opera. Wednesday, one day after Kobborg’s final resignation as the ballet company’s artistic director – and an evening confrontation where company dancers from abroad who had threatened to follow Kobborg out the door were greeted with shouts of “Foreigners out of the country!” – Trzensimiech announced his departure. (in Romanian; Google Translate version here)

‘I See Our Country Is Not Ready’ – Alina Cojocaru’s Open Letter To Romania’s Prime Minister On Crisis At National Ballet

“Unfortunately, I [now] understand that our country is not ready for what Johan [Kobborg] and I have offered these two years … We hoped that what were doing was a break from the circle of malice and destruction in which our country finds itself. … But it seems I was wrong. Few are willing to see and accept that there are people like Johan who aren’t self-interested – quite the contrary.” (in Romanian; Google Translate version here)

Top Posts From AJBlogs 04.13.16

Customer, Client, Collaborator?
In January, Doug McLennan published a post Is Earning Making Money The New Audience-Building Strategy? In a comparison of for-profit and not-for-profit enterprise, he began to intrigue me when, addressing the former, he said … read more
AJBlog: Engaging Matters Published 2016-04-12

$1 for Music Unwound
The NEH Music Unwound consortium, which most recently brought Dvorak’s New World Symphony to an Indian reservation, has been re-funded by the Endowment with a $400,000 grant, bringing the total NEH investment to … read more
AJBlog: Unanswered Question Published 2016-04-13

A Big Picture: The Big Country
William Wyler’s anti-macho Western The Big Country, which is remarkable for its imposing visual beauty and sonorous musical score, makes it to the (relatively) big screen at the New York Historical Society (as in bigger … read more
AJBlog: Straight|Up Published 2016-04-13

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This Graffiti Artist Defaces Fashion Posters And (Surprise!) The Fashion Industry Embraces Him

Posters for brands like Christian Dior and Chanel went missing; at his studio, Michael De Feo covered the models in cheerfully painted bouquets and returned the posters before anyone noticed. Fashion companies are loath to let street artists tinker with their messaging. (Who wants a mustache on Julia Roberts’s face?) But somehow, designers are embracing Mr. De Feo’s colorful approach.

Good News: Sales Of Music were Up In 2015

The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry said global revenues from recorded music rose 3.2 per cent between 2014 and 2015, to $15 billion, as an industry decimated by the digital revolution returned to growth. The group said the rise marks “the industry’s first significant year-on-year growth in nearly two decades.”

London’s Serpentine Galleries Appoint Philanthropist/Entrepreneur As New Director

“Julia Peyton-Jones, who put the institution on the international map, is stepping down as co-director this month after 25 years at the helm. Jana Peel will work in partnership with Hans Ulrich Obrist who has been at the Serpentine since 2006 as co-director of exhibitions and programmes. He takes on the new role of artistic director.”