Word: avante
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Fiddler cannot be called experimental theatre. It is no avant-garde drama in which no one know what to expect. But then again Fiddler is not outdated despite its well-worn themes and the troupe at kirkland stages the traditional musical with sparkle and flair revealing the show's appeal to people of all ages and all times. If you ignore tradition and skip seeing it you will miss something very special...
...instrumentation, rather than detracting from these melodies, heightens them; Anderson doesn't merely colour the songs with African instruments in order to give them an exotic tinge, rather she blends her elements of rock-influenced minimalism and Third World ethnic music so well that she succeeds in creating what avant-garde trumpet player Jon Hassell dubbed "Fourth World Music" "a primitive/futuristic sound combining features of world ethnic styles with advanced electronic techniques...
...Chariots of Fire jogged along the beach to its inspirited pulse, and Jennifer Beals went head over heels for its driving beat in Flashdance. Rock groups love its modish, high-tech tones, and jazzmen such as Oscar Peterson and Herbie Hancock have found its versatility irresistible. Laurie Anderson, the avant-garde performance artist, colored her United States, PartsI-IV with its plaintive, other-worldly resonance, and its dark bass notes lurk menacingly in the minimalist scores of Composer Philip Glass...
DIED. Julio Cortázar, 69, avant-garde Argentine writer (best-known novel: Hopscotch) and political activist, who supported the Cuban and Nicaraguan revolutions; of a heart attack; in Paris. Cortázar's subtle humor and sinister sense of fantasy, combined with the themes of identity and reincarnation, moved a fellow novelist to hail him as "one of the greatest creators of Latin American literature...
...Avant-gardists might applaud his lyrical technique and solid bebop chops while nurturing doubts about his innovative abilities. D'Rivera tends a little toward caution himself-"I like electronics," he says, "but I am very careful with it"-and, even when searching for fresh inspiration, tends to stay close to the roots...