A trip back in time to the epicenter: Cornell, 1969. As Allan Bloom wrote: …[S]tudents discovered that pompous teachers who catechized them about academic freedom could, with a little shove, be made into dancing bears. It was a turning point, … Continue reading →
Being an Everly Brothers fan even as a child and seeing these two names – Felice and Boudleaux Bryant – on so many of their songs, I wondered about them for a long time. Who were they? It’s quite a … Continue reading →
There are women performers in Russian and Ukrainian folk dancing. But they’re really just decorative window-dressing. The men are the thing. And yes, they have ball bearings for knees, and springs in the soles of their feet. I first saw … Continue reading →
“Concerto Barocco” is a Balanchine ballet that was created in 1941 as an exercise for his students. But it is an indisputable masterpiece that seems nearly as fresh today as when it was choreographed. It has the dancers interpreting and … Continue reading →
There’s been some discussion in this recent thread about pro-Trump and anti-Trump commenters here, and whether one group or the other has left in significant numbers. Actually, the majority of commenters who left this blog during the 2016 campaign and … Continue reading →
You may think I’ve gone stark raving mad. What could Van Rothbart, the evil magician in the ballet “Swan Lake,” have to do with the Iran deal? Answer: not all that much. But in the wake of the Iran deal … Continue reading →
…that folks who thought we should abolish the IRS and simplify the tax code were wacko. Now they make a lot of sense to me, particularly Ted Cruz: Now that Republicans control Congress, Cruz said the party must seize on … Continue reading →
I’ve already written about Buzz Bissinger’s “changer” experience here. But there’s an addendum, and it’s just as all of us would imagine: he’s been excoriated and shunned by those liberals he used to think were so—well, so liberal. I don’t … Continue reading →
By now you’ve probably read the news that Patrick Swayze has died. Swayze was an actor and dancer who became famous for the surprise blockbuster film “Dirty Dancing.” But I liked him best in “Ghost,” which didn’t even feature his … Continue reading →
Fausta notes the current trend towards men’s chests that are bulging with muscles and yet simultaneously as smooth as babies’ bottoms: Why are young men waxing their chests? You look at any ads showing bare-chested men nowadays and there’s not … Continue reading →
This article documents a trend I’ve noticed for decades: ballet lines have become more exaggerated over time. This is especially true of what is known as “extrension”—that is, the height of the nonsupporting leg when it is raised. But it’s … Continue reading →
I reacquainted myself with the music of singer/songwriter/poet Leonard Cohen recently, as a result of this post by The Anchoress. It links, not to the lugubrious Cohen himself, but to a YouTube video of John Cales singing Cohen’s much-covered “Hallelujah.” … Continue reading →