Howard Silverman helped found Bristol’s Spike Island nearly 50 years ago – and now a new board has told him he must pack up his studio and go, in the middle of the coronavirus lockdown. “Fellow studio holders and artists from around the world are backing Silverman’s fight to overturn the decision, with some suggesting the organisation is intent on squeezing out older, established tenants in favour of younger ones.” – The Guardian (UK)
Tag: 05.01.20
Prolific Producer Zev Buffman, 89
Buffman produced everyone, including Elizabeth Taylor in The Little Foxes (it was a hit) and Muhammed Ali in Buck White (it was a memorable flop). But he “was even busier in Florida than on Broadway. Starting in 1962, he produced shows at the Coconut Grove Playhouse (which he owned) in Miami; the Parker Playhouse in Fort Lauderdale; the Jackie Gleason Performing Arts Center in Miami Beach; the Bob Carr Performing Arts Center in Orlando; and Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater.” – The New York Times
In The Most British Isles Quarantine Update Ever, Maypole Dancers Shared The Ritual Over Video
The organizer said, “Lockdown Maypole dancing is still possible,” and, in their own gardens or even inside, many agreed. – BBC
Appreciating Tony Allen, Afrobeat Creator Who Has Died At 79
Allen was a Nigerian drummer who perhaps didn’t invent Afrobeat but certainly popularized it and took it everywhere. “Allen’s swirl of jazz, Yoruba and highlife was unlike anything the world had ever heard: a full-body polyrhythmic workout that would give most drummers sore wrists just thinking of it.” – The Guardian (UK)
A Glimpse Of The Future
The U.S. and other countries have been looking to China and Italy to predict what the pandemic would be like during the most intense times of infection. Now, take Wuhan as an example, the slow reopen is accompanied by fear of a second wave. “Trains, highways, and buses are humming anew and people venture out more. Yet many businesses have not reopened, many people … are still working from home, many restaurants are still open only for takeout, and the local economy is still a shadow of its former self.” – The Atlantic
A Ballet In Amsterdam’s Emptied Streets
The dancers rehearsed at home and performed on streets and beside canals. “I like this project because we can show what we want to do, and what we’re waiting to do again. … Art, right now, is really important for everyone,” says one of the Dutch National Ballet dancers. A video of the dancers is being edited for release later this month. – Yahoo
The Berlin Phil Tests A Path Out For Orchestras
The concert hall was empty; the musicians were greatly reduced in number and sitting far from each other; they wore masks backstage and were tested before the event. “Though the seating arrangement was strange — and it was momentarily odd to see a conductor and concertmaster bow to each other rather than shake hands — it was also inspiring to see musicians trying to find some way, however awkward, to keep making live art.” – The New York Times
When Your Subject Is Your Family, And Your Family Is Your Pets
Photographer Robin Schwartz is used to quarantine, having dealt with being isolated during cancer treatments, but it’s only intensified lately. Luckily, her subjects are the same as ever: Her daughter, and her pets. – Wired
Helen McGehee, A Dancer With Martha Graham, Has Died At 98
Choreographer Paul Taylor once wrote of McGehee, “She is basically a lyric dancer but she can turn into a spark-ejecting demonette when cast in dramatic roles.” She taught the Graham technique for many years after she retired from dancing herself. – The New York Times
A Delicate Question: Sound Designing Sex And Intimacy
Intimacy comes from much more than the sound design for sex scenes, intense though they may be in Hulu’s 12-part Normal People. The music throughout the series, as with other audio queues, is meant to react along with audiences, not lead them. And then there are the physically intimate scenes: “That means adding a swallow, a breath, a stomach gurgle or the ruffle of material. … When they have their first kiss, you want the world to disappear. You want the audience to lean in.” – Variety