“[Worldwide Ballet Class] stands out for offering dancers of all levels the opportunity to take open company class alongside professional dancers, six days a week … taught by the likes of Julie Kent, Christopher Stowell, SFB ballet master Felipe Diaz and National Ballet of Canada principal Jurgita Dronina.” All for free, no less. Here’s a Q&A with co-founders Diego Cruz and Rubén Martín Cintas. – Pointe Magazine
Tag: 05.07.20
Emmanuel Macron’s Plan For Culture Over The Next Year
He said the coming months should be ones of “learning and culture,” as opposed to travel and leisure. (France has also imposed limits on international travelers for the summer months). He added that artists would need to invent new forms of culture, saying that “nothing prevents us from inventing something else, in smaller forms with no public or little public.” – Artnet
To Stream Or Not To Stream? Arthouse Film Distributors Face Quandary With This Year’s New Releases
Some, like A24 and Sony Pictures Classics, are sticking with the existing theater-first model and waiting the COVID lockdown out; says a top Sony exec, “Without theatrical, the business disappears.” Yet some smaller distributors “have seized an opportunity to release their films as digital links, often through art-house and independent theaters that have eagerly accepted a chance to earn some revenue and keep their homebound audiences engaged.” (Alamo Drafthouse, meanwhile, is launching its own streaming platform.) – The Washington Post
Archaeologists Cry Foul As Egypt Moves Ancient Sphinxes Into Tahrir Square
“Officials from Egypt’s antiquities ministry recently announced that [four] ram-headed sphinxes had been taken from the Karnak temple in Luxor to the capital’s busy traffic roundabout, where they have joined a pink granite obelisk.” Egyptologists say that the sculptures will be damaged by Cairo’s air pollution, while government critics say it’s a move to erase Tahrir Square’s recent history as a protest site. – The Guardian
As Creatives Move Online During Lockdown, Fans Follow Them To Patreon
“Since mid-March more than 70,000 extra creators have joined Patreon, which allows fans to give monthly payments to artists in exchange for exclusive content or simply out of a desire to support someone whose work they appreciate. The artistic influx has been matched by an equally large increase in supporters. … the number of whom is up 25% month on month. Over the same period, spending by existing patrons has increased by 75%.” – The Guardian
As If COVID Weren’t Bad Enough, This City’s Shuttered Museums Are Dealing With An Earthquake
A 5.4 magnitude temblor hit the Croatian capital, Zagreb, in late March. “Over 80% of [the city’s] museums are in buildings that date from before the Second World War and most of them have reported serious damage, but the aftershocks and lockdown have stopped detailed inventories of the destruction being made. More than a third of them are identified as unsafe or dangerous.” – The Art Newspaper
UK’s National Theatre Will (Offer To) Pay Actors For Plays Streamed During Corona-Crisis
“The ‘nominal’ payment will apply to all the productions the National has been streaming on YouTube since early April. The venue said it was up to the artists whether they chose to accept it.” – BBC
Police Recover 19,000 Artifacts In Bust Of International Art Theft Ring
Police officers in Spain recovered several rare pre-Columbian objects at Madrid’s Barajas airport, including a unique Tumaco gold mask, gold figurines and pieces of ancient jewellery. All had been illegally acquired by looting in Colombia. – The Guardian
Sixty Percent Of Small UK Publishers Say They’ll Be Out Of Business By Fall
With author events cancelled, titles delayed and bookshop sales severely hit by lockdown, the survey of 72 small publishers reveals almost 60% fear closure by the autumn. The Bookseller said that 57% reported they had no cashflow to support their business, and 85% had seen sales drop by more than half. – The Guardian
Virologist: Don’t Count On Going To Shows, Festivals, Events Before Next Year
“We will ultimately return to enjoying such collective experiences – as they “appeal to the human nature” – but only after most people in the country have either been infected with the disease (herd immunity), or inoculated (vaccines or combinations of drugs) in some way. In “the near-term”, he says, “it’s just not going to happen. I think this year is basically a write-off, if I’m honest with you,” he adds. – BBC