What Do Coaches, Athletes, and Performing Artists Know That We Don't?

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Maureen Neihart
Keyword(s):  
Author(s):  
Anne Searcy

During the Cold War, the governments of the United States and the Soviet Union developed cultural exchange programs, in which they sent performing artists abroad in order to generate goodwill for their countries. Ballet companies were frequently called on to serve in these programs, particularly in the direct Soviet-American exchange. This book analyzes four of the early ballet exchange tours, demonstrating how this series of encounters changed both geopolitical relations and the history of dance. The ballet tours were enormously popular. Performances functioned as an important symbolic meeting point for Soviet and American officials, creating goodwill and normalizing relations between the two countries in an era when nuclear conflict was a real threat. At the same time, Soviet and American audiences did not understand ballet in the same way. As American companies toured in the Soviet Union and vice versa, audiences saw the performances through the lens of their own local aesthetics. Ballet in the Cold War introduces the concept of transliteration to understand this process, showing how much power viewers wielded in the exchange and explaining how the dynamics of the Cold War continue to shape ballet today.


2002 ◽  
Vol 111 (12_suppl) ◽  
pp. 21-40 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven M. Zeitels ◽  
Robert E. Hillman ◽  
Marcello Mauri ◽  
Rosemary Desloge ◽  
Patricia B. Doyle

Phonomicrosurgery in performing artists has historically been approached with great trepidation, and vocal outcome data are sparse. The vocal liability of surgically disturbing the superficial lamina propria (SLP) and epithelium must be balanced with the inherent detrimental vocal effect of the lesion(s). A prospective investigation was performed on 185 performing artists who underwent phonomicrosurgical resection of 365 lesions: 201 nodules, 71 polyps, 66 varices and ectasias, 13 cysts, 8 keratotic lesions. 2 granulomas, 2 Reinke's edema, and 2 papillomas. Nearly all patients with SLP lesions reported improvement in their postsurgical vocal function. This subjective result was supported by objective acoustic and aerodynamic measures. All postsurgical objective vocal function measures fell within normal limits, including a few that displayed presurgical abnormalities. However, given the relative insensitivity of standard objective measures to assess higher-level vocal performance-related factors, it is even more noteworthy that 8 of 24 objective measures displayed statistically significant postsurgical improvements in vocal function. Such changes in objective measures mostly reflect overall enhancement in the efficiency of voice production. Phonomicrosurgical resection of vocal fold lesions in performing artists is enjoying an expanding role because of a variety of improvements in diagnostic assessment, surgical instrumentation and techniques, and specialized rehabilitation. Most of these lesions are the result of phonotrauma and arise within the SLP. Successful management depends on prudent patient selection and counseling, ultraprecise technique, and vigorous vocal rehabilitation. Furthermore, an understanding of the vocal function and dysfunction of this high-performance population provides all otolaryngologists who manage laryngeal problems with valuable information that they can extrapolate for use in their practices.


Author(s):  
Vēsma Lēvalde

The article is a cultural-historical study and a part of the project Uniting History, which aims to discover the multicultural aspect of performing art in pre-war Liepaja and summarize key facts about the history of the Liepāja Symphony Orchestra. The study also seeks to identify the performing artists whose life was associated with Liepāja and who were repressed between 1941 and 1945, because of aggression by both the Soviet Union and National Socialist Germany. Until now, the cultural life of this period in Liepāja has been studied in a fragmentary way, and materials are scattered in various archives. There are inaccurate and even contradictory testimonies of events of that time. The study marks both the cultural and historical situation of the 1920s and the 1930s in Liepāja and tracks the fates of several artists in the period between 1939 and 1945. On the eve of World War II, Liepāja has an active cultural life, especially in theatre and music. Liepāja City Drama and Opera is in operation staging both dramatic performances, operas, and ballet, employing an orchestra. The symphony orchestra also operated at the Liepāja Philharmonic, where musicians were recruited every season according to the principles of contemporary festival orchestras. Liepāja Folk Conservatory (music school) had also formed an orchestra of students and teachers. Guest concerts were held regularly. A characteristic feature of performing arts in Liepaja was its multicultural character – musicians of different nationalities with experience from different schools of the world were encountered there. World War II not only disrupted the balance in society, but it also had a very concrete and tragic impact on the fates of the people, including the performing artists. Many were killed, many repressed and placed in prisons and camps, and many went to exile to the West. Others were forced to either co-operate with the occupation forces or give up their identity and, consequently, their career as an artist. Nevertheless, some artists risked their lives to save others.


2021 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 155-168
Author(s):  
Jeffrey A. Russell ◽  
Lauren McIntyre ◽  
Lori Stewart ◽  
Tina Wang
Keyword(s):  

2001 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 72-76
Author(s):  
David Alan Harris

Performing artists face numerous challenges, of which few may be more threatening to a meaningful career than performance anxiety. Stage fright, as this anxiety is commonly known, involves an internal conflict between the need to display one’s artistry publicly and the concurrent fear of proving inadequate and ultimately suffering public rejection. Typically presenting as a fear of humiliation in situations involving scrutiny by others, this phobia is frequently associated with behavioral, cardiovascular, and neuroendocrine activation, and can manifest itself in a variety of physical discomforts. A body of research demonstrates successful alleviation of orchestral musicians’ stage fright through use of such blocking agents. No comparable data have been collected among dance artists of any kind, however, and given certain effects of b-blockade on exercise metabolism, targeted investigations assessing both safety and efficacy in this population are needed.


2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (7) ◽  
pp. 2068-2071
Author(s):  
Avneet Kaur ◽  
Shwetha T.S

Existing literature has explored the role of mindfulness and mind-wandering on creative processes. However, it has overlooked the diversity in the creative domains as well as the experience of the artist while accounting for their relationship. In the present study, mindfulness and mind wandering- deliberate and spontaneous were explored among performing artists, i.e. musicians, theatre artists, and dancers. The study also looked at the artists’ experience in their field. After an initial screening using a creativity tool, 66 performing artists were recruited, following which two self-report indices that assessed mind wandering and mindfulness were administered. The data collected was subjected to quantitative data analysis in SPSS. A Oneway ANOVA showed significant effect of the creative domain on mindfulness for the three groups, with a significant difference between musicians and dancers. Among the musicians, a significant negative relationship between mind wandering spontaneous and years of experience was seen. Among the dancers, there was a significant positive association between mind wandering spontaneous, mind wandering deliberate and years of experience. The current study highlighted the need to approach the study of creativity using a contextual perspective. Keywords: Creativity, Dance, Music, Theatre.


2006 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 45-46
Author(s):  
Ralph A Manchester

As the diverse populations of the planet interact on a more frequent and intense basis, it becomes increasingly important for every individual and organization to examine its own approach to this vital issue. The field of performing arts medicine should pay particular attention to diversity for a number of reasons, some of which will help to advance our specialty and improve the lives of performing artists, while others may help save the world.


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