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Sydney Morning Herald
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Sydney Morning Herald
Meet the Aussie dancer chosen to run one of the world's most prestigious dance schools
At 13, Melissa Toogood took a deep breath and made a call that changed her life. The teenage dancer from Campbelltown had just watched students from Newtown's School of Performing Arts at the annual Schools Spectacular. She was blown away. 'I called the school and I asked to audition,' she says. 'I was scared. But, hey, it paid off.' She was accepted and began taking her first steps towards an international contemporary dance career. 'You can't wait for an opportunity to come your way. I'm a shy person, but when it's mattered, I'm willing to put myself out there,' she says. Three decades on, Toogood's stellar career has just taken a giant leap. She has been appointed dean and director of the Juilliard School's dance division in New York, one of the world's leading performing arts institutions. She will be responsible for nurturing a new generation of contemporary dancers and will have up to 90 young dance students under her wing. It will mean largely moving away from performing, but at 43, she is ready to step out of that limelight. 'I still want to live an artful life,' she says. 'But I don't want to be the one making it all the time any more. I'll be able to put together all these skills that I've already been working on into one job, at a time when I feel more inspired to help other artists with their careers than my own.' Toogood has spent most of her career in New York. She went to the United States at 18 to pursue her dance studies, and since then she's worked with many leading dance companies and choreographers.
The Age
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Age
Meet the Aussie dancer chosen to run one of the world's most prestigious dance schools
At 13, Melissa Toogood took a deep breath and made a call that changed her life. The teenage dancer from Campbelltown had just watched students from Newtown's School of Performing Arts at the annual Schools Spectacular. She was blown away. 'I called the school and I asked to audition,' she says. 'I was scared. But, hey, it paid off.' She was accepted and began taking her first steps towards an international contemporary dance career. 'You can't wait for an opportunity to come your way. I'm a shy person, but when it's mattered, I'm willing to put myself out there,' she says. Three decades on, Toogood's stellar career has just taken a giant leap. She has been appointed dean and director of the Juilliard School's dance division in New York, one of the world's leading performing arts institutions. She will be responsible for nurturing a new generation of contemporary dancers and will have up to 90 young dance students under her wing. It will mean largely moving away from performing, but at 43, she is ready to step out of that limelight. 'I still want to live an artful life,' she says. 'But I don't want to be the one making it all the time any more. I'll be able to put together all these skills that I've already been working on into one job, at a time when I feel more inspired to help other artists with their careers than my own.' Toogood has spent most of her career in New York. She went to the United States at 18 to pursue her dance studies, and since then she's worked with many leading dance companies and choreographers.
Los Angeles Times
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
Dr. Gustavo Dudamel leads the New York Philharmonic, with L.A. style
New York — After triumphantly bringing the Los Angeles Philharmonic to Coachella, Gustavo Dudamel is taking his biggest bite so far out of the Big Apple. He is in town for a three-week New York Philharmonic residency. He has devised two ambitious programs to close the orchestra's season in David Geffen Hall and will then be the big attraction for thousands of New York picnickers at free New York Philharmonic parks concerts throughout the boroughs. In the meantime, Dr. Dudamel picked up an honorary doctorate Saturday from the Juilliard School. A welcome mat doesn't get more welcoming than that for a conductor, and this is someone who has yet no official title with the orchestra. The three main 'People of the New York Philharmonic' featured on the orchestra's website are pianist Yuja Wang (artist in residence), Matías Tarnopolsky (newly appointed president and chief executive) and Alec Baldwin (radio series host). In September, Dudamel becomes music and artistic director designate. A year later, having completed 17 seasons as music director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, he takes charge of the country's oldest and most celebrated orchestra. But who's counting days, months or years? From the moment Dudamel walked on stage at Geffen Hall to begin the dress rehearsal of his first concert of the series last week, there could be no question that it's his show. The orchestra has become fully Dudamel-branded, his image plastered everywhere you look. The talk of the town is that a music-director-designate-to-be has already transformed one of the world's great orchestras, which is said to be playing at a new level and with a new sound. New Yorkers still take pride in not being easily hoodwinked. The press glorifies Dudamel as the next Leonard Bernstein one minute and looks for flaws anywhere it can find them the next. But there is something in the air that even an outsider could feel at the rehearsal, which was open to donors and press interlopers. Dudamel simply seemed, without ostensibly trying, to belong. He knew exactly what to do and how to do it. When he asked the