#tallahassee classical school

[nathanarcher]

Archer, Nathan. “TallaXXXee ClXXXical School.” Tallahassee Democrat, April 2, 2023. https://on.tdo.com/2nUeq7o.

[sataniccapitalist]

[notesfromachair]

A Sad State

The state flower of Florida is the orange blossom and so is the painted-on complexion of its most infamous resident. Yet that’s not most concerning for me about what’s being churned out of that region on the rest of us at this moment in time. WTF indeed A charter K-12 school in its state capitol called the Tallahassee Classical School, a place that literally markets its mission as training the…

[balanchine-ballet-master]

Suzanne Farrell Teaching

Above: students at Florida State University rehearse Balanchine's Serenade, staged by Suzanne Farrell. Photo by Meagan Helman for the Florida State Univ. News

Suzanne Farrell is Krafft Professor of Dance at Florida State University in Tallahassee. She gave an interview to the FSU News that was published on November 16, 2023.

Legendary ballerina Suzanne Farrell reflects on career, 20 years as Krafft Professor at FSU

BY: ANNA PRENTISS, JAMIE RAGER, JASMINE HUR

Florida State University’s School of Dance Krafft Professor Suzanne Farrell, an internationally recognized New York City Ballet principal dancer, a 2005 Kennedy Center Honoree and the founder of Suzanne Farrell Ballet, has long been regarded as one of the most extraordinary and influential ballerinas of the late-20th century.

Farrell, who performed with the New York City Ballet for 28 years, is considered the last muse and protégé of choreographer George Balanchine, founder of the New York City Ballet.

This year, Farrell set an excerpt of “Divertimento No. 15,” a choreographic piece by Balanchine. This classical ballet was featured in the school’s annual “An Evening of Dance,” which highlighted a diverse lineup of seven live works restaged by retired and current faculty.

“One of my dreams as a dancer was to perform the choreography of George Balanchine,” said Associate Professor Ilana Goldman, who served as the rehearsal director for this work. “When I finally did, it felt sublime, as if I was the physical embodiment of the music. I am so thrilled that our students had the opportunity to not only perform Balanchine’s choreography but to have been coached by his muse, Suzanne Farrell — it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

Farrell has been a member of the School of Dance faculty for more than 20 years and continues to work with and mentor students, hosting master classes and workshops at FSU each semester.

“The opportunity to work with a legendary performer like Suzanne Farrell is an amazing experience for our students,” said Anjali Austin, professor and chair of the School of Dance. “Her dedication to our program throughout the past 20 years has made an indelible mark on many.”

In an interview, Farrell re-lived her history with the New York City Ballet, working with Balanchine and how she came to Florida State University to teach.

“Initially, I was not going to teach at a college level,” Farrell said. “I had just been giving young dancer auditions in Miami but came to FSU on my sister’s request and met many nice dancers that made me rethink. It’s a beautiful atmosphere, and I love working here. I give everything when I teach.”

Even early in her career, Farrell thought teaching was not a path she intended to take.

“When I was a young dancer, I thought I had forever,” she said. “Mr. Balanchine once said, ‘One day, you will all teach.’ I thought to myself, ‘I’m not going to teach. All I want to do is dance.’”

That moment of retirement came sooner than Farrell thought, so she began staging and teaching Balanchine’s ballets around the world.

“In a nice way, it extended my dance life,” she said. “I’m not dancing, but I’m still doing what I love to do.”

Farrell noted that the transient nature of a dance career instills a sense of immediacy in a dancer.

“Dance is a young profession; we retire at a young age because the body has to stop,” she said. “Therefore, you have to positively profit from everything you do and every moment you do it. You can’t say, ‘I’ll do it tomorrow’ because before you know it, it’s time to retire.”

Farrell explained, “In ballet, we are our own technology. It’s not like sending someone a text and it’s done — it’s a constant evolution of getting the choreography to where it should be.”

“I like bringing my stories into my teaching because it’s not just the technological aspect, it’s also passing on stories from one person to the next,” she said.

Farrell learned to use visual aspects to provide dancers with a mental image when correcting inaccuracies.

“I’d say ‘move your arms like the leaves when the wind comes, the leaves turn over, they don’t resist.’ Moving with nature is what ballet is all about.”

When asked about the evolution of ballet since she first began her professional career, Farrell highlighted the inheritable legacy left by previous generations.

“We are the beneficiaries of every dancer that came before us. Nobody can do it by themselves,” Farrell said. “There are stories you inherit from someone who maybe danced it first or before you were alive. There’s so much legacy and it’s not just in the past. Just because someone isn’t alive anymore doesn’t mean they are not influential and inspiring in spirit.”

This academic year, the School of Dance is celebrating 90 years of dance, 60 years of dance degrees and 20 years of the Maggie Allesee Center for Choreography at FSU. Recently ranked as one of the top five dance programs in the nation by Backstage Magazine, the School of Dance is dedicated to providing the highest caliber of training to its students.

Suzanne Farrell and George Balanchine, 1963. Photo: Fred Fehl for the Associated Press via the NY Times

[jpbjazz]

LÉGENDES DU JAZZ

LEROY JENKINS, VIOLONISTE DE FREE JAZZ

‘’Our music was a result of Ornette Coleman and Cecil Taylor. And we prided ourselves on taking it further, because we studied Cage, and Xenakis, and Schoenberg, and all those guys. They were the ones who broke away from the old way in classical music, so we had to study them to see how we could break away."

