As people live longer, the age when they are at their greatest creativity has gone up a bit. But the length of time people are extraordinarily creative hasn’t increased. So why is that?
Tag: 06.01.05
Royal Ballet Catches An Updraft
“No major company has had a more confusing time than London’s Royal Ballet, which has not only suffered from the usual crisis of uncertain repertory and underpowered stars but floundered badly during the disastrous, short-lived reign of Ross Stretton. Today, under the leadership of Monica Mason, one of the strongest and most intelligent of its dancers from the 60’s into the 80’s, it seems to be making a comeback—not through flashy innovations, spurious novelties and concocted celebrations but through careful husbanding of the company’s resources; through nurturing and developing dancers and respecting the past while trying to find a sensible road to the future.
Tony Favorites
Who’s going to win this year’s Tony awards? John Heilpern handicaps the field…
The Mozart Effect (But Why?)
What is it with our enduring fascination with Mozart? “As we near the 250th anniversary of his birth, Mozart still presides as the patron saint of modern child prodigies—and as a talismanic figure in the more mundane realm of bound-for-the-top organization kids, too.”
Davidson: Hope For Ground Zero
Justin Davidson admits that conventional wisdom says the Ground Zero rebuilding process is a mess. But. “Yes, much of what is happening downtown is lamentable, secretive, unpredictable and slow. But nearly four years after the attacks we have a plan that, for all its flaws, represents a workable compromise. We should keep prodding it toward reality.”
US House Approves Increase In NEA Budget
“The U.S. House of Representatives has approved a Congressional Arts Caucus floor amendment to increase the budget of the National Endowment for the Arts by $10 million, while quashing two additional amendments that would have cut a total of $45 million from the federal arts budget.”
Labor Investigation Of Washington Ballet
“The National Labor Relations Board has called for a Sept. 7 hearing to determine whether the Washington Ballet, in Washington, D.C., discriminated against two dancers who helped form a union there.”
Canadian Culture Increasingly Doesn’t Travel
“Canada’s export of cultural goods—such as art and music—has been steadily declining for the last four years. In 2004 it reached its lowest point since 1997, according to the Statscan report. The trade deficit in culture goods is due to a decline in exports—particularly to the US—and is most pronounced in the sector of written and published works such as books, periodicals, newspapers, and other printed materials.”
Why Can’t Johnny Write?
“Most composition courses that American students take today emphasize content rather than form, on the theory that if you chew over big ideas long enough, the ability to write about them will (mysteriously) follow. The theory is wrong. Content is a lure and a delusion, and it should be banished from the classroom. Form is the way.”
Are Skylines Killing Miami?
Miami is filling in its skyline at an alarming rate, and it promises to change the very character of the city. “As of April, there were 261 development projects in motion (this is to say somewhere between preliminary application and recent completion) in the city of Miami. For Miami this means a mind-boggling 69,039 residential units, which is basically the equivalent of building a medium-sized city. Not all of this is what might be considered ”prime” residential development, along the bay or in or near downtown, but a significant percentage is.”