players for something, an orchestra famed for being difficult responded instantly. But Dudamel was doubtlessly trying to belong. The program, composed of nothing he has performed elsewhere, was meant to be a tribute to the New York Philharmonic. He began by pairing the first work the 183-year-old orchestra had ever commissioned with a premiere of a startling new commission. After intermission, he introduced the largest and most robust of the recent symphonies by the city's best-known composer, a veritable icon — Philip Glass — to an orchestra that had done its best to ignore for half a century. With orchestra and audience in his hands, Dudamel had yet another triumph. The New York Times called this program a love letter to New York. If so, the love letter had a postmark from L.A. Stravinsky composed his Symphony in Three Movements, written during and reflecting World War II, while he lived in West Hollywood. Like Schoenberg before him, the Russian émigré composer tried but failed to get a lucrative contract scoring a Hollywood film. Instead, Stravinsky reused bits he had meant for the 1943 epic 'The Song of Bernadette' in his war symphony. The newly commissioned work that followed was Kate Soper's 'Orpheus Orchestra Opus Onus,' a sensationally witty and profound monodrama about the meaning of music for amplified soprano and large orchestra. Soper herself was the talented soloist, as she had been a few weeks earlier when she appeared at the L.A. Phil's Green Umbrella concert in a far riskier early work, 'Only the Words Themselves Mean What They Say.' A favorite of operatic progressives, Soper has had three operas staged by Long Beach Opera, including the premiere of her astonishingly fanciful 'Romance of the Rose,' perhaps the most original American opera of the decade. When it came to breaking the New York Philharmonic's Glass ceiling, Dudamel brought an L.A. Phil hammer. The first concert work by Glass that the New York Philharmonic ever performed was Concerto for Two Pianos in 2017, conducted by Dudamel's predecessor, Jaap van Zweden. It was Dudamel, however, who had given the premiere of the concerto and the L.A. Phil that commissioned it. Dudamel's performance of Symphony No. 11 thus became the first New York Philharmonic attempt at a Glass symphony. (He's written 15, and the L.A. Phil commissioned the 12th.) The 11th has everything audiences and orchestra players are said to dread. It is long (40 minutes), orchestrally big-boned in the manner of Bruckner and echt-Glass in its repetitions and romantic effusions. But in an act of remarkable conductorial persuasion, Dudamel emphasized Glass' talent for orchestral go-with-the-flow magnificence to blow the audience away. The crowd stood en mass and cheered the frail 88-year-old composer seated on the first tier. For all that, the performances were nonetheless on the stiff side, the famously virtuosic orchestra effortfully coming to terms with the unfamiliar. But the needle has moved. What felt unfamiliar was a general feeling of acceptance in Geffen Hall. The audience-friendly renovation during the pandemic helps with a powerful acoustic that encourages openness. This is no longer the uptight atmosphere where John Adams was angrily booed and where people noisily walked out as Zubin Mehta premiered major new works by Olivier Messiaen and Iannis Xenakis. The New York Philharmonic, moreover, has many younger players. And Geffen Hall has found novel means of reaching new audiences, particularly with its large video screens in the lobby, where every concert is streamed for free for passersby or those who want to take in the whole event. The video work is the most creative I've encountered. The sound system is not high-end and there are plenty of distractions. But I watched a matinee and found the experience compelling and the sound good enough to tell that by the second performance of the program, the orchestra had already gotten tighter. All this bodes well for Dudamel, who now has the West Coast support team he wanted. Deborah Borda, who hired Dudamel at the L.A. Phil and poached him at the New York Philharmonic, remains as an adviser to the orchestra. When Tarnopolsky ran Cal Performances at UC Berkeley, he became close to Dudamel. Adam Crane, the orchestra's vice president of external affairs, worked under Borda in L.A. when Dudamel made his U.S. debut at the Hollywood Bowl and was hired by the L.A. Phil. It is too soon to tell where this may lead. By now New Yorkers should know that Dudamel will not be the next Bernstein. He may well change New York, but he is not likely to be a New Yorker. Bernstein lived in New York, walking distance from Carnegie Hall and, when it was built, Lincoln Center. Bernstein raised his family at the Dakota and was, day and night, at the center of New York cultural, intellectual and political life. Dudamel says he still thinks of L.A. as home and the L.A. Phil as family. The New York Philharmonic is a new family. But Dudamel, in fact, now lives in Madrid and has Spanish citizenship. Yet for whatever reason, an L.A. mindset does seem to have reached the New York Philharmonic and Lincoln Center. The orchestra follows Dudamel's appearances with 'Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back' in concert and then heads off on an Asian tour with conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen. L.A. opera directors Yuval Sharon and Peter Sellars, nowhere to be found in L.A. at the moment, are prominent at the Lincoln Center. Sharon's production of 'The Comet/Poppea' he created for the Industry in L.A. last year will have its New York premiere here in June. Sellars' collaboration with composer Matthew Aucoin, 'Music for New Bodies,' is in July.
