How A Theatre Powered The Downtown Revival Of Illinois’s Second-Largest City

That city is Aurora, an outer-ring suburb of Chicago with about 200,000 people, and the theatre is the twice-restored, 1,885-seat Paramount. in fact, writes Chris Jones, “with the exception of Cleveland, which has benefited immeasurably from the Playhouse Square Center, I’d argue that no Midwestern downtown has been more changed by a single arts organization.” – Chicago Tribune

Why The Trump Administration’s Greek Columns Plan For Federal Buildings Will Be A Bust

While much of the criticism that has been directed at NCAS’s proposal thus far (from the American Institute of Architects, from the profession at large, and from more or less the entire critical establishment) only threatens to elevate the group’s standing—reigniting a tiresome 1980s Style War, pitting pop historicists against high-minded modernists—it has tended to obscure some of the creepier implications of the incipient decree. The classicists may think they’re about to score a coup. In truth, they are setting themselves up to be consumed by a political project at odds even with their own, admittedly backward-looking agenda. – Art in America

Living At The Intersection Of Dance, Social Media, And Teenage Life

Who profits when a 14-year-old Black teenager creates a dance and shares it – and it goes viral? Not she.”TikTok, one of the biggest video apps in the world, has become synonymous with dance culture. Yet many of its most popular dances, including the Renegade, Holy Moly Donut Shop, the Mmmxneil and Cookie Shop have come from young black creators on myriad smaller apps.” – The New York Times

Checking In On (What’s Left Of) This Professional Writers Organization

After massive fallout from accusations of racism and pandering to a small (possibly racist) publisher, Nora Roberts weighing in on the homophobia of the organization, Twitter-led discoveries of years of lies and ignoring actual ethics violations, and numerous chapters resigning their memberships, you’d think things might be changing, but the Romance Writers of America continues to face consequences: The entire board (some of whom had been appointed by a president-elect at the center of the controversy, who resigned in January) just resigned. – Publishers Weekly

The Need For Civic Protest

Protest is meant to bring a reality that lurks beyond the sight lines of most people crashing down in front of them. When resistance to the current order arises, citizens are put to the test. We are forced to reveal where our allegiances lie. What are we willing to support, or do, in the pursuit of rightness and justice? – Maclean’s

Gibney Dance Reinvents From The Inside Out

Gibney is becoming a commission-based repertory group—that is, a company not grounded in the aesthetic of a founding choreographer—and allow it to double in size from six dancers to 12. The model will allow Gibney to work with renowned and rising international choreographers representing a broad range of aesthetics and techniques. “The stage is set,” Davis said, for Gibney “to establish a wholly new paradigm for a contemporary dance company.” – Inside Philanthropy

“Les Miz” Song Has Become A Defiant Protest Anthem In China

Do You Hear the People Sing?, the defiant chorus from the musical Les Misérables, has become a song of protest in Hong Kong and, more recently, mainland China. Explicit references to Li Wenliang, the Wuhan doctor censured for his warnings about the coronavirus outbreak, and to Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement, are stamped upon – but lines from the song slip through the net on China’s social networks Weibo and WeChat, fostering a community of covert opposition. – The Guardian