The Internet’s Dancing Dads Are Just What We Need Right Now, Says Pulitzer-Winning Dance Critic

Sarah Kaufman: “It is a truth universally acknowledged that one of the dorkiest things a dad can do is dance, especially in public. … Therein lies the coolness of the real-life dancing dad. He’s the opposite of embarrassing! … Through his dance, he forges a spontaneous, healing bond with his youngster whose power can be felt by millions of onlookers.”

Oscars’ New Best Popular Movie Category Is A Spectacularly Bad Idea

The decision to announce the new category without a name or a list of qualifying characteristics made a bad decision seem even worse, almost to the point of deliberate self-sabotage. Will candidates for Best Popular Picture be determined by budget? By box-office returns? If the latter, is it possible for a movie like Get Out or A Quiet Place to cross over from one to the other? And if not, will it be analogous to the split between lead and supporting performances, where the line is subject to campaigning and manipulation that sometimes verges on outright fraud?

Albright-Knox Builds A Public Art Boom In Buffalo

“The 156-year-old museum is now five years into an ambitious program that’s been injecting life into the Western New York region’s parks, neighborhoods, buildings, and other infrastructure through paint, plastic, steel, cloth, and whatever else their international cast of commissioned artists want to work with.” In a Q&A, Albright-Knox public art curator Aaron Ott talks about the works that have gone up, their reception by the public, and the lessons he’s learned.

Pussy Riot Member, Denied Permission To Leave Russia, Sneaks Over Border

Maria Alyokhina – one of the three artist-activists who was arrested and jailed for singing “Mother of God, cast Putin out!” in a Moscow cathedral in 2012 – was leaving for her scheduled appearance at the Edinburgh Fringe when Russian border guards at the airport told her she was barred from leaving the country. So she drove to Lithuania and flew from there.

Why Did Mass. Lawmakers Override Arts Funding Veto? They Know That Funding Culture Pays Off

“In fiscal year 2016, the Mass. Cultural Council invested $4.5 million in 400 nonprofits that generated more than $1.2 billion for the state’s economy.” Matt Wilson, executive director of advocacy organization MASSCreative, lays out examples of the difference that state seed funding of arts and culture makes, especially in towns that aren’t as prosperous as Boston is.

Can’t The Legendary Cabarets Of Paris Do Any Better Than The Cancan?

Okay, the shows at the Moulin Rouge, the Lido, and the Crazy Horse do include more than just the high-kick dance that dates back to 1889. Even so, writes Laura Cappelle, for all the resources and skill applied to these clubs’ shows (especially the Moulin Rouge’s), “the genre that was once the toast of Paris lost touch with the times in the last decades of the 20th century.”