It’s become an annual event in Rome – after the Christmas holidays and the last bite of panettone, comes the Daniele Cipriani Entertainment dance gala with some of the best and biggest names in ballet today. This year, in Renzo Piano’s beautiful Auditorium Parco della Musica in Rome, the dates to jot in your dairy are 20 and 21 January. Cipriani says, I always choose dancers … [Read more...] about The world’s ballet Étoiles army arrives in Rome, conquering with its art
homosexuality
In and Out: Bolle, Gomes, Stiefel – how easy is it to be an openly gay ballet dancer?
When Roberto Bolle popped out and in of the closet four years ago internet forums and gossip rags foamed at the mouth. Openly gay ballet dancers, like openly gay actors and singers, are few and far between. In 2005, after the British Navy introduced an advertising campaign aimed at recruiting gay men, Colin Richardson wrote in the Guardian, The Navy advert is yet another sign … [Read more...] about In and Out: Bolle, Gomes, Stiefel – how easy is it to be an openly gay ballet dancer?
Cruelty at the Bolshoi: acid attacks and smear campaigns. Tsiskaridze responds.
Sergei Filin had been receiving intimidating phone calls for a while, and had had his tyres punctured and his email hacked, but the acid attack that has shocked the dance world is beyond all reasoning. While police are not ruling out a personal vendetta, it is almost certainly an attack by someone who wants him removed from his position as head of the prestigious Bolshoi … [Read more...] about Cruelty at the Bolshoi: acid attacks and smear campaigns. Tsiskaridze responds.
The Man I Love – was George Gershwin gay?
Michael Feinstein’s book on the Gershwins called, sensibly, “The Gershwins and Me” (Simon & Schuster) was published in October. While he was still working in piano bars, Feinstein got to know Ira Gershwin intimately, cataloguing his collection of records, unpublished sheet music and rare recordings in the Gershwin home over a period of six years. The gay or not gay … [Read more...] about The Man I Love – was George Gershwin gay?
Maurice Sendak: Being gay in the old days was hard, being gay later was weird.
Maurice Sendak, creator of Where the Wild Things Are, which has sold nearly 20 million copies worldwide, is 83 and walks with a stick (“It’s for hitting people”). Sendak has not published a book that he has written and illustrated in 30 years, but this week BumbleArdy is published - the story of a pig whose parents are dead who wants to have a ninth birthday party. He talked … [Read more...] about Maurice Sendak: Being gay in the old days was hard, being gay later was weird.
Alan Hollinghurst’s new novel, The Stranger’s Child: “an extraordinary achievement”
Lovers of Hollinghurst's writing have been waiting a long time for the end of June 2011 and the publication of his new novel. In fact, the wait has been seven years, but now we know that it was worth it. As we sit with the book in our hands, the critics start penning their reactions. Here are some extracts from the first: Marvellously acute in its attention to … [Read more...] about Alan Hollinghurst’s new novel, The Stranger’s Child: “an extraordinary achievement”
Patrice Chéreau on English actors, the theatre, and his homosexuality
The Guardian went to meet Patrice Chéreau who is in London to rehearse the first play he has ever directed in the UK. It's a coup for the Young Vic. The play he is rehearsing is I Am The Wind, a spare, concentrated two-hander written by the Norwegian Jon Fosse. He talked about working with English actors: They are very disciplined, very open, and because of the condition of … [Read more...] about Patrice Chéreau on English actors, the theatre, and his homosexuality
Pianists Stephen Hough and Liberace and why perfume is so gay
Stephen Hough, one of Britain's greatest pianists, is also a great blogger and twitterer. As a lover of not just music but , to quote from his blog profile, theology, art, hats and puddings too, his views make for an interesting read. Another Hough passion is perfume. He's written about it many times on his Telegraph blog and in the latest instalment he talks of another … [Read more...] about Pianists Stephen Hough and Liberace and why perfume is so gay
Elizabeth Taylor: selection from a life… what today’s press has been saying, her best films and her changing look
Today's press A London-born beauty who never lost her clipped, clean way of speaking, Ms. Taylor possessed vivid features known to three generations of filmgoers: Raven hair, dark eyebrows, ivory skin, a near-perfect figure and, most remarkably, violet eyes that were among the most commented-on physical attributes in Hollywood history. Her great beauty arguably both aided … [Read more...] about Elizabeth Taylor: selection from a life… what today’s press has been saying, her best films and her changing look