Modern American ballet is innovative, exploratory, diverse… and strangely devoid of black women. “While other minorities have made inroads in classical ballet, the complicated reality of racial inequality persists, especially for black women… Many black dancers suggest that a primary obstacle is stereotyping. Black women are perceived as being forceful, which doesn’t square with the ethereal image of a ballerina.”
Tag: 05.06.07
Spidey Senses A Record
The heavily promoted (but critically unpopular) Spider Man 3 smashed box office records this weekend with its US release, raking in $148 million in two nights while playing on more than 4,200 screens (also a record.) The previous record for an opening weekend was $136m, set by last year’s Pirates of the Caribbean sequel.
Opera Cleveland Stumbles Out Of The Gate
The newly formed Opera Cleveland (product of a merger of two other companies) decided to aim high with its first production, staging Richard Strauss’s challenging “Salome.” But at a time when the public in any city in America can see the Met’s lavish New York-based productions on movie screens, Donald Rosenberg says that smaller-budget companies must display not only musical skill, but creativity of staging, qualities that were lacking in the new company’s debut effort.
Jazz & The Classics, Together Again
Classical music and jazz have long danced around each other’s outer edges, but lately, there seems to be a proliferation of crossover projects between the two. Is it Gunther Schuller’s famous “Third Stream” finally growing into a widespread cultural phenomenon, or a new evolution of both genres of music?
Venezuela’s Orchestral Magic
Venezuela’s dynamic music education system is no longer the well-kept secret it once was, and with the appointment of Gustavo Dudamel as the next music director of the LA Philharmonic, the country is being recognized as a virtual factory of orchestral talent. “So far, the Venezuelan music education system has not produced a generation of young composers on par with Mexico’s. Yet it’s indisputable that its musician training program produces top-notch orchestra players.”