- Leroy Jenkins

Né le 11 mars 1932 à Chicago, en Illinois, Leroy Jenkins était issu d’une famille pauvre. Jenkins avait passé son enfance dans un appartement de trois chambres du South Side avec sa mère, sa soeur, deux tantes, et à l’occasion, un chambreur. Jenkins, qui avait été mis en contact avec la musique dès son plus jeune âge, avait raconté plus tard avoir écouté Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie et des chanteurs comme Billy Eckstine et Louis Jordan durant sa jeunesse.

Jenkins était âgé de sept ans lorsqu’une de ses tantes avait apporté à la maison un ami de coeur qui jouait du violon. Après avoir entendu le petit ami de sa tante jouer une danse hongroise plutôt difficile à exécuter, Jenkins avait demandé à sa mère de lui acheter un violon. Jenkins s’était finalement retrouvé avec une violon miniature de couleur rouge de marque Montgomery Ward d’une valeur de vingt-cinq dollars. Après avoir commencé à prendre des leçons, Jenkins s’était produit dès l’âge de dix ans à la St. Luke's Church, une des plus grandes églises baptistes de la ville, où il avait été accompagné au piano par Ruth Jones, la future Dinah Washington. Jenkins s’était éventuellement joint à la chorale et à l’orchestre de la Ebenezer Baptist Church, qui était dirigé par le Dr. O. W. Frederick, qui l’avait initié à la musique de compositeurs de couleur comme William Grant Still et Will Marion Cook. Multi-instrumentiste, Jenkins avait également appris à jouer de la clarinette, du saxophone alto, du basson et de la viole durant son enfance.

À l’adolescence, Jenkins avait étudié au légendaire DuSable High School, où il avait troqué le violon pour la clarinette et le saxophone alto, car l’école n’avait pas d’orchestre, ce qui limitait ses possibilités de jouer du violon. Au DuSable High School, Jenkins avait étudié sous la direction du célèbre ‘’capitaine’’ Walter Dyett, jouant notamment du basson et de la clarinette avec le groupe de concert de l’école.

Après avoir obtenu son diplôme, Jenkins avait décroché une bourne pour étudier à l’Université Florida A&M, où il avait décroché un baccalauréat en composition et en violon classique. Jenkins avait également fréquenté la Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University à Tallahassee, en Floride, où il avait étudié le basson. Parallèlement à ses études, Jenkins avait également obtenu un revenu d’appoint en jouant du saxophone dans les clubs locaux.

Après avoir décroché un diplôme en éducation en 1961, Jenkins s’était installé à Mobile, en Alabama, où il avait enseigné la musique (et plus particulièrement les instruments à cordes) dans un high school durant quatre ans.

DÉBUTS DE CARRIÈRE

Au milieu des années 1960, Jenkins était rentré à Chicago où il avait obtenu un emploi dans le système d’éducation public. Peu après, Jenkins avait assisté à un événement de l’Association for the Advancement of the Contemporary Musicians (AACM) mettant en vedette la musique du saxophoniste Roscoe Mitchell. Participaient également au concert Maurice McIntyre, Charles Clark, Malachi Favors, Alvin Fielder et Thurman Barker. Jenkins s’était rappelé plus tard avoir été à la fois confus et excité à l’idée de participer à une improvisation collective avec son violon. Jenkins avait alors commencé à participer à des répétitions dirigées par Muhal Richard Abrams. Il expliquait:  "it was something different, something where I could really be violinistic... I discovered that I would be able to play more of my instrument and I wouldn't have to worry about the cliches... I found out that I could really soar, I found out how I could really play." Jenkins avait continuer de répéter et de se produire avec le groupe durant quatre ans.

Jenkins avait fait ses débuts sur disque sur l’album d’Abrams ‘’Levels and Degrees of Light’’ en 1967. À la même époque, Jenkins avait commencé à jouer en trio avec les membres de l’AACM Anthony Braxton et Leo Smith, avec qui il avait enregistré l’album ‘’3 Compositions of New Jazz’’ en 1968. Abrams avait également participé à l’enregistrement. L’année suivante, le trio de Jenkins s’était installé à Paris et avait commencé à jouer avec le batteur Steve McCall avec qui il avait formé un groupe appelé Creative Construction Company. À l’époque, McCall était déjà établi en Europe depuis quelques années.

Durant son séjour à Paris, Jenkins s’était produit avec une vaste gamme de musiciens, dont Archie Shepp, Philly Joe Jones, Alan Silva (avec qui il avait enregistré l’album ‘’Luna Surface’’) et Ornette Coleman. À un certain moment, Coleman avait organisé un concert conjoint avec la Creative Construction Company, l’Art Ensemble of Chicago de Roscoe Mitchell et son propre groupe. À la même époque, Jenkins avait également collaboré à un album de Braxton intitulé ‘’B-Xo/N-0-1-47a’’ sur étiquette BYG Actuel.

En 1970, Jenkins avait quitté Paris et était retourné à New York où il avait fondé le Revolutionary Ensemble. Le groupe, qui avait enregistré un total de sept albums, avait également fait des tournées en Amérique du Nord et en Europe.

Jenkins avait expliqué plus tard qu’il avait quitté Paris parce qu’il se sentait mal à l’aise avec le fait qu’il ne parlait pas français. À son arrivée à New York, Jenkins avait repris contact avec Coleman. Il avait même vécu durant quelques mois dans le loft du saxophoniste appelé Artists House. Jenkins précisait: "We stayed downstairs... It was cold down there, where we slept. Ornette gave us a mattress but he didn't realize how cold it was." Devenu le mentor de Jenkins, Coleman l’avait présenté à plusieurs musiciens qui fréquentaient son loft (les lofts étaient d’importants lieux d’improvisation particulièrement actifs à New York à l’époque). Outre Coleman, Jenkins avait également été très influencé par John Coltrane et Charlie Parker.

