05.21.14 – ArtsJournal Wayback

Brazil’s New Dance Craze, From Rio’s Favelas To The Big-Time

“Hailed by some as the new capoeira, passinho is a lightning-quick dance style that evokes 1980s b-boy battles in the Bronx, as performers push their physical limits in exhilarating head-to-head contests. Within the space of a decade, it has gone from a side attraction within the bailes funk – those raucous, illicit parties that light up Rio’s outer neighbourhoods – to a national phenomenon with primetime TV slots, lucrative sponsorships and star status for a lucky few.”

Orlando Ballet Names Fourth Executive Director In Four Years

Jim Mitchell “served five years as executive director of the Arkansas Arts Council … [and] has direct management experience in every major arts discipline including dance, opera, symphony and theater, as well as capital campaign and strategic planning experience.”

American Schadenfreude (Not Exactly An Oxymoron, But ….)

“What I find interesting is that no such word or phrase exists in American English. … Certainly, there is no piecing together ‘shame’ and ‘joy’ to make ‘shamejoy,’ as in German. Shame and joy are antithetical, distant, never meant to share the same bed. That’s because schadenfreude does not square with America’s national obsession with the comeback story.”

Cultural Divide – Los Angeles Versus San Francisco

“The Bay Area has such a superiority complex that it’s been blinded to the reality of what Los Angeles is really about – and, lately, to just how far San Francisco has moved from its own professed values.”

Harper Lee Withdraws From Deal With Museum

“A settlement between To Kill A Mockingbird author Harper Lee and a museum in her Alabama hometown which used her name on souvenirs has failed.”

On Opera And The Critic’s Responsibility

Anne Midgette: “As the discussion [about critics’ unkind comments about a mezzo’s appearance onstage] continues to rage online, and the glee of the critic-bashers mounts, I feel the need to make three more points” about larger issues involved.

We Now Have A Frontrunner For The Cannes Palme d’Or

Actually, we have any one of three, depending on whom you ask …

Maybe Laughter Really Is The Best Medicine

“Several new studies exploring the effects of laughter are contributing to a fast-growing body of research that finds just how important it is to keeping us happy, healthy, and sane.”

Conductor Franz-Paul Decker, 90

“Possibly the last living musician to have met Richard Strauss” and particularly respected as an orchestra builder, Decker served at various times as the chief conductor of the Rotterdam Philharmonic, Montreal Symphony, Barcelona Symphony, and New Zealand Symphony Orchestras.

Tag: 05.21.14