Hatred Alone Is Immortal
What pleasure, what gratification, can we offer to people that exceeds the pleasure of hating?
Famous, But Studiously Ignored, in Baltimore
Posted on February 8, 2024
Image: John Waters is never incognito; THR illustration.
I like to think that this kind of deference is a Baltimore thing.
The Arts as Resistance
Posted on February 6, 2024
Image: Statue of composer Aram Khachaturian in front of the Armenian Opera House, Yerevan, Armenia; Danita Delimont/Alamy Stock Photos.
What are the implications for any society that emphasizes monuments to power and domination over imagination and the arts?
Beyond the Exaltation of the Individual Dancer
Posted on February 1, 2024
Image: A recent production of Alonzo King’s Single Eye with ABT principal dancers (from left) Thomas Forster, Isabella Boylston, Calvin Royal III, and
Skylar Brandt; photograph by Marty Sohl.
Is it possible to imagine the ballet world without a primary teleology of aesthetic perfectionism and a baseline of low self-worth?
The Afterlife of Character
Posted on January 26, 2024
Image: Gustave Doré’s illustration for the Prologue to Don Quixote, 1863; public domain, Wikipedia.
The greatest characters possess an irrepressible vitality.
Return of the False Messiah
Posted on January 18, 2024
Image: Statue of Sabbatai Zevi in Ulcinj, Montenegro, where he was exiled in 1673; THR illustration.
Understanding the extent of the threat posed by Bibi requires a broad historical perspective.