Parallèlement, Jenkins avait continué de répéter et de jouer avec la Creative Construction Company, ce qui avait donné lieu à la présentation d’un concert à la "Peace Church" de Greenwich Village le 19 mai 1970. Le concert, qui mettait également en vedette Abrams et le contrebassiste Richard Davis, avait été enregistré par Coleman avant d’être publié en deux volumes par les disques Muse. Chacun des deux albums comprenait une composition de Jenkins.

À la suite du concert, Braxton s’était joint au groupe de free jazz de Chick Corea, Circle. En 1971, Jenkins avait fondé le Revolutionary Ensemble avec le contrebassiste et tromboniste Sirone (pseudonyme de Norris Jones) et le percussionniste et pianiste Jerome Cooper. Le groupe avait poursuivi ses activités durant six ans. Parmi les albums du groupe, on remarquait le disque éponyme Revolutionary Ensemble, également connu sous le titre de ‘’Vietnam’’ (mars 1972), qui comprenait une longue jam session de 47 minutes qui visait à démontrer toute l’horreur de la guerre. Le groupe avait enchaîné en décembre de la même année avec ‘’Manhattan Cycles’’ avant de récidiver trois ans plus tard avec ‘’The Psyche’’ qui comprenait une composition de chacun des membres du groupe. Également publié en décembre 1975, l’album ‘’Ponderous Planets on The People's Republic’’ avait expérimenté avec différentes textures. Si Jenkins jouait à la fois de violon, de la viole, du piano et de la flûte sur l’album, Sirone avait alterné entre la contrebasse, les percussions et le trombone tandis que Jerome Cooper avait utilisé plusieurs techniques de percussion. L’album ‘’Ponderous Planets on The People's Republic’’ est aujourd’hui considéré comme un classique.

À la même époque, sous l’influence du Jazz Composers' Orchestra de Carla Bley et Michael Mantler, Jenkins avait assemblé une formation tout-étoile composée d’Anthony Braxton, de Kalaparusha Maurice McIntyre, de Dewey Redman, de Leo Smith, de Joseph Bowie (le frère du trompettiste de l’Art Ensemble of Chicago, Lester Bowie) de David Holland, de Jerome Cooper, de Charles Shaw et de Sirone dans le cadre de l’enregistrement de l’album ‘’For Players Only’’ (janvier 1975).

Après la dissolution du groupe Revolutionary Ensemble en 1977, Jenkins avait fait une tournée aux États-Unis et en Europe. En 1979, Jenkins avait formé le Mixed Quintet, un groupe composé de Jenkins au violon et à la viole, de Marty Ehrlich à la clarinette basse, de J. D. Parran à la clarinette, de James Newton à la flûte et de John Clark au cor français.  

En janvier 1975, Jenkins avait publié ‘’Swift Are the Winds of Life’’ un album en duo avec l’ancien batteur et percussionniste de John Coltrane, Rashied Ali. 

Au début et au milieu des années 1970, Jenkins avait également joué et enregistré avec des musiciens aussi diversifiés qu’Alice Coltrane, Cecil Taylor (1970), Anthony Braxton (1969-72), Don Cherry, Carla Bley, Albert Ayler, Grachan Moncur III, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Paul Motian, Cal Massey, Dewey Redman et Archie Shepp.

À la fin des années 1970, Jenkins avait joué et enregistré avec le pianiste et compositeur Anthony Davis et le batteur Andrew Cyrille. Au début de la décennie suivante, Jenkins avait formé le groupe de fusion Sting, une formation largement influencée par le blues qui comprenait deux violonistes (Jenkins et Terry Jenoure), deux guitaristes (Brandon Ross à la guitare électrique et James Emery à la guitare acoustique amplifiée), un bassiste électrique (Alonzo Gardner) et un batteur (Kamal Sabir). Un des meilleurs albums du groupe était ‘’Urban Blues’’ (janvier 1984), un disque qui offrait un mélange plutôt inusité de funk, d’avant-garde, de pop, de gospel, de rhythm & blues et de hip-hop.

En 1981, Jenkins avait publié l’album double ‘’Beneath Detroit’’ avec le New Chamber Jazz Quintet. L’album mettait en vedette Spencer Barefield à la guitare classique douze cordes et à la harpe africaine, Faruq Bey au saxophone ténor, Anthony Holland aux saxophones alto et soprano, Jaribu Shahid à la contrebasse et Tani Tabbal à la batterie, aux percussions et au balafon.

À la même époque, en plus de s’être classé en bonne position dans les sondages des lecteurs et des critiques de Down Beat et de Jazz Magazine, Jenkins avait décroché plusieurs bourses et commandes du  New York State Council on the Arts, de la New York Foundation for the Arts, de la Fondation Rockefeller, de Meet the Composer, de Mutable Music et du National Endowment for the Arts (1973, 1974, 1978, 1983 et 1986). Durant cette période, Jenkins avait aussi reçu de commandes d’organismes prestigieux comme le Kronos Quartet, le Brooklyn Philharmonic, le New Music Consort, le Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble, du Lincoln Center Out of Doors, de l’Albany Symphony et du Cleveland Chamber Symphony Orchestra.

