Jayne Posted January 10, 2015 Share Posted January 10, 2015 http://www.timeout.com/newyork/dance/karen-keeler-talks-about-being-a-rockette Great interview from 2012 with a Dance Captain at Radio City Music Hall. Her past experiences at SAB, among other schools, and many extraordinary ballet instructors. Link to comment
Jayne Posted December 28, 2016 Author Share Posted December 28, 2016 (edited) Bringing up the glamorous hoofers again because of the news swirling around their performance at the US Presidential Inauguration. This Marie Claire article indicated more concerns from the dancers. If it is any consolation, with the media scrutiny it seems unlikely the PEOTUS would act inappropriately. If he did, who could protect the dancers? They normally have bodyguards for appearances, but the bodyguards could not approach the POETUS without Secret Service blocking them. The whole thing turns my stomach but I suppose the US has had plenty of leacherous Presidents in the past as well. I am most shocked at how their union is reacting. What is the point of a union if it won't go to bat for you for your safety? Edited December 28, 2016 by Jayne Link to comment
dirac Posted December 30, 2016 Share Posted December 30, 2016 Quote What is the point of a union if it won't go to bat for you for your safety? Apparently that point sank in with the union as well - as the article points out, it's since been announced that no Rockette in the affected class (the small number with a full-time job and benefits, and the ones for whom performances are contractually mandatory) will be forced to work the inauguration, and several have refused. That refusal takes nerve - these are good jobs for dancers, not easy to find and hold onto. However, I do not think they need worry about the President barging into their dressing rooms as he has done to the contestants in his beauty pageants. Very small to non-existent risk there. It will be interesting to see what happens to the cultural/entertainment evenings at the White House over the next few years, or if there will even be any, given the inauguration angst. The Kennedy Center Honors as well -- will Trump attend? What will be the reaction of honorees if he plans to do so? Stay tuned. Link to comment
sandik Posted December 30, 2016 Share Posted December 30, 2016 I certainly hope that they don't discontinue the Kennedy Center honors. We have few enough opportunities to recognize the arts in a national setting. But this reminds me of the question I've been asking for a while now -- what kind of art does Donald Trump have experience with? He's a New Yorker, so he's had access to all kinds of work, but what does he actually see? Link to comment
Jayne Posted December 31, 2016 Author Share Posted December 31, 2016 I know he's a big Tony Bennett fan, but Mr. Bennett is now 90ish and unlikely to sing at a 4 hour outdoor event. For the right price he might sing inside the White House. Might be a few years of military musicians performing to justify their DoD salaries, and groups from conservative religious universities, Israeli and Russian arts groups as well. Probably no Chinese groups. Link to comment
dirac Posted December 31, 2016 Share Posted December 31, 2016 I don't imagine they'd actually discontinue the Honors, but it's very easy to imagine a situation in which honorees refuse to perform or accept the honor if Trump is present. Chris Christie is a big Springsteen fan but that didn't help him much with the Boss. And even if performers are personally inclined to perform, there's the risk of fan backlash. Link to comment
California Posted January 1, 2017 Share Posted January 1, 2017 Another thing to watch: how many great artists and scholars will want to go to the White House to accept the National Medal of the Arts and the National Humanities Medal next year? Here are a couple of stories on the 2016 presentations: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2015-recipients-of-the-national-medal-of-arts-and-national-humanities-medal/2016/09/22/2dbd4a70-80d3-11e6-8327-f141a7beb626_story.html?utm_term=.11afcf921a18 http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/09/22/495011305/at-white-house-a-golden-moment-for-americas-great-artists-and-patrons Link to comment
Jayne Posted January 3, 2017 Author Share Posted January 3, 2017 Marie Claire clearly has a mole at Radio City Music Hall: a secret recording of the Dec 27 meeting with the CEO and the dancers. What a strange turn of events. http://www.marieclaire.com/politics/a24518/rockette-donald-trump-inauguration-james-dolan/ Link to comment
