Articles
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In Bosnia: Dance conquers fear
A Bosnian Odyssey: Dance will bring us together
When I arrived in Bosnia-Herzegovina in June for a two-month humanitarian stint as a volunteer dance teacher, the challenge seemed daunting: In this tragic country, torn apart in the ‘90s by ethnic cleansing, could Muslim Bosniaks, Orthodox Serbs and Catholic Croats possibly dance together, much less live peacefully together? Within a few weeks I got my answer.
Articles
5 minute read
Greek travesty: Euripides's 'Helen' in London
Euripides has a problem
The rarely performed Helen by Euripides is late Attic tragedy with a comic twist, as the beauty queen of ancient Greece is reunited with her husband Menelaus after the Trojan War. Deborah Bruce's production misconceives its material, and the result, despite Penny Downie's doughty performance in the title role, is neither comedy nor tragedy but travesty instead.
Articles
6 minute read
James Herrick's "Scientific Mythologies'
How many sci-fi writers can dance on the head of a pin?
James Herrick, a Christian apologist at a fundamentalist college, sees pop culture and science fiction supplanting traditional religious myths as the cutting force of spirituality today. Not to worry, professor: Steven Spielberg, Carl Sagan and the makers of Star Wars and Star Trek are mostly pouring old wine into new bottles.
Articles
3 minute read
"Bruno' and male neuroses
Who's that squirming in the audience?
Bruno, the latest comic vehicle for the entrapment artist Sacha Baron Cohen, seems at first glance a tasteless porridge of adolescent humor— a second serving of Cohen's parody of former Soviet republics, Borat. But look again: Bruno might be ripping off the scabs covering many of our cultural hang-ups, especially male ones.
Articles
3 minute read
The Orchestra's final Mann week
Discovered at the Mann: One knockout conductor
The Orchestra's summer series at the Mann may be strapped for cash, but the last three concerts introduced a conductor who deserves an unqualified rave, showcased a rising young soprano, and added another chapter to Lang Lang's artistic development.
Articles
5 minute read
90 years of Merce Cunningham
Merce Cunningham remembered: At 90, still taking my breath away
People I know who don't quite respond to Merce Cunningham's dance often complain that it looks too mechanical. Well, if it does, that's what I always loved about it.
Articles
4 minute read
Majidi's "Song of Sparrows'
Neo-realism from Iran
To a film buff who's unfamiliar with Iranian neo-realist cinema, Majid Majidi's Song of Sparrows is a revelation: a film so believable that I thought I was watching a documentary.
Articles
2 minute read
Wagner's "Ring' cycle (Part 6: "Götterdämmerung&apos
GÓ¶tterdÓ¤mmerung: Nietzsche knows best
Götterdämmerung, the last of Wagner's four-part Ring operas, ends with Valhalla in flames, the destruction of the gods, and Wotan a disillusioned pessimist, much like Wagner himself. Is this the death of religion? The triumph of science or nature? Wagner lets us take our pick.
Articles
9 minute read
Martin Provost's 'Séraphine' at the Ritz Five
A few words about art
Martin Provost's Séraphine is a beautiful film based on the real-life relationship of an art critic and a self-taught artist on the eve of World War I. Provost intriguingly focuses not on the financial and artistic success that this partnership generated but on failures of communication between the artist and the wordsmith.
Articles
3 minute read
The Mann experience: A newcomer's perspective
Welcome to the Mann: A few questions from a first-timer
Thursday's showcase for pianists Herbie Hancock and Lang Lang with the Philadelphia Orchestra left many patrons swooning with delight. But it raised a few questions in the mind of a first-time visitor to the Mann who sat in the cheap seats.
Articles
3 minute read