LOOKING at Charleston ©
Looking at Charleston is a unique perspective of the homes, churches, and buildings on the peninsula. Rather than the standard historical tour, it provides a glimpse into how these buildings were built, by whom, and with what purpose in mind. Of particular note is that so many of them were designed by “gentlemen architects” during the period before architects received formal training in the United States. Read more ~>RECOMMENDED
Digital Nation: a PBS video. If you have kids or are yourself knee-deep in email, messaging, cell phone, and computer use, you will benefit from this insightful video about the pervasiveness of technology in our lives. There is no conclusion on the matter, but this video casts light on it and gets you thinking. ~> watch the video
Dance
Breathing Life into Balanchine
THE GHOST OF THE BELOVED ballet master, George Balanchine, comes to Charleston this weekend as CBT presents Masterpieces of Dance at the Sottile Theatre on Saturday, Feb 13 at 7:30 PM. They will be breathing life into one of Balanchine’s first big successes, Serenade, as well as Rubies. Rubies is new to the CBT... Read »
A New York Travelogue
THERE IS SOMETHING ABOUT climbing the steps to the Metropolitan Museum of Art on the upper east side of the great island of Manhattan. You never know if you might run into someone you know or if you will anonymously slide into to the great house of art where anything is possible. I had no... Read »
School of the Arts now State-of-the-Art
WALKING PAST the cistern at the College of Charleston, I am struck by the sense of time and place at one of our country’s oldest colleges. Spanish moss hangs from grand oaks that frame the columns and fading pink walls of colonial architecture. It is a scene of southern tradition and charm. As I turn... Read »
The Gift That Keeps on Giving
ONE THING that is as sure as the setting sun, whether it makes you run and hide or immediately purchase overpriced tickets, is the Christmas ballet darling, The Nutcracker. For close to 100 years, audiences young and old have experienced the magic of this production with super-sized Christmas trees, dancing candy canes , icy... Read »
A Stunning Display of Dance
WITNESSING the dancers of the Martha Graham Dance Company execute a contraction and release—the essential element of Martha Graham’s lifelong work—is as stunning a human movement as there is. To see the beginning of the movement come from the center of the torso and then cascade to the rest of the body like moving... Read »
Ready for Some Dancing?
AFTER A LONG, HOT SUMMER and with the promise of Fall in the air, comes a new season for cultural awakening. Some great performances will grace our stages in the next several months. Highlights include an entertaining lineup by the Charleston Ballet Theatre as well as three renowned dance companies sponsored by the Charleston... Read »
Remembering Merce Cunningham
AT THE END of July, Merce Cunningham died at the age of 90 after seven decades as a dancer and visionary choreographer. “Merce,” as he was affectionately referred to, performed with the Martha Graham and Paul Taylor dance companies. Along with them, he became a pioneer for modern dance, but he was also an... Read »
Watching Dance
Of all the art forms, dance is the oldest. Before people could speak, they could dance. It was how early men and women comprehended the world around them—how they imagined their gods were controlling Nature and circumstances. As language and music developed, dance gradually became more structured and compartmentalized: such as how a tribe would... Read »
Backstage with the Bolshoi
Last weekend, we drove to Chapel Hill, N.C. to see an excellent production of Swan Lake by Moscow’s Bolshoi Ballet, one of the world’s top ballet companies. The theater (Memorial Hall on the UNC campus) was beautiful, the stage set was sumptuous, and the costumes were dazzling. The dancers, of course, were exquisite with... Read »
