An artist gallivants about a studio waiting to be possessed by a muse, as a work of art comes to be as if by its own volition. The ephemeral beauty or dark angst manifests for the consumption of patrons and the agent of creation fades back into the studio's sanctuary.

Two tickets to the ballet and a fine dining experience sounds like a great night in a Frommer's guide or penciled in your rich aunt's pocket calendar, but let's face it: