I’m happy to introduce our newest IAVM members—a total of 151 members in January and February. Our network is growing; our membership now totals 4,254 members. A huge thank you to those of you that referred new members to our ranks!

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Shakespeare’s Globe theater in London recently announced a world tour of Hamlet. The company plans to perform the perennial play in every country. One of those countries happens to be North Korea, long know for its questionable human rights record.

“No tragic play could come close to the misery that the 100,000 people trapped in the country’s prison camps endure,” Amnesty International said in a statement. “There’s a dark irony in the fact that Hamlet focuses on a prince wrestling with his conscience. Kim Jong-Un is no Hamlet. Sadly he shows no sign of wrestling with his conscience.”

The Globe replied, in turn.

“We have decided that every country means every country, since we believe that every country is better off for the presence of Hamlet. Shakespeare can entertain and speak to anyone, no matter where in the world they are,” the company said in a statement. “We have always believed that cultural communication, and different peoples talking to each other through art, is a force for good in the world. In every country, we are going for one single and simple purpose: to play Hamlet there.

“We are very proud of our record of working with a selection of NGOs over the years—Amnesty themselves, PEN, Reprieve and Human Rights Watch,” the statement continued. “We have raised money for their operations, provided space for them, and felt their influence in many of our productions and the new plays we have performed. In that light, we were disappointed that Amnesty put out a quote about our touring without realizing that it was a world tour, but under the impression that it was going solely to one country.”

What are your thoughts?

(Image: From Shakespeare’s Globe Facebook page)

Our International Stadium Management Conference is upcoming, taking place in Atlanta, Georgia, May 7-9. This is a great opportunity for stadium and racetrack  managers to meet together, learn from one other, and make new connections.

Over the weeks leading up to the conference, we’ll have many of the presenters and organizers offer their thoughts about the event and why you should attend. Up first is Nate Hayden, director of business operations at the Fiesta Bowl.

Why do you feel it’s important for managers to attend this conference?

The past few years, the conference has been held online utilizing the webSITE format. The past conferences were effective and feedback from members was positive, but obviously the committee is particularly excited about bringing the meeting back on site, and what a better location than Atlanta with the Georgia World Congress Center and the Georgia Dome as our hosts.

The educational value of the conference is top-notch as it is, yet greatly enhanced when all the stadium professionals in the room have the opportunity to add their expertise through feedback, sharing personal experiences (the good and the bad), best practices developed at their stadiums, etc. The industry is unique in that all IAVM members, Allied members, colleagues, peers, experts, etc. are willing to openly share information among each other. That is our greatest resource.

What’s one topic or session that attendees will benefit from and why?

I am personally excited for the session on event and facility command center operations. This panel discussion will present case studies/best practices/examples from member buildings and their events as well as current issues and opportunities followed by a question-and-answer period with the panel. Again, there is so much to be learned simply from our colleagues sharing information—operationally from event managers, structure and life safety tactics from law enforcement and EMS partners, technologically from practices in monitoring social media to opportunities for security observation, just to name a few. I think this session will offer numerous “take-homes” from the experiences and expertise presented by the panel and the attendees.

There’s a study that is sure to get a lot of people on the dance floor of debate, cut a rug of “oh, really!,” and do an old soft shoe of suspicion (I got a ton of these; it’s Monday, and I lost an hour of sleep!)

Anneli Hujala, Sanna Laulainen, and Kaija Kokkonen of the Department of Health and Social Management at the University of Eastern Finland in Kuopio studied how dancing can help a manager improve awareness interaction with employees.

“In management and organisation theory and practice, management is conventionally consider to be a rational and cognitive issue ignoring the bodies and emotions of managers,” the researchers wrote in the study‘s abstract. “This experimental study aims to find out whether a method based on harnessing the whole corporeal body of a participant may elicit, express and create new and different kinds of knowledge about interaction embedded in management.”

The researchers had study participants “dance their feelings” and filmed them in order to learn about hidden insights and emotions.

“The use of creative movement ‘revealed’ unconscious dimensions of behavior and the relevance of feelings in management interaction,” the researchers wrote. “In addition, the therapeutic outcomes appeared to be an essential part of the study for the participants.”

It was noted that being a good dancer is not required. It’s about creative expression through music.

So, do you think this study has two left feet or is it something to twist and shout about?

(photo credit: Stephen Poff via photopin cc)

There was a lot of news this past week. Here are some stories that caught our eyes.

Queen and Adam Lambert to Reunite for Summer Tour
—Rolling Stone
“While Lambert has appeared with current Queen members Brian May and Roger Taylor at numerous shows, this will be the singer’s first official tour with the group.”

The 25 Most Amazing College Campus Theaters
—Best College Reviews
“These top 25 theaters celebrate large spaces, history, unique architecture, impressive interiors and innovative designs.”

Why Your Stodgy Old Concert Hall Looks The Way It Does
—Fast Company
“New research supports the idea that the best way to hear music is in a room shaped like a shoebox.”

European Concert-going is Falling According to Eurobarometer
—PanStadia & Arena Management
“Across the EU Countries, respondents generally said that lack of interest or lack of time are the main obstacles to participating in a particular activity.”

Breathing Easy
—The Meeting Professional
“Why have special meal requests and allergies exploded among groups?”