DERNIÈRES ANNÉES

Les années 1980 et 1990 avaient été plutôt difficiles pour Jenkins, qui avait commencé à avoir des difficultés à se trouver des contrats pour la première fois de sa carrière. Comme Jenkins l’avait expliqué au cours d’une entrevue accordée au magazine Village Voice, le milieu du jazz était devenu beaucoup plus conservateur, ce qui avait laissé beaucoup moins de place pour le jazz d’avant-garde. Il précisait:

"Wynton Marsalis was in, and people started talking about going back to classic jazz. We couldn't play in clubs. As soon as we'd walk in, the jazz guys, the beboppers, would walk out. We'd come in and make a big sound, and they didn't go for it. They'd say, 'Oh, the noisemakers.' They wanted chord changes. Our music was a result of Ornette Coleman and Cecil Taylor. And we prided ourselves on taking it further, because we studied Cage, and Xenakis, and Schoenberg, and all those guys. They were the ones who broke away from the old way in classical music, so we had to study them to see how we could break away."

À la fin des années 1980, Jenkins avait quand même réussi à enregistrer et à participer à des tournées avec le quintet de Cecil Taylor, même si les choses n’étaient décidément plus ce qu’elles étaient.

Même s’il n’avait presque plus enregistré au milieu des années 1980 et au début des années 1990 et qu’il avait presque abandonné le jazz pour se consacrer à la composition de musique classique, Jenkins avait été très actif dans le Composers Forum, un groupe de pression de New York. Au cours de cette période, Jenkins s’était également produir en duo avec le saxophoniste Joseph Jarman de l’Art Ensemble of Chicago.

À la même époque, Jenkins avait continué de démontrer ses talents d’improvisateur, notamment dans le cadre de son album ‘’Solo’’ (1998), un enregistrement sans accompagnement dans lequel il avait revisité les oeuvres de John Coltrane et de Dizzy Gillespie. Il ne s’agissait pas du premier album solo de Jenkins, qui avait déjà publié en janvier 1977 un album live intitulé Solo Concert, qui avait été suivi en juillet 1978 de l’album ‘’Legend of Ai Glatson.’’ Jenkins avait également publié d’autres enregistrements en solo sur l’album ‘’Santa Fe’’ en octobre 1992.

Parmi les albums néo-classiques de Jenkins, on remarquait ‘’Lifelong Ambitions’’ (mars 1977) avec Muhal Richard Abrams, une improvisation électronique de vingt et une minutes avec Richard Teitelbaum et George Lewis aux synthétiseurs dans le cadre de l’album ‘’Space Minds/ New Worlds/ Survival America’’ (septembre 1978), le Quintet No 3 pour violon, cor français, clarinette et clarinette basse (enregistré avec Marty Ehrlich), l’album ‘’Mixed Quintet’’ (mars 1979) et la pièce ‘’Free at Last’’ publiée sur l’album ‘’Straight Ahead/ Free at Last’’ (septembre 1979) mettant en vedette le violoncelliste Abdul Wadud.

Toujours dans les années 1990, Hans Werner Henze, le directeur artistique du Munich Biennial New Music Theatre Festival, avait chargé Jenkins de composer un danse-opéra intitulé ‘’Mother of Three Sons’’ (1991), une oeuvre qui faisait une sorte de synthèse entre les danses africaines, le jazz d’avant-garde et le folklore d’origine africaine. L’oeuvre, qui racontait l’histoire d’une femme qui tentait de donner naissance à des fils parfaits en copulant avec les dieux, s’appuyait sur la collaboration du chorégraphe et réalisateur Bill T. Jones et de la livrettiste Ann T. Greene. L’oeuvre, qui avait été présentée en grande première à Aachaen en Allemagne en 1990, avait également été interprétée par le New York City Opera en 1991 et le Houston Grand Opera l’année suivante.

Jenkins avait poursuivi son exploration de la musique classique dans les années 1990 et 2000 avec des oeuvres comme ‘’Fresh Faust’’ (1994), un opéra de jazz-rap (dans lequel il revisitait la légende de Faust) qu’il avait composé pour l’Institute of Contemporary Art de Boston, et ‘’The Negro Burial Ground’’ (1996), une cantate produite par la troupe The Kitchen et qui avait été présentée par l’Université du Massachusetts à Amsherst. Basée sur un livret d’Ann T. Greene, l’oeuvre traitait de la pierre tombale d’un esclave du 18e siècle qui avait été découverte en 1991 sur une propriété de Wall Street. Parmi les autres oeuvres majeures de Jenkins, on remarquait ‘’Editorio - The Three Willies’’ (1996), un opéra multimédia qui avait été présenté au Painted Bride de Philadelphie ainsi que ‘’Coincidents’’, un opéra basé sur un livret de Mary Griffin. L’oeuvre avait été présentée à la Roulette de New York.

Même s’il enregistrait beaucoup moins, Jenkins avait fait paraître d’autres albums dans les années 1990, dont ‘’Themes and Improvisations on the Blues’’ (1992), qui mettait en vedette des cordes, des cuivres, de la contrebasse et du piano sur quatre pièces. En 1993, Jenkins avait enchaîné avec un album en concert intitulé ‘’Leroy Jenkins Live!’’ qui comprenait à la fois une section rythmique traditionnelle et des synthétiseurs.

À la même époque, Jenkins avait également participé à une réunion du Revolutionary Ensemble. En 1998, Jenkins avait enregistré avec le multi-instrumentiste Joseph Jarman de l’Art Ensemble og Chicago l’album ‘’Out of the Mist’’, un enregistrement qui combinait la musique africaine et asiatique au jazz, en passant par la musique classique européenne contemporaine. Par la suite, Jenkins avait prolongé sa collaboration avec Jarman en formant le trio Equal Interest avec la pianiste Myra Melford. Le groupe avait publié un album éponyme en 2000 qui refétait les intérêts de chacun de ses membres. Le critique du magazine Down Beat, James Hale, avait écrit au sujet de cet album:  "Jarman's devotion to Buddhism dovetails with Melford's interest in music for the harmonium, while Jenkins thrives on developing thematic patterns that span musical cultures from East Asia to Appalachia. Together, the three create music that defies categorization beyond the beauty and humanity that suffuse all of it."

