“The video features about a dozen dancers for whom the term ‘backup’ doesn’t apply. They are front and center.”
Tag: 05.29.16
When Life Is Truly Terrible, Writing Dystopias Might Not Feel So Fictional
“Five years after the popular uprisings in Egypt, Tunisia, Libya and elsewhere, a bleak, apocalyptic strain of post-revolutionary literature has taken root in the region.”
The Organizers Of Cuba’s First Electronic Music Festival Pulled Off A Massive Feat Of Logistics
“Nobody would ship there, so we either had to source everything locally or take it as check-in luggage on the plane. We had to be extremely frugal with what we were taking out to Cuba, but even then our small core team ended up taking 745 kg of additional check in luggage on top of our personal suitcases, including a 92-kg Roland M-5000 mixing desk.”
Music Across The (Uncrossable) Border Fence
“The fandango at the border did not start out as an overtly political act. But through the years, as the national debate over immigration has become ever more divisive and as violence in Mexico has continued, the event’s symbolism has deepened and grown more bittersweet.”
The Social Justice Architecture Of The Venice Biennale
“If ‘humanitarian architecture’ sometimes turns out not to be humanitarian, it is not always architecture either. In the urge to do good, or to be seen to do good, architects can forget their skills of making spaces and buildings that are desirable to inhabit.”
Frank Modell Was A Cartoonist For The New Yorker For More Than Half A Century
Modell, who just died at age 98, “had no illusions about the role his cartoons played at The New Yorker, well known for its long articles: to break up ‘great slabs of type,’ as he put it.”
What Happens To The United States When The Engine Of Mobility Starts To Sputter And Fail?
“‘We have gone backwards,’ said Frederick R. Brodzinski, a senior administrator and adjunct professor in computer science who plans to retire in September after 30 years at the university. ‘Morale is horrible on campus. There are too many highly paid administrators, and there’s a lack of clear leadership. We have stepped down on the ladder that we were climbing for about 10 years.'”
How Hamilton Is Like The World Cup
“The thing about seeing Hamilton RIGHT NOW at its peak moment is that even before it begins, the entire theater is filled with wonder. Every single person would rather be here than anywhere else in the world. As a sportswriter, I often feel that sort of energy at the biggest events, at the Masters or the Super Bowl or the Olympics, but it’s even more pronounced in this theater. “
Top Posts From AJBlogs For 05.29.16
Stories Only Dance Can Tell
Juliette Mapp and Beth Gill present brave new works in New York. Juliette Mapp’sLuxury Rentals. (L to R): Levi Gonzales, Jimena Paz, Kayvon Pourazar, and Juliette Mapp. Photo: Ian Douglas, courtesy of Danspace Project… … read mor
AJBlog: DancebeatPublished 2016-05-29
Opening arguments
When Emma Rice was appointed artistic director of Shakespeare’s Globe earlier this year, it seemed an inspired choice. Irreverent, populist, she was director of Kneehigh. a company with a ballsy, outward-facing performance style splashed… … read more
AJBlog: Performance MonkeyPublished 2016-05-28
Shakespeare: The Miniseries
In today’s Wall Street Journal drama column I report on the premiere of Chicago Shakespeare’s Tug of War: Foreign Fire. Here’s an excerpt. * * * It’s become common—even fashionable—to mount Shakespeare’s history plays in… … read more
AJBlog: About Last NightPublished 2016-05-27
An Analytical Cornucopia, Wanted or Not
Over the last eleven years, I’ve given at least seventeen keynote addresses and conference papers, and in recent weeks I’ve managed to post all but two of them (those two rather redundant, given my other… … read more
AJBlog: PostClassicPublished 2016-05-26 The Tosca effect
Implausible things in opera staging, things any TV show gets right, things that can mar even opera productions that, overall, are quite good — that was the subject of my previous post. This weakens us,… … read more
AJBlog: SandowPublished 2016-05-26
AJBlog: PostClassicPublished 2016-05-26 The Tosca effect
Implausible things in opera staging, things any TV show gets right, things that can mar even opera productions that, overall, are quite good — that was the subject of my previous post. This weakens us,… … read more
AJBlog: SandowPublished 2016-05-26
[ssba_hide]
This Week in Audience: Is My Experience Cannibalizing Yours Edition
“Should we be investing in festivals rather than more arts buildings? Google’s hi-rez art cam is ingesting art from the world’s great museums. Some evidence that live-streaming might be hurting live audience box office. Some doubts about streaming as the future of how we get music. And the futility of chasing millennials.”