“We spoke to DJs, dance experts, real estate agents who make dancing home-tour videos, aspiring professional dancers and club owners to get their take. Spoiler: Dancing is far from dead. But has it downsized? Migrated? Is it complicated? Yes, yes and yes.” - The Washington Post (MSN)
Over 50% of the AAM survey’s respondents reported fewer visitors than in 2019 and 29% reported “declines tied to weakened travel and tourism and/or economic uncertainty”. This, of course, varies hugely from state to state. - The Art Newspaper
“(My) Symphony No. 15 is a portrait of Abraham Lincoln, and the values of the Kennedy Center today are in direct conflict with the message of the Symphony,” wrote the 89-year-old composer. “Therefore, I feel an obligation to withdraw this Symphony premiere from the Kennedy Center under its current leadership.” - The Washington Post (Yahoo!)
The Cliburn International Amateur Piano Competition, founded in 1999, was held eight times, most recently in 2022. News of its retirement comes just a few days after the announcement of the inaugural Cliburn International Competition for Conductors, to be held in June 2028 in Houston. - The Violin Channel
Says Nick Papps, founding editor-in-chief of the Murdoch tabloid California Post, “We'll have the wit of the New York Post headlines, which is really important to it. … We want to be disruptors. We want to challenge status quos. We want to shake things up.” - TheWrap (MSN)
One Battle After Another, Paul Thomas Anderson’s counterculture comedy, received 14 nominations for Britain’s equivalent of the Oscars, while Sinners, Ryan Coogler’s vampire thriller garnered 13. Marty Supreme and Hamnet each got 11 nods, while a sleeper, the Tourette’s comedy I Swear, landed five. - The Guardian
“Across America, publishers, libraries, and literary organizations are building a formidable litigation slate to ensure the availability of books in public and school libraries.” - Publishers Weekly
Before dawn last Wednesday, two men broke into the Silver Museum in the Dutch city of Doesburg and stole every piece there except a few ceramic items on temporary display. - ARTnews
The claim that Emilia Bassano Lanier was Shakespeare’s “Dark Lady” is now familiar; even the argument that she — a published poet under her own name — was the real writer of Shakespeare’s works has been made before. Historian Irene Coslet is now arguing that Bassano Lanier was both Jewish and Black. - The Standard (London)
The renowned countertenor/impresario, who took the helm of the admired-but-struggling company in 2024, has added two years to his contract, which now ends after the 2028-29 season. The company has also extended the contract of music director Corrado Rovaris through May 2029. - The Philadelphia Inquirer (MSN)
Who doesn’t want to know how a lost civilization got lost, or where it might be hiding? The trouble is that what gets touted as a lost civilization often turns out to have been there all along. - The New Yorker
A £1.5 billion investment is welcome news for a sector buffeted by years of austerity and inflation (not to mention the long tail of pandemic shutdowns). But the devil is in the detail, as ever, and the wider context: definitions of “infrastructure” beyond the landmarks, and its relationship to cultural workers. - The Conversation
You might think that there’s so much at our fingertips now, surely boredom is gonna go away. But what we’re finding is that it’s actually increasing. So one speculation is that our capacity to connect well is diminishing, and as that’s happening, we’re getting more bored. - Nautilus
Lydia Kiesling reflects on how book coverage devolved into bloated, AI-adjacent list culture, tracing her own path through The Millions and the broader media collapse. - The Baffler