En 2004, Jenkins avait formé le groupe Driftwood, un quartet qui comprenait Min Xiao-Fen au pipa, Denman Maroney au piano et Rich O'Donnell aux percussions. Le groupe avait publié l’album ‘’The Art of Improvisation’’ en octobre de la même année. En 2005, Jenkins avait retrouvé le Revolutionary Ensemble avec qui il avait publié deux albums live: ‘’The Boundary of Time’’ (mai 2005) et ‘’Counterparts’’ (novembre 2005). Le groupe avait publié son dernier album studio en juin 2004. Intitulé ‘’And Now’’, l’album comprenait une composition de vingt et une minutes du batteur Jerome Cooper.

Au cours de sa carrière, Jenkins avait collaboré et fait des tournées avec de nombreux chorégraphes. Il avait également fondé un groupe d’improvisation basé sur la World Music. En 2004, Jenkins avait été lauréat d’une bourse de la Fondation Guggenheim. Il avait aussi joué comme musicien-résident dans plusieurs universités américaines, dont les universités Duke, Carnegie Mellon, Williams, Brown, Harvard et Oberlin. Également professeur, Jenkins avait enseigné la musique dans un high school de Mobile, en Alabama, de 1961 à 1965, puis dans les écoles de Chicago de 1965 à 1969.

Leroy Jenkins est mort d’un cancer du poumon à New York le 24 février 2007. Il était âgé de soixante-quatorze ans. Au moment de sa mort, Jenkins travaillait sur deux nouveaux opéras: une histoire du quartier South Side de Chicago, et ‘’Minor Triad’’, un drame musical sur les artistes de jazz Paul Robeson, Lena Horne et Cab Calloway. Jenkins vivait à Brooklyn au moment de son décès. Jenkins laissait dans le deuil son épouse Linda Harris et sa fille Chantille Kwintana. Le dernier membre survivant du groupe Revolutionary Ensemble, le batteur Jerome Cooper, est mort en 2015.

Influencé par plusieurs styles musicaux allant de la musique afro-américaine au bebop en passant par la musique classique européenne, Leroy Jenkins, qui avait été un des principaux leaders du  jazz d’avant-garde durant quatre décennies, n’avait jamais cessé de se réinventer. Comme l’avait déclaré un critique du San Francisco Chronicle, "Jenkins is a master who cuts across all categories." Au cours de sa carrière, Jenkins avait publié une douzaine d’albums sous son propre nom.

©-2024, tous droits réservés, Les Productions de l’Imaginaire historique

SOURCES:

‘’Leroy Jenkins.’’ Wikipedia, 2024.

‘’Leroy Jenkins Biography.’’ Net Industries, 2024.

RATLIFF, Ben. ‘’Leroy Jenkins, 74, Violinist Who Pushed Limits of Jazz, Dies.’’ New York Times, 26 février 2007.

SCARUFFI, Pierro. ‘’Leroy Jenkins.’’ Piero Scaruffi, 2006.

[porterdavis]

If my math (and memory) is correct, sixth grade girls are 12 years old and a non-insignificant number of them are having sex already, thus presumably knowing what a penis looks like.

[mariacallous]

Florida Mulls ‘Christian Alternative’ to the SAT

“As Gov. Ron DeSantis and Florida Republican leaders explore alternatives to the College Board’s AP classes and tests, top state officials have been meeting with the founder of an education testing company supporters say is focused on the ‘great classical and Christian tradition,’” the Tampa Bay Times reports.

ha we're in danger....

So state-mandated CCD...

The Classic Learning Test, founded in 2015, is used primarily by private schools and home-schooling families and is rooted in the classical education model, which focuses on the “centrality of the Western tradition.”

The founder of the company, Jeremy Tate, said the test is meant to be an alternative to the College Board-administered SAT exam, which he says has become “increasingly ideological” in part because it has “censored the entire Christian-Catholic intellectual tradition” and other “thinkers in the history of Western thought.”

As DeSantis’ feud with the College Board intensified this week, Tate had several meetings in Tallahassee with Ray Rodrigues, the state university system’s chancellor, and legislators to see if the state can more broadly offer the Classic Learning Test to college-bound Florida high school students.

“We’re thrilled they like what we’re doing,” Tate said. “We’re talking to people in the administration, again, really, almost every day right now.”

Specifically, Tate said he is seeking to make the test an option for the taxpayer-funded Bright Futures Scholarship program, which rewards Florida high school students based on academic achievement. Students can use the scholarship to help pay for a Florida-based college education. Currently, the scholarship is tied to the SAT and ACT test scores.

While DeSantis has not publicly singled out the Classic Learning Test as an alternative to the College Board’s SAT, he has said he wants to seek out “other vendors” who can do it “better” than the SAT. A top education official in his administration has indicated interest in the CLT test.

“Not only do we need to build anew by returning to the foundations of our democracy, but CLT also offers the opportunity for all our colleges & universities to rightsize their priorities,” Florida Department of Education Senior Chancellor Henry Mack posted on Twitter on Thursday.

...

DeSantis, who is eyeing a run for president in 2024, has been reshaping Florida’s education system by aggressively targeting what he calls a “woke ideology” and “indoctrination” in K-12 schools and higher education institutions.

This year, he has largely turned his focus on the higher education system, proposing the elimination of diversity, equity and inclusion programs and mandating courses in Western civilization, a focus of the classical education model.

