by the El Reportero’s news services
The members of the legendary British rock band Led Zeppelin are fighting in court for the copyright of the iconic song Stairway to Heaven, specialized media reported on Thursday.
The lawsuit over Stairway to Heaven was filed two years ago, when it was claimed in court that Led Zeppelin had copied the beginning of the song Taurus, by the US band Spirit.
The group that made history in the genre from the late 1960s to the 1980s has maintained the claim at the Ninth Circuit Justice of San Francisco to reverse an October ruling that revived a lawsuit about the introduction of the famous song.
According to the claim, the ruling may cause ‘widespread confusion’ and alter the ‘delicate balance’ between copyright protection and public domain, so the musicians of the highly-acclaimed British band asked the court to reconsider the annulment of a jury order in 2016 that assures that there is no violation.
US Ballet dancers perform at Festival Gala in Cuba
Dancers from several American companies will perform Monday in Cuba during the 26th Alicia Alonso International Ballet Festival in Havana.
The festival, opened on Sunday, takes place in Havana until November 6 with the participation of ballet dancers from more than a dozen countries.
Under the title ‘Stars of American Ballet’, representatives of the New York City Ballet (NYCB) and other relevant American companies will carry out a gala at Mella Theater on Monday and Tuesday.
Among the announced dancers are Daniel Ulbricht, Teresa Reichlen, Ask la Cour, Sterling Hyltin, Adrian Danchig-Waring, Indiana Woodward and Gonzalo García, of the NYCB.
Joseph Gatti and Danielle Diniz; as well as Ukrainian ballroom dancers Antonina Skobina and Denys Drozdyuk, now living in the United States, will join to the gala.
Drozdyuk is a three-time world champion in ballroom, two-time U.S. national champion and has several awards in this dance modality; while Diniz has a vast experience in musical theater works in her country.
Much of the choreographies in the program belongs to renowned creators such as George Balanchine (the pas de deux of ‘Tarantella’, ‘Apollo’ and ‘Diamond’), Christopher Wheeldon (Liturgy) and Alexei Ratmansky (Pictures at an Exhibition Pas).
Skobina and Drozdyuk will dance one piece of the acclaimed ‘King of Pop’ Michael Jackson; while Gatti and Ulbricht will show virtuosity to the rhythm of ‘The Animals’ in the superb version of ‘The House of the Rising Sun’, with choreography by Brazilian Marcelo Gomes.
Pharrell Williams demands Trump to stop using his song Happy
U.S. singer and producer Pharrell Williams is among the artists who have demanded that President Donald Trump stop using his songs in campaign-style rallies led by him.
The Los Angeles Times reported that on Monday a lawyer for the rapper sent a letter of cease and desist to the ruler for putting the song Happy during a political rally last Saturday, shortly after the mass shooting in a synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
The day of the mass murder of 11 human beings at the hands of a mad ‘nationalist,’ you played the song Happy to a crowd at a political event in Indiana, lawyer Howard E. King wrote in the letter.
There was nothing happy about the tragedy inflicted on our country on Saturday and no permission was granted for the use of this song for that purpose, he added.
King noted that the singer is the owner of the rights of that work, and stressed that Williams has not granted the President, nor will he grant him permission to play or publicly broadcast his music in any way. ‘The use of Happy without permission constitutes a copyright infringement,’ he said.
Other figures in the world of music who have banned the head of the White House from using their themes for political rallies are the British singer Adele, the Canadian singer Neil Young, and the Rolling Stones and Queen bands.
