“The School of American Ballet’s annual Workshop Performances are like the rookie draft of the dance world, in which students barely out of high school perform classic repertoire and a lucky, limber few get chosen to shine in lead roles (an even luckier handful are then chosen to join the corps of New York City Ballet)… This year, the crop of newbies was especially compelling.”
Tag: 06.05.07
Booming Indian Art But Artist Freedoms Attacked
“The defence of free speech seems particularly important this year, as India marks the 60th anniversary of her independence. The country has surprised cynics and sceptics by remaining true to constitutional parliamentary democracy. On paper, and often in practice, India’s film-makers, writers and artists enjoy the kinds of freedom that their counterparts in the west take for granted but which, unfortunately, are far from the norm in the developing world. In the past decade, however, activists of vir tually all faiths have objected vociferously to such freedom for artists.”
The Great Performer As Teacher
Great artist aren’t necessarily great teachers. But Yefim Bronfman seems to have both roles figured out. “It is commonly said that, the worse the teacher, the more he demonstrates. But this is not necessarily so. Sometimes a quick demonstration is worth a thousand words — and it is definitely part of teaching. To hear Mr. Bronfman play, and talk, was a profound experience (as well as a dazzling one).”
A Brilliant Conductor In Jail – What A Loss
British Early Music specialist Robert King faces four years in prison for assaulting underage boys. Igor Toronyi-Lalic regrets the loss. “Above all, however, he provided me with some of the most intense musical experiences I’ve ever had and, for me – though obviously not the courts – these and his golden recordings have put him beyond reproach. He was also about the only person in Classical Music who, when he opened his mouth, could actually be funny. He was the supreme raconteur and always had the audiences in the palm of his hand.”
A Plan For The Royal Shakespeare’s Transformation
“The Royal Shakespeare Company has just won planning permission to transform its centrepiece theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon within a £113 million reinvention of one of the country’s most famous cultural centres. As the builders’ hoardings go up around the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, it brings to an end many years of uncertainty and debate about what should happen here to address the many shortcomings of the RSC’s most important theatrical space.”
Has Damien Hirst Created The First 21st Centuy Art?
“Art does not follow the calendar’s dividing lines. Hirst has created an object that has nothing to do with the 20th century, that owes as little to Marcel Duchamp as it does to Picasso, that has nothing to do with the Holocaust or 1917 or any of the 20th century’s memories … a work of art, in fact, that could have been created in any century but that one. Art has struggled to escape the 20th century because its first half was a great aesthetic period that cast a long shadow. Hirst, though, has broken through – for the second time.
Dictionary Sanctions New Words
What are this year’s newly-sanctioned official words? ” ‘Muffin top’ is one of hundreds of new words and phrases, along with ‘wag’, ‘size zero’ and ‘hoodie’, that have entered the language and are listed in the Collins English Dictionary’s 9th edition, published today.”
Is Online Teacher Rating Service Accurate?
“Complaints about RateMyProfessors.com are widespread. Because the site doesn’t seek representative samples of students, or even ensure that students are ranking professors whose courses they have taken, a challenging professor may receive low scores from students who never did the work and an instructor who gives everyone A’s may be nominated for professor of the year. Studies have found that the best way to score well on RateMyProfessors.com is to look “hot” and be an easy grader. So what does it mean if RateMyProfessors.com has a high correlation with the kinds of student evaluations that colleges see as more valid?”
eBay Enters Radio Ad Business
Online auctioneer eBay Inc. said on Tuesday it is ready to begin auctioning advertising airtime on 2,300 participating U.S. radio stations, expanding on an existing plan to sell cable television ads.
Greek Police Raid, Close Art Show
Greek artists and media are protesting government raid and shutdown of an art exhibit. “Featuring work by more than 70 artists and organized under the auspices of the Greek Cultural Ministry, the 13th edition of the Art Athina exhibit included an installation by artist Eva Stefani in which viewers could peer through a peephole and see footage of Greek pornography from the 1960s and 1970s, set to a soundtrack that includes the Greek national anthem.”