Classical Learning Test will be hosting a Florida Classical Education Summit on March 10 at Palm Beach Atlantic University in West Palm Beach, one of its partner colleges. The event includes sessions titled “Florida: A Case Study in Education Freedom,” “The Power of Parental Choice & Why Parents are Choosing Classical Education” and “Testing Discussion: The Role of Assessments in K-12,” among others.

[wakingfromthewater]

The now-former principal, Hope Carrasquilla, informed the Huffington Post that, due to a “series of miscommunications”, a customary letter informing parents of students at Tallahassee Classical School about this feature of the sixth-grade art history curriculum was not sent out, further contributing to parents’ outrage. One parent felt “point-blank upset”, Carrasquilla told HuffPost, and “felt her child should not be viewing” the iconic 16th-century exemplar of Renaissance sculpture, which depicts a figure from the Old Testament's Book of Samuel.

According to the Tallahassee Democrat, Tallahassee Classical School, a charter school in Florida's state capital, has now lost three principals since it opened in 2020. Carasquilla had worked there for less than a year. The school's “classical education curriculum model" is an increasingly popular pedagogical model in Florida that advocates a return to the foundational tenets of Western civilisation. The school is affiliated with Hillsdale College, a conservative Christian institution that has sought to “fight leftist academics” by expanding into charter school fundraising and implementation.

“Once in a while you get a parent who gets upset about Renaissance art,” Carrasquilla said.

(More at the source)

[drdougdouglass]

Remember Folks- 

If you don’t let Michelangelo  teach your kids about penises, they are just going to learn about them in the streets..

(On December 17th, 2018, Tumblr’s morality police flagged and blocked an image of fresco on this page of Adam and Eve from the Sistine Chapel.)

[whatevergreen]

Torey Akers 23 March 2023:

"A school principal in Tallahassee, Florida, has been fired following parental complaints about a lesson on Michelangelo’s marble masterpiece David (1501-04), which was deemed “pornographic” by one aggrieved parent.

The now-former principal, Hope Carrasquilla, informed the Huffington Post that, due to a “series of miscommunications”, a customary letter informing parents of students at Tallahassee Classical School about this feature of the sixth-grade art history curriculum was not sent out, further contributing to parents’ outrage. One parent felt “point-blank upset”, Carrasquilla told HuffPost, and “felt her child should not be viewing” the iconic 16th-century exemplar of Renaissance sculpture, which depicts a figure from the Old Testament's Book of Samuel.

According to the Tallahassee Democrat, Tallahassee Classical School, a charter school in Florida's state capital, has now lost three principals since it opened in 2020. Carasquilla had worked there for less than a year. The school's “classical education curriculum model" is an increasingly popular pedagogical model in Florida that advocates a return to the foundational tenets of Western civilisation. The school is affiliated with Hillsdale College, a conservative Christian institution that has sought to “fight leftist academics” by expanding into charter school fundraising and implementation.

“Once in a while you get a parent who gets upset about Renaissance art,” Carrasquilla said.

The move to oust Carrasquilla rides a cresting wave of conservative educational legislation in Florida and across the US. Florida governor Ron DeSantis, dubbed the “Education Governor” due to his efforts to transform the state’s school system, has targeted high school advanced placement studies in African American history as a form of “woke indoctrination”, signed a bill to ban transgender athletes from girl’s public school teams, banned more than 40% of math textbooks that publishers submit for review and passed the Parental Rights in Education Act, which prohibits any conversation about sexuality and gender in kindergarten and the first three grades of elementary school.

DeSantis also passed a bill that allows teachers to be armed at school and instituted the “Stop WOKE Act", aimed at preventing “discrimination in the workplace and public schools”. His targeting of tenure, affirmative action and diversity, equity and inclusion measures at the state's public universities reflects a nationwide Republican project to regulate and politicise education."

ffs.

These people are pathetic. Ignorant, barbaric, and highly dangerous.

And of course it's another thing the Simpson's predicted...

We've all got to fight back against the return of this dangerous censorship everywhere, including on tumblr.

[matapetre]

Florida, preside licenziata per aver mostrato il David di Michelangelo agli studenti: “È pornografia”

E se mostrava questa... La lapidavano❓❓

🤭 ☝️😅👍

....🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[foreverlogical]

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The newly-installed conservative board of trustees at New College of Florida ousted its current president in favor of former state education commissioner Richard Corcoran Tuesday, launching the initial move in reshaping the campus under the vision of Gov. Ron DeSantis.

The decision came at the first board meeting since DeSantis appointed six new trustees with the idea of overhauling the liberal arts college in Sarasota into a more conservative-leaning institution. That track was accelerated Tuesday when the board paved the way for new leadership as students and parents protested the major changes that appear bound for New College.

“Some have said these recent appointments amount to a partisan takeover of the college. This is not correct,” said trustee Matthew Spalding, a constitutional government professor and vice president at Hillsdale College’s D.C. campus who was appointed by DeSantis. “It’s not a takeover — it’s a renewal.”

A leadership switch from President Patricia Okker to Corcoran as interim leader is one of several moves made Tuesday by the board, which also signaled its intent to abolish diversity, equity and inclusion programs on campus — all policies pushed by DeSantis. The changes are major developments at the school spurred by the new appointees, including Christopher Rufo, a conservative activist who has advised DeSantis on critical race theory, and Eddie Speir, the co-founder of Inspiration Academy, a Christian charter school in Bradenton, Fla.

Tuesday’s meeting was met with apprehension from dozens of students and parents who protested what they called a “hostile takeover” at New College. They urged Okker to stay on as president and push back against the new mandates from the DeSantis administration to model the school as a “Hillsdale of the South” in reference to the private conservative religious “classical“ college in Michigan.

Okker in an emotional address told the board — and the campus — that she couldn’t continue to serve as president amid accusations that the students are being inundated with liberal indoctrination.

“The reality is, and it’s a hard reality and it’s a sad reality, but the vision that we created together is not the vision I have been given as a mandate here,” Okker said.

In remaking the board at New College, the DeSantis administration said the school was “completely captured by a political ideology that puts trendy, truth-relative concepts above learning” and in need of change following downward enrollment trends. To move on from Okker, trustees agreed to a “generous” exit package that includes at least 12 months of paid professional development leave and benefits. Corcoran is unable to begin serving until March, leaving Okker’s chief of staff Bradley Thiessen in charge until then.

“New leadership is the expectation and I think it makes sense,” Rufo said at the meeting. “I don’t think it’s a condemnation of Dr. Okker, scholarship or skills or character.”

DeSantis’ changes at New College follow other efforts to reshape higher education in Florida. Earlier Tuesday, the GOP governor proposed several changes to Florida’s university system, including pressing the GOP-led Legislature to cut all funding for diversity, equity and inclusion programs and to allow university leaders to launch tenure review of professors. Last year, DeSantis and state Republicans placed GOP allies in top university posts and pushed legislation that could limit how professors teach race.

New College is also now set to review its Office of Outreach & Inclusive Excellence at the request of Rufo as part of the state’s stance against diversity, equity and inclusion programs in schools. Rufo originally pushed to abolish the office outright, including four positions, and take other actions tied to diversity and equity, but decided to request further details on the program for a discussion in February.

Tuesday’s meeting was tense at times, with audience members frequently shouting over and at the new trustees as they spoke. Several parents and students addressed the board before they huddled, often criticizing their plans to retool the university and asking them to leave the college alone.

Some faculty said students felt “hopeless” about what could happen at the school, which is a unique college of under 700 undergraduates where students craft personalized education plans and don’t receive letter grades.

“Many students came here to feel safe and access the education that is their right as Floridians,” Diego Villada, Assistant Professor of Theater and Performance Studies, told the board. “And the impulse to make this a place where race, intersectionality and DEI are banned indicates to them that you want everyone to be the same – to be like you.”

Trustees, though, made it clear that the New College overhaul is fully underway, a message that came the same day DeSantis pledged to invest millions of dollars into recruiting faculty to the school.

“The campus needs a deep culture change. You sat up here, you called us racists, sexists, bigots, outsiders,” said trustee Mark Bauerlein, professor emeritus of English at Emory University who was appointed by DeSantis. “We are now in a position of authority in the college. And the accusations are telling us that something is wrong here.”

[biglisbonnews]

The Simpsons predicted the Florida "David" debacle The Simpsons did it again. Back in 1990, in Season 2, Episode 9 ("Itchy & Scratchy & Marge") the show—which is often lauded for its uncanny ability to predict the future—foreshadowed the current uproar over Michelangelo's David statue. Last week, a sixth-grade teacher at Tallahassee Classical School showed the statue to their art history class. — Read the rest https://boingboing.net/2023/03/29/the-simpsons-predicted-the-florida-david-debacle.html

[honeypot-like-the-ant]

here’s me being an annoying little bitch again but tell me more about your fav artists

- ☀️

favourite artists !! i will do top three for right now because im a little tired guy (chemistry final today) (finals season will try to kill me but i am fending it off with a stick)

i am Legally Obligated to put billy joel on this list. he has been in my top five spotify artists for the past two years in a row, and probably will continue to hold that spot. i started listening to it because a guy i liked really liked him, and i am but A Sheep in this world. turns out, billy joel is reallyreally incredible and i LOVE his work !! i think that's when i first started realising i liked 70s-80s music a lot more than i thought i did. his favourite album of mine is 'an innocent man', with my fav off that album probably being 'the longest time' or 'tell her about it'. some of my other favourites from him are 'zanzibar', 'movin out', and 'you may be right' !!

then there's abba !! i only really started listening to abba this year, but god am i glad that i did. again, im really big on 70s and 80s music, and they are the Definition of 70s-80s for me. i've wanted to perform their songs forEVER, and i might this year at my school's talent show (if all goes well) !! favourite album from them is 'voulez-vous', with my favourite being 'if it wasn't for the nights'. kills me every time. some of my favourites outside of the album are 'the winner takes it all' and 'money, money, money' !!

and then that isn't classic rock, for funsies: the mountain goats !! i need to listen to more of the mountain goats, i was lowkey disappointed to not see them on any of my top five this year :< they're very much alt indie rock if that's something up your alley. they realised their album 'jenny from thebes' this year, and it's SOSOSO good !! i also really like their album 'tallahassee', which is probably their most popular work. they also have a lot of live albums that they title the 'jordan lake sessions' which are highly worth the listen. some of my favourite songs from them atm are 'murder at the 18th st garage', 'wage wars, get rich, die handsome', and 'no children' but specifically the jordan lakes version.

[prelawland]

The Fate of Michelangelo’s David and the Legal Battle Between its Inclusion in an Art History Course at Florida Charter School.

By Olivia Borek, University of South Florida, St. Petersburg

September 17, 2023

How are schools, the law, and art interconnected? A dispute erupted at Tallahassee Classical School when a 6th-grade art lesson featuring Michelangelo's David became controversial. Some parents claimed it exposed minors to explicit content, while others were upset about not being notified about the lesson. This incident highlights the ongoing legal debate over parental control in education, with implications at both the state and federal levels. Florida's HB 1557 and H.R. 6056 reflect this debate. The school argued that parents choose charter schools for greater control over curricula, but Principal Hope Carrasquilla's resignation highlighted differences in values. The incident also raises questions about societal attitudes towards nudity in art and its impact on education. Ultimately, the controversy underscores the need to balance parental rights with preserving art and culture in education, prompting legal discussions between parents, educators, and lawmakers. This case study offers an opportunity to explore how the desire for stricter parental rights as they relate to education clashes with school curriculum.

