Don’t Call It Contemporary Dance On Ice

The Montreal-based touring company Le Patin Libre is “not interested in putting contemporary dance on ice, but in doing with skating what 20th-century modern art movements have done with other mediums, from dance to painting to sculpture. They are stripping away story and representation to leave the medium itself on full display.” Jenn Edwards, a former competitive figure skater and contemporary dancer who’s been a member of Le Patin Libre since April 2018, offers an inside view of the company’s work. – Dance International

Can Dance Be Meaningful For People Without Sight?

“The intangible exchange of energy between moving and witnessing bodies in real time is what makes the art form so impactful. It’s a beautiful and grandiose idea that I imagine resonates with many dance artists, but, in creating Translations, that belief was truly put to the test. If you take the visual away from dance, what is left? What are we performing when we aren’t being watched? What do we miss and what is revealed?” – Dance International

Why Is There So Much Weird Stuff In English Cathedrals These Days?

Rochester Cathedral has mini-golf (okay, an “educational adventure golf course’). Norwich Cathedral has a “helter-skelter” (a tarted-up sliding board), ostensibly so that visitors can get a better look at the exquisite medieval ceiling before sliding down. Derby Cathedral got in hot water last year when its free movie series got a bit too racy. What’s going on? Well, last fall the Archbishop of Canterbury said that people should “have fun in cathedrals,” but, in fact, some serious structural and governance issues are in play. – The Economist

England’s Arts Funding Agency May Have To Cut Commitments Already Made To Largest Institutions

A group of about 800 so-called National Portfolio Organisations — from giants like the Royal Opera House and Southbank Centre and its residents such as the National Theatre (who receive tens of millions of pounds a year) to smaller regional institutions — are guaranteed funding from Arts Council England on a rolling multi-year basis. But ACE is warning that proposed in the Conservative government’s next budget would mean that those funding guarantees couldn’t be met. – Arts Professional

Read The Art Spiegelman Essay On Comics That He Says Marvel Refused To Print

“I turned the essay in at the end of June, substantially the same as what appears here. A regretful Folio Society editor told me that Marvel Comics (evidently the co-publisher of the book) is trying to now stay “apolitical”, and is not allowing its publications to take a political stance. I was asked to alter or remove the sentence that refers to the Red Skull or the intro could not be published.” – The Guardian

France’s War To Keep Other Languages Out Of French

“There’s a tendency among some Anglophones to see the official struggle to resist English as somewhat hysterical. That attitude partly reflects the smugness of a people who increasingly expect to see their language everywhere they go—and who are accustomed to English’s ability to shamelessly gobble up terms from other tongues. If you see France’s efforts as a celebration of linguistic biodiversity, however, then the ingenuity employed in French’s defense make more sense.” – CityLab

How Fandom Endangers Women Musicians

Singer/songwriter Lucy Dacus: “Music is magic, yes, and many people use it as an outlet for their animal emotions, but I just wish people would let loose their feelings while still keeping their behavior under control.” (Examples of said behavior include a man chasing a musician down the street, screaming, “I would never chase you!”) – Nylon