“In her 44 years, Barbie has appeared in more than 80 guises, from dentist to astronaut to rap star. One of the most popular dolls has been Ballet Barbie. So small wonder that two years ago, when the company decided Barbie was ready to make her video debut, the vehicle they chose was The Nutcracker, with Barbie playing Clara in an animated adaptation of the E. T. A. Hoffmann ballet classic. The video and DVD have sold 3.5 million copies.” Now, Barbie has been cast in Swan Lake, and the New York City Ballet has been enlisted to provide the very human movement behind the computer-generated dance sequences.
Tag: 09.28.03
Debating The Passion
Most people don’t think of Mel Gibson as a controversial movie star. But his new tribute to the last days of Jesus has the religious world in an uproar. “The Passion has unleashed one of the bitterest disputes to envelop the filmmaking industry for years, with many leaders of the Jewish community in the US, as well as many Christian leaders, describing the film as an all-out attack on both the Jewish community and the teachings of the mainstream Catholic church.”
Skrowaczewski’s Musical Protest
Stanislaw Skrowaczewski is 80, and looks it. But the wiry little man, who has built a reputation as one of the world’s preeminent composers and conductors, is as full of energy as ever, and his latest symphony, which premieres this week in Minneapolis, has a decidedly angry bent, reflecting his frustration with the current lot of the arts in America. “For Skrowaczewski, the symphony reflects matters both public and private. In a recent conversation at Orchestra Hall, the conductor nearly exploded on hearing the name of President George W. Bush. ‘Stupid! He has spoiled the position of this country for decades,’ he said.”