For full article please visit

The Legal Dimensions of Michelangelo’s David Controversy: Balancing Art, Education, and Parental Rights

at

Florida PreLaw Land

[floridaprelaw-blog]

The Legal Dimensions of Michelangelo's David Controversy: Balancing Art, Education, and Parental Rights

By Olivia Borek, University of South Florida, St. Petersburg

September 17, 2023

In March of this year, an unassuming art lesson at the Tallahassee Classical School involving 6th graders, aged 11-12, erupted into a contentious legal debate at the intersection of art, education, and parental control [1]. The epicenter of this argument was Michelangelo's iconic sculpture, David, celebrated for its artistic grandeur and historical significance. During a class on Renaissance art, students were presented with a photographic reproduction of the original sculpture, an imposing 15-foot-tall figure carved from white marble [1].

The core of the legal dispute revolved around two pivotal concerns raised by parents. Firstly, some parents argued that displaying Michelangelo's David in a classroom setting amounted to exposing minors to explicit content, categorizing it as "pornographic" and potentially running afoul of relevant obscenity laws [1]. Secondly, a faction of parents expressed their dissatisfaction with not being forewarned about the lesson, asserting that this lack of notification constituted a violation of their parental rights, as enshrined in education laws [1].

Following the incident, parents of the 6th graders promptly contacted Principal Hope Carrasquilla to voice their concerns [2]. One parent, in particular, deemed the art lesson "pornographic" and believed it to be unsuitable for minors, suggesting potential legal consequences for exposing children to explicit content [1]. This claim harkens back to historical incidents involving David's nudity, such as Queen Victoria's use of a fig leaf to obscure the sculpture's genitalia [1].          

Furthermore, two other parents expressed their discontent over the absence of prior notification about the lesson, asserting that such notification is mandated by various education laws, which require parental involvement in their children's education [1].          

This incident has thrust into the spotlight the ongoing legal debate concerning parental control over children's education, a contentious matter not only at the state level in Florida but also with federal implications [2]. Florida recently enacted HB 1557, a controversial bill that introduces penalties for teaching or discussing restricted topics related to sex and gender identity in schools, thereby reflecting the state's stance on education content [1]. Additionally, H.R. 6056, also known as the 'Parents Bill of Rights,' is poised to require schools to furnish parents with more comprehensive notices regarding lesson plans and afford them greater influence in curriculum decisions, signaling federal-level legal deliberations on parental rights in education [3].

Tallahassee Classical School, in its official statement, asserted that certain parents opt for charter schools precisely to exert greater control over classroom activities and curricula, implying that this legal facet of educational autonomy aligns with their ethos [1]. Principal Carrasquilla's resignation amid this legal tempest underscores the schism between her values and those of the institution [1].

Significantly, this debate spotlights the age-old legal debate juxtaposing the appreciation of art in its original form against societal prudishness [3]. Michelangelo's David enjoys worldwide acclaim as a Renaissance masterpiece [1]. Cecilie Hollberg, the director of the Galleria dell'Accademia, invited all involved parties to experience firsthand the sculpture's cultural and artistic significance, thereby affirming its legal status as a work of art rather than pornography [2].           

The incident serves as a poignant reminder of historical reactions to nudity in art, encouraging a legal review of whether modern society remains influenced by Victorian-era prudishness.        

Furthermore, many legal scholars argue that societal taboos surrounding nudity can precipitate broader legal consequences, potentially infringing on First Amendment rights while impeding scientific and educational endeavors. Such consequences may include perpetuating body shame, hindering the acquisition of knowledge about human anatomy, and inhibiting discussions on safe sex practices [1].

The discussion surrounding the Tallahassee Classical School's exposure of 6th graders to Michelangelo's David underscores a complex legal debate regarding parental control, educational autonomy, and the preservation of art and culture [3]. While some parents maintained that the lesson transgressed the bounds of legal appropriateness for minors, others defended it as an essential educational experience [1].

As society confronts these intricate legal questions, it becomes imperative to strike a legal balance between safeguarding parental rights and upholding the educational and cultural value of art [2]. The disagreement serves as a clarion call for legal discourse and understanding between parents, educators, and lawmakers, who must navigate the legal tightrope between protecting children and facilitating their intellectual and cultural development within the bounds of the law [3].         

In essence, the Michelangelo's David controversy serves as an illuminating case study within the realm of education law and cultural preservation, offering legal scholars and policymakers an opportunity to explore and clarify the ever-evolving landscape of parental rights, art education, and legal prudishness in the 21st century.

______________________________________________________________

[1] Akers, Torey. “Florida School Principal Fired for Showing Students Michelangelo’s ‘pornographic’ David Sculpture.” The Art Newspaper - International Art News and Events, 23 Mar. 2023, www.theartnewspaper.com/2023/03/23/florida-principal-fired-michelangelo-david-pornographic.

[2] Kim, Juliana. “A Florida Principal Who Was Fired after Showing Students ‘david’ Is Welcomed in Italy.” NPR, 1 May 2023, www.npr.org/2023/05/01/1173017248/florida-principal-david-michelangelo-visit-italy.

[3] Rice, Lynette. “‘the Simpsons’ Credited for Predicting Fate of Florida Principal Who Was Forced out by Parents Angered by Michelangelo’s ‘David.’” Deadline, 25 Mar. 2023, deadline.com/2023/03/florida-parents-michelangelo-david-statue-the-simpsons-1235309907/.