Business Insider
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Business Insider
Will there be a second season of Netflix's 'Sirens'? Here's what to know about the dark comedy's ending.
Netflix's new dark comedy " Sirens" is so addictive, it may leave fans calling out for more. "Sirens" takes place over Labor Day weekend on a lavish island called Port Haven, where aspiring lawyer Simone DeWitt (Milly Alcock) is working as a live-in assistant to the enigmatic and alluring billionaire Michaela Kell (Julianne Moore). Simone's life among the upper class is disrupted by the arrival of her older sister, Devon (Meghann Fahy), who treks from Buffalo to the town in order to reconnect with Simone and get help taking care of their ailing dad, Bruce (Bill Camp). The five-episode series is adapted from Molly Smith Metzler's play Elemeno Pea, which she wrote while attending the Juilliard School. She serves as the showrunner. During its premiere week, "Sirens" debuted in the No. 1 spot on Netflix's English TV list and amassed 16.7 million views in four days. Although "Sirens" ends by tying up the main characters' storylines, some questions remain, leaving fans wondering if this is the last they've seen of everyone. Here's what happens to every major character, and a rundown of whether "Sirens" could be back for season two. The 'Sirens' ending swaps the fates of Simone and Michaela At the end of episode four, after Simone rejects his proposal, a drunken Ethan (Glenn Howerton) calls her a monster, blames her for his problems, and trips and falls from the estate's cliff. Ethan doesn't die, though. In the finale, he wakes up in the hospital high on meds with both his legs, an arm, and a couple of ribs broken, though he's expected to make a full recovery. Michaela then fires Simone after learning that her husband, Peter (Kevin Bacon), and Simone kissed. Even though it was a momentary lapse in judgment from Peter that Simone didn't instigate, Michaela feels that Simone can't be trusted anymore and has become a threat to her marriage. Devon chooses to return to Buffalo with her dad to continue being his caretaker, rather than spend a month on a yacht with Morgan (Trevor Salter), one of the locals she hooked up with. But Simone refuses to join them, because she's unable to forgive her dad for neglecting her as a child, since his actions led to her ending up in foster care. Simone runs back to the Cliff House with no plan, just desperate not to return to Buffalo. In doing so, she bumps into Peter, who proclaims his love for her. Mid-gala, Peter ends his 13-year marriage to Michaela and starts a relationship with Simone, who he believes will bring "love and light" into his life (and maybe even another child). Simone then morphs into Michaela 2.0, adopting her cultlike mannerisms and embracing her new position of power at the estate. She and Devon have an emotional goodbye, knowing that they're embarking on completely different paths. On the ferry ride out of Port Haven, Devon runs into Michaela, who's been ousted from Cliff House and has no idea where she's headed. Devon apologizes for accusing Michaela of being a murderer and a cult leader, and Michaela accepts her apology and encourages Devon to cash the $10,000 check she gave her at the start of the series so she can fund a better life for herself in Buffalo. The series concludes with Simone, wearing an elegant light-blue gown that Michaela got her for the gala, standing at the cliff, staring at the vista during sunset with the hint of a smile. Will 'Sirens' return for season two? The short answer: probably not. "Sirens" is categorized and promoted as a Netflix limited series. That said, a second season isn't entirely unlikely. " Adolescence" skyrocketed in popularity since its debut in March and is currently Netflix's third most-watched English-language show of all time, behind season one of "Wednesday" and season four of "Stranger Things." Although it was labeled as a limited series, Brad Pitt's production company, Plan B Entertainment, is reportedly interested in some form of a second season of "Adolescence" after the first season's success. Considering how well "Sirens" has performed on the streamer since its release, it wouldn't be surprising if the series didn't end up being limited after all. But for now, Netflix hasn't announced any further plans. Fahy told Variety that the show reaches a natural conclusion, but she could imagine a continuation. "I, for one, would love to know what happens to Michaela, where she goes," she said. "So I think it's definitely within the realm of possibility. We didn't talk about it on set, but I would love to do more." Metzler, for her part, told Glamour that questions about a second season mean that fans are invested in the characters. "I wrote the play 15 years ago," she said. "I've been thinking about them this whole time. I could write them until the day I die. I'd never say never, but could I do them justice in another season? I'd have to think about it." "The fact that so many people are asking is really encouraging," she added.
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Violinist phenom from Palm Beach County competes in prestigious international competition
A youngster who thrived in the one of the county's original elementary strings orchestras more than a decade ago, is proving the value of that early education as he takes a worldwide stage as a distinguished violinist at the age of 24. Having a seat in Palm Beach Public's choice program for strings proved just the beginning for Matthew Hakkarainen, who has gone on to perform with famed conductor Michael Tilson Thomas, studied at elite arts and music institutions, and achieved distinction at top international violin competitions. But more opportunities await. Most immediately, beginning May 19, the 24-year-old Juilliard School graduate will compete in the prestigious International Jean Sibelius Violin Competition in Helsinki, Finland. The competition, which is held every five years, is one of the "most important" in the world, said Hakkarainen in a recent interview with the Palm Beach Daily News. "The Sibelius Competition has been around for awhile," he said. "There have been a lot of great violinists who have won a prize at the competition and go on to make a great career. So it's special to be among the participants for this year's competition." Hakkarainen, who grew up in Palm Beach Gardens, began playing the violin when he was just 3. At Palm Beach Public, he honed his love for the violin under the guidance of program director Andrew Matzkow, who is now retired. "He did such a fabulous job," Hakkarainen said of Matzkow. "I did not realize until much later on how lucky I was to have music in school daily and to have a great program that got me playing all the time and helped build up our love for music. It's so great if you can get that from an early age, especially in school, because then you have it sort of built into your day. It becomes a normal thing to have your classes, but then you also practice, and you have rehearsal and you get to make music. It really just set me up on the right track." Hakkarainen continued his musical education at Bak Middle School of the Arts and Dreyfoos School of the Arts, where he further distinguished himself as a violinist. He performed at Carnegie Hall in New York City as an eighth-grader, and as a high school senior, won a $4,000 scholarship for music/instrumental at the 35th annual Pathfinder Scholarship Awards sponsored by the Palm Beach Post. Hakkarainen went on to attend the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia and Juilliard before moving to Toronto to complete a Rebanks Family Fellowship at the Royal Conservatory of Music. He is set to complete his studies in May, and will immediately step into a new position as associate concertmaster with the renowned Toronto Symphony Orchestra. A concertmaster is the principal first violin player in an orchestra, and the associate typically acts as the second in command. Hakkarainen was offered the role after an audition, and he said he's thrilled at the opportunity to continue to advance his career. "Part of the reason why I'm excited to be joining them is I've always had a goal of having a leadership role in a great orchestra," he said. "One day I really hope to be a concertmaster at one of the great orchestras, and this is already an amazing step that I'm going to be an associate concertmaster here in Toronto." While Hakkarainen will continue to make Canada his home base, he expects to travel frequently for international competitions. Since 2023, he has entered competitions every few months, earning top-three finishes in France, Germany, and Poland. He also returns regularly to Palm Beach County, where his family, friends and former teachers remain. In January, Hakkarainen participated in the Chamber Music Society of Palm Beach's inaugural rising artist program. The weeklong residency offered aspiring violinists, violists, and cellists aged 20 to 30 the chance to rehearse and perform alongside seasoned chamber musicians. It culminated in a performance at the Kravis Center's Rinker Playhouse. Hakkarainen said the program was "a lot of fun." "It was really cool to be going around and performing," he said. "We went to play at Dreyfoos, my old high school, and we went to play at the VA Medical Center, which is right near our house. It was sort of surreal to be basically retracing my steps as a kid, playing in all those places." In March, Hakkarainen returned home to play at Orchestra Delray, and in early May, he was back again — this time to play at Bak Middle School, where his former teacher and string director, Nancy Beebe, is retiring. "It's always special to be home," he said. Hakkarainen said he is grateful to his hometown community for giving him the chance to grow as a musician and pursue his dreams. "Looking back, I can see how fortunate I was to grow up in a place that has a love for the arts," he said. "Throughout my time in school, I was so fortunate to have it as a part of my life, and it's definitely a big reason why I am where I am now." Jodie Wagner is a journalist at the Palm Beach Daily News, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach her at jwagner@ This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Palm Beach County violin phenom competes in Helsinki, Finland
