Bringing Brooklyn Back To BAM

Shamel Pitts, who grew up in Bed-Stuy and danced in The Ailey School and at Juilliard before leaving to dance with an Israeli group he saw at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, has moved back home – and is dancing his own creation in BAM, based on (but altered from) the Israeli dance called Gaga. – The Undefeated

Dirty Little Secret: Who Owns Land In Great Britain

What’s astonishing about his research is how little has changed in the last 1,000 years. Guy Shrubsole’s figures reveal that the aristocracy and landed gentry – many the descendants of those Norman barons – still own at least 30% of England and probably far more, as 17% is not registered by the Land Registry and is probably inherited land that has never been bought or sold. Half of England is owned by less than 1% of the population. The homeowners’ share adds up to just 5%: “A few thousand dukes, baronets and country squires own far more land than all of Middle England put together.” – The Guardian

Adventures In Pricing: Art Gallery Of Ontario Rethinks Who Pays What To Come Inside

Those under age 25 will get in free. AGO director Stephen Jost says he initially pitched this idea to this staff two years ago, and wanted the age limit to be 18, but “honestly it was our staff that pushed it up. We looked at the revenue we get from 18- to 25-year-olds, and it’s not that much. But I do know is most humans make their cultural taste choices between 16 and 25, so if you start coming in for free, we can create that habit and relationship.” – Toronto Star

Could Shakespeare Have Been A Woman?

Had anyone ever proposed that the creator of those extraordinary women might be a woman? Each of the male possibilities requires an elaborate theory to explain his use of another’s name. None of the candidates has succeeded in dethroning the man from Stratford. Yet a simple reason would explain a playwright’s need for a pseudonym in Elizabethan England: being female. – The Atlantic

As Ethical Controversies Arise Around Their Donors And Collections, Can Museums Correct Themselves? Can They Afford (Not) To?

“In the space of barely a year, the very foundations of museums — the money that sustains them, the art that fills them, the decision makers that run them — have been called into question. And there’s no end to questioning in sight.” Holland Carter considers the issues. – The New York Times