balletforme Posted January 4, 2017 Share Posted January 4, 2017 (edited) A member of my family has worked for MSG in the Christmas show and it's definitely an "old style" company. Their PR department needs work, clearly a big botch. The Rockettes are members of AGVA (American Guild of Variety Artists) and the leadership consists of former MSG employees and Rockettes. That said, as a performing artist, do you really get say about the audience? I abhor Trump and all he stands for. Edited January 4, 2017 by balletforme specify AGVA acronym Link to comment
vipa Posted January 4, 2017 Share Posted January 4, 2017 As a performer you usually don't get a say about the audience, but I believe it is different if an event is to honor an individual. As a performer I had no way of knowing who bought a ticket to a show that I was in. It is different if you are asked to perform at an event that honors one person. Many performers have refused to perform at the inauguration who could have, at some point, had Donald Trump in their audience at a performance. There are times when performing artists do have choices. There are many performers who would refuse to perform at a KKK event. KKK members are free to buy tickets to any events they choose to see. Link to comment
dirac Posted January 4, 2017 Share Posted January 4, 2017 22 hours ago, Jayne said: Marie Claire clearly has a mole at Radio City Music Hall: a secret recording of the Dec 27 meeting with the CEO and the dancers. What a strange turn of events. http://www.marieclaire.com/politics/a24518/rockette-donald-trump-inauguration-james-dolan/ Wow. Dolan remains Dolan. Link to comment
Jayne Posted January 4, 2017 Author Share Posted January 4, 2017 (edited) Dirac, do you have more information on Dolan's history? This kerfuffle is the first I have heard of him. RCMH and The Rockettes have always had a classy reputation for old fashioned variety entertainment. I am just stunned by how badly this has been handled. How could Dolan not have forseen the controversy when he greenlit this appearance? Edited January 4, 2017 by Jayne Link to comment
dirac Posted January 5, 2017 Share Posted January 5, 2017 Jayne, Dolan is best known, or most notorious, as the owner of the Knicks, in which capacity he has received such accolades as “the dumbest owner in sports.” (Lots of competition in that category.) Probably the best way to understand who the Rockettes are working for is to do a search for “James Dolan Isiah Thomas.” He’s also a cable chieftain and the chairman of Madison Square Garden. And although I haven’t checked this and I’m not sure if Marie Claire mentioned it, I would be completely unsurprised if he’s a Trump donor. Link to comment
Jayne Posted January 6, 2017 Author Share Posted January 6, 2017 I have read that he donated to Trump, but supported democrats in the past. FWIW all the former presidents and first ladies (who are healthy) will attend, this is a bipartisan event. I understand Dolan's gotta make a buck, but the comment he made (paraphrasing) "as diverse as we can make the Rockettes and still uphold our standards" -- this made me wince. Link to comment
dirac Posted January 6, 2017 Share Posted January 6, 2017 His being a Trump donor might help explain why Dolan's applying the pressure. Trump is having a hard time finding entertainment for the inauguration and his people have been beating the bushes. Link to comment
dirac Posted January 20, 2017 Share Posted January 20, 2017 On 12/29/2016 at 10:59 PM, sandik said: I certainly hope that they don't discontinue the Kennedy Center honors. We have few enough opportunities to recognize the arts in a national setting. But this reminds me of the question I've been asking for a while now -- what kind of art does Donald Trump have experience with? He's a New Yorker, so he's had access to all kinds of work, but what does he actually see? We may have part of the answer: Quote Advocates for the arts and public broadcasting are sounding the alarm over possible cuts to federal funding that one lawmaker said could be a sign of a cultural dark age under Donald Trump's presidency. The Hill reported Thursday that the Trump transition team is considering privatizing the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CBP) and eliminating the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). Related. Link to comment
YouOverThere Posted January 20, 2017 Share Posted January 20, 2017 On 12/30/2016 at 1:59 AM, sandik said: what kind of art does Donald Trump have experience with? The art of the deal! Link to comment
Jayne Posted January 20, 2017 Author Share Posted January 20, 2017 I know his 2nd wife played a floozie in Will Rogers Follies while they were married (no irony there, none whatsoever) and I know Trump likes Tony Bennett and The Beach Boys. The Arts abolishment is likely GOP initiated to appease their base. I wonder if the Smithsonian is next? Link to comment
sandik Posted January 20, 2017 Share Posted January 20, 2017 1 hour ago, Jayne said: The Arts abolishment is likely GOP initiated to appease their base. I wonder if the Smithsonian is next? Especially since the newly-opened African American museum has been so warmly recognized? The GOP establishment regularly tries to close the Endowments, disguising it as a cost-cutting move, but this still leaves me with my question. Aside from The Art of the Deal (!), and Tony Bennet and the Beach Boys, does DT have any other artworks that really mean something to him? I've heard that Sunset Boulevard and Citizen Kane are his favorite films, and if that's true it certainly does say something about him, but I've yet to hear anything else. Link to comment
dirac Posted January 20, 2017 Share Posted January 20, 2017 The Republican establishment has not always been hostile to arts funding - quite the contrary. In the (relatively) recent past these attempts came from what was once regarded as the harder right. Times have changed, alas. I don't recall any attempts to eliminate the endowments since Gingrich's charge in the mid-nineties. This time the situation is somewhat different. If these reports are true, the initiative is coming from the White House, not from Congress or outside activists. Nor has there been any recent high-profile controversy regarding an NEA grant. Also, now there are Republican majorities in both houses. It'll be up to the Senate. Link to comment
sandik Posted January 21, 2017 Share Posted January 21, 2017 You are quite right -- early on, the Endowments seemed to be a relatively bi-partisan place. But the culture wars of the 1990s changed all that. Link to comment
Quiggin Posted January 21, 2017 Share Posted January 21, 2017 (edited) There seemed to be only 18 Rockettes on stage at one of the Trump inaugural balls (Liberty Ball?). The usual group is a 36 member kick line. Later someone sang the Bertolt Brecht song "Mack the Knife"(a favorite of the Rat Pack) and ended it with: "Look out, Donald is back!" General line-up of the balls seems reminiscent of an Ed Sullivan hour. Edited January 21, 2017 by Quiggin Link to comment
lmspear Posted January 21, 2017 Share Posted January 21, 2017 (edited) One of the Washington Post background articles on Trump mentioned that early in his career much of his liesure time was spent at Studio 54. I don't recall any mention of performing arts. Do the Miss Universe affiliated pagents have a talent component? Edited January 21, 2017 by lmspear Edited for clarity. Link to comment
dirac Posted January 21, 2017 Share Posted January 21, 2017 2 hours ago, Quiggin said: There seemed to be only 18 Rockettes on stage at one of the Trump inaugural balls (Liberty Ball?). The usual group is a 36 member kick line. Later someone sang the Bertolt Brecht song "Mack the Knife"(a favorite of the Rat Pack) and ended it with: "Look out, Donald is back!" General line-up of the balls seems reminiscent of an Ed Sullivan hour. They were at the Liberty Ball and the Freedom Ball, I believe. Link to comment
YouOverThere Posted January 21, 2017 Share Posted January 21, 2017 20 hours ago, sandik said: Especially since the newly-opened African American museum has been so warmly recognized? The GOP establishment regularly tries to close the Endowments, disguising it as a cost-cutting move, but this still leaves me with my question. Aside from The Art of the Deal (!), and Tony Bennet and the Beach Boys, does DT have any other artworks that really mean something to him? I've heard that Sunset Boulevard and Citizen Kane are his favorite films, and if that's true it certainly does say something about him, but I've yet to hear anything else. I believe that he had his "charitable" foundation purchase of painting of himself. Link to comment
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