An artist of impeccable character, he connected the group’s feuding factions, became an instructor and mentor to the impossible Cézanne, welcomed Georges Seurat and took up his pointillist cause, and even remained (until the Dreyfus Affair) on good terms with the irascible Degas. - The New Yorker
Christmas and holiday movies usually tend to centre around a key belief: that people need a romantic partner to live “happily ever after.” - The Conversation
Among all the questions that enable us to orient ourselves in the world and in our common lives – who? what? how many? where? when? – this one, “why?“ seems necessary for a certain meaning to emerge, whatever the sense we give to the word. - 3 Quarks Daily
Dubbed Nigeria's viral ballet dancer, 13-year-old Anthony Madu's life has changed beyond recognition over the last three years after his dance moves and internet fame catapulted him from his modest home in Lagos to one of the UK's most prestigious ballet schools. - BBC
At San Francisco Ballet, the snow is made of thousands of pieces of thin paper soaked in a flame-retardant salt solution, stored in 400-pound barrels and dropped from four 150-pound bags. Two hints for dancers: don't rosin your shoes too much and don't breathe through your nose. - San Francisco Chronicle (MSN)
Netflix’s share of U.S. streaming viewership by 2- to 11-year-olds fell to 21% in September from 25% two years earlier, according to Nielsen. Meanwhile, YouTube’s share jumped to 33% from 29.4% over the same period. - The Wall Street Journal
"When Vladimir Kosarevsky received orders late last year to destroy books referencing same-sex relationships, … (he) knew it was a line he wouldn’t cross. 'I realised that if I did it, I would never ever be able to forgive myself,' (he said) from northern Spain, where he is claiming asylum." - The Guardian
Billions of people access social media monthly, but users are posting less and favoring a more passive experience, surveys of users and research from data-analytics firms say. - The Wall Street Journal
In recent years, the Malayalam-language cinema industry of Kerala — the state with the country's highest literacy rate and standard of living — has been moving beyond the action-pic, song-and-dance blockbusters typical of Bollywood to depict ordinary people and such sensitive topics as closeted gay politicians. - The New York Times
Daily criticism, which is the heart of what we do, was a print invention. It was a form really made for print—almost uniquely for print. It was a voice, it was a standard, it was a wait-for-that-morning kind of news. I don’t think that journalism has adapted well, in terms of criticism, to the internet age. - American Theatre
The oldest surviving depictions of the baby Jesus in a manger, surrounded by animals and shepherds and parents and such, go back to 5th-century Rome and Greece — and artists and artisans all over the world continue creating nativity scenes in a myriad of styles. - Hyperallergic
She noted that the increasing sense of equality has also heightened competition. “Even more than in the past, one’s achievement is what counts,” she said. “Because when the doors are open to everyone, the question is: Who is the best?” - The New York Times
"Despite no known historical connection with the author, Deventer, in the eastern province of Overijssel, now plays host to … 950 volunteers … performing street theatre and selling hot punch." And all because, once shops were allowed to open on Sundays, one store manager decided to make a party of it. - The Guardian
"'We are wanted all over the world, but we can’t even properly train in our own country,' said Gerelbaatar Yunden, a former acrobat and circus director who estimates there are currently about 1,300 Mongolian performers working in North America and Europe." - The New York Times
Los Angeles Times design columnist Carolina A. Miranda looks at how, despite exteriors that can seem intimidating, the new Perelman Performing Arts Center near Ground Zero and the reconstructed David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center undo the separation between artists and audience. - Los Angeles Times (MSN)
