Joan Acocella: “Glover is the greatest tap virtuoso of our time, perhaps of all time. … And, perhaps for that reason – that he never had to woo us – Glover had a problem with charm: namely, that he didn’t show much. … He not only didn’t smile; often he wouldn’t look at the audience. He did the show while watching his shoes or the band. And the fact that the people he wasn’t looking at were mostly white made the whole situation more edgy. We went there to love him, and he wouldn’t love us back, or even like us.”
Tag: 07.08.14
Kurt Vonnegut Talks To The Dead
“As part of WNYC’s 90th anniversary celebration, Marty Goldensohn, former WNYC news director, shares excerpts from the station’s 1998 series Reports on the Afterlife. It’s based on Vonnegut’s book God Bless You Dr. Kevorkian, a fictionalized account of interviews with recently deceased people.”
Fixing The Metropolitan Opera: A To-Do List
Dawn Fatale, who has provided some of the most trenchant commentary out there on the company’s current troubles, offers a ten-point plan (okay, a listicle) for turning the place around. (As always, Parterre Box’s cher public comes through with yet more ideas.)
What-All Can You Do With A Philosophy Ph.D.?
“Of course, for many, academic philosophy proves a disappointment – an endless slog to publish, the tedium and heartache of departmental politics, and a dismal job market that tends to people to far-flung college towns, far away from family and friends. So what is a budding philosopher to do?” Quite a bit, actually.
Swedish Filmmaker Releases 72-Minute Teaser For His 720-Hour Movie
On the last day of 2020, Anders Weberg will release Ambiancé, which is, he says, “an abstract nonlinear narrative summary of the artist’s time spent with the moving image.” The film will “be shown in its full length on a single occasion syncronised in all the continents of the world and then destroyed.” (includes trailer)
Cuban Roots: Dance Flourishes In Cuba
“For its storied reputation of turning out some of the ballet world’s best dancers, Cuba has two equally dictatorial people to thank — Alicia Alonso and Fidel Castro. One an artist. One a political leader. Both with undeterrable personalities and a fierce commitment to their own agendas. Neither to be crossed lightly.”
Advocating For Musicians (Things Are Changing)
“In the three years since the movement began, I’ve seen a definite shift in the tactics used by musicians, organizers, and other people working in the music industry as they attempt to build power and push for fair pay and conditions in the vast and strange landscape of contemporary composition, performance, and recording.”
Creative Placemaking. It Sounds Good, But…
“As the arts funding puzzle shifts dramatically under the rubric of creative placemaking—from symphony orchestras to dance companies, and from museums to arts councils—the programs, services, and fundamental kind of art being made will necessarily change to enhance an organization’s competitiveness. This is not a situation that new music stakeholders should take lightly.”
A New Theatre Row For Baltimore?
“The Howard Street theater proposal envisions three separate venues, each with its own street-level performance space and its own marquee announcing events presented by the likes of Annex Theater, EMP Collective, Acme Corporation and Stillpointe Theatre Initiative. Upstairs areas are envisioned as a beehive of various cultural, social and business enterprises.”
Five Problems with Taylor Swift’s Optimistic View Of The Music Business
Her Wall Street Journal op-ed professed optimism for the ways the music business is changing. But optimism isn’t a substitute for reality…