June 21, 2013

The Week in Review: June 17

DANCE YOUR THESIS 2013 KICKS OFF

A delightful online competition kicked off this week open to past and present Ph.D. students working in science fields. It invites participants to reinterpret their thesis through the medium of dance.

We always find intersections of science and art fascinating (see our You Are Very Star review), so we're excited to see what the submissions look like. In the meanwhile, here's last year's winner: Cutting Sequences on the Double Pentagon – A Mathematical Theorem.

 
SAY IT AIN'T SO, ALICE MUNRO!

One of Canada's greatest literary voices, Alice Munro, announced her retirement this week. The news came Tuesday evening after she won the Trillium Book Award, one of Canada's top writing honours. Speaking of the award and retirement, Munro stated, “It's nice to go out with a bang.”

LIFE, ART & BOOK SALES

Speaking of literature, online book vendor Amazon was surprised to see sales of George Orwell's dystopian novel 1984 suddenly increase by more than 7,000% this week. Most attribute the upswing to the NSA PRISM leak and Edward Snowden's revelation of the US government's far-reaching surveillance, as Orwell's novel has become synonymous with such activities.

Handout; The Guardian/The Associated Press

EXIT, PURSUED BY A CELL PHONE

Edward Snowden is not the only person upset about phone recordings. Pianist Kristian Zimerman stormed off stage at a concert this week, because an audience member was recording footage on a cell phone. Zimerman returned to the stage shortly thereafter to make the statement, “The destruction of music because of YouTube is enormous.” The incident has set off a fresh round of discussion about whether the internet is helping or hindering classical music as a form.

CONTROVERSY AT THE NATIONAL THEATRE SCHOOL

There was controversy closer to home this week, as a report issued on the National Theatre School opined that the institution disproportionately favoured its French components. Globe and Mail theatre writer J. Kelly Nestruck wrote a piece on the findings, which ignited debated within the Twittersphere and in the article's comment section.

CHAN CENTRE UNVEILS 13/14 SEASON

Vancouver will be hosting a diverse array of musical luminaries throughout The Chan Centre for the Performing Arts' 2013/14 season. Announced at a special event on Tuesday evening, the roster of artists includes Wynton Marsalis with the Jazz at the Lincoln Centre Orchestra, husband and wife banjo legends Béla Fleck and Abigail Washburn, and Portugeuse fado songstress Mariza.

The season kicks off with long-time Chan Centre favourites Kronos Quartet, who will perform a world premiere by Philip Glass. It was also announced that the pre-eminent composer will be on-hand for a special pre-show talk.