Author: Matthew Westphal

A ‘Riverdance’ Alum Who’s Now Trying To Strip Away Every Cliché Of Irish Dance

Colin Dunne doesn’t wear the Celtic-ized costumes or hold his torso and arms rigid; he frequently dances in sneakers or barefoot; he sometimes improvises, which is almost unheard-of in traditional Irish dance. And in his newest show, he’s collaborating with a dead fiddler who was even more nonconformist than he is. – The New York Times

Artist Dread Scott Is Re-Enacting The United States’ Largest Slave Rebellion

Scott first became (in)famous 30 years ago with his installation What is the Proper Way to Display the American Flag?, which has incited controversy virtually every time it has been exhibited since 1989. This weekend will see his largest-scale project: a re-enactment of the 1811 German Coast Uprising, in which up to 500 enslaved people marched on New Orleans from nearby sugar plantations. Perhaps surprisingly, Scott is doing this with the support of Louisiana officials. – The New York Times

America’s First Banned Book, Published And Suppressed Back In 1637

Thomas Morton came to Massachusetts with the Puritans in 1624, but he was there strictly on business. What’s more, he didn’t fear the surrounding landscape as the devil’s dwelling place, he loved it and the Native Americans who lived there. He was a dandy, and one year he even (gasp) put up a maypole. Morton and the Puritans despised each other, and when he let them have it in his New English Canaan, they promptly banned it. – Atlas Obscura

Shell Shock 1919: How World War I Changed Culture

“The shock of the first modern, ‘industrial’ war extended far into the 20th century and even into the 21st, and changed how people saw the world and themselves. And that was reflected in the cultural responses to the war – which included a burgeoning obsession with beauty and body image, the birth of jazz, new thinking about the human psyche, the Harlem Renaissance, Surrealism, and more.” (audio) – WNYC (New York City)

Opera’s Woman Problem: There Just Aren’t Enough Of Them In Decision-Making Roles

The Stage senior reporter Georgia Snow talks to women working as directors, designers, and administrators in opera in the UK — who tell her that things are getting better, but not fast enough. (Opera companies are, after all, large, expensive, slow-moving machines.) Says English National Opera’s new artistic director, Annelese Miskimmon, “Unless we reflect our audience we can’t serve them. According to every statistic I have seen, it’s women who buy opera tickets. So it doesn’t matter what people’s own feelings are – it’s sensible economics.” – The Stage

There Were Women Authors In England Centuries Earlier Than We’d Thought

The first female writers in the kingdom have generally been thought to be Marie de France in the 12th century and Margery Kempe and Julian of Norwich in the 14th. But scholar Diane Watt argues in a new book that there were Englishwomen producing serious prose and poetry as early as the 8th century — and that much of their work was “overwritten” by men. – The Guardian

Leonardo And His Lovers: The Opera

The new piece by composer Alex Mills and librettist Brian Mullin, titled Leonardo and premiering this weekend at London’s Victoria and Albert Museum, focuses on da Vinci’s relationship with two of his assistants, the rambunctious working-class youth Gian Giacomo Caprotti (whom Leonardo called Salaí, meaning little devil), and the young Milanese noble Francesco Melzi (whom Leonardo called Master Francesco). – BBC

The Half-Billion-Dollar Expansion At Houston’s Museum Of Fine Arts Has An Opening Date In Sight

In the $450 million project announced four years ago, two smaller buildings and a plaza have already been added to the MFAH’s campus. The expansion’s centerpiece, the 183,528-square foot Kinder Building, is now scheduled to open next fall, with a grand atrium, two conference rooms, a 200-seat auditorium, a pair of restaurants, and 15 galleries. – Houston Chronicle