A cool shout out to Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide
*Prof Henry Jenkins, your paradigm is wanted on line one:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/2009/jun/08/art-collaboration-dance-theatre-music
“These are strange days for purists. In almost every area of the arts, genres are spilling into each other, cross-pollinating, refusing to remain in neat boxes. You go to the theatre expecting actors under a proscenium arch, and you get videos, animation, and intricate dance routines. Go to the opera expecting corsets and coloratura, and you get electric guitars and costumes designed by Viktor & Rolf.
“Rock musicians are penning operas (Damon Albarn, Rufus Wainwright), performing with orchestras (Metallica, Elbow) and learning the lute (Sting). Theatre companies such as Punchdrunk are staging strange shows that feel more like exhibitions, or dismembered film sets, than plays. Film actors are learning to dance (Juliette Binoche); choreographers are acting (Akram Khan). In between judging TV talent shows, pop impresario Simon Cowell is hothousing classical acts (the Armani-clad quartet Il Divo and their pre-teen equivalents, Angelis). In fact, “classical crossover” is now so big, the US magazine Billboard has given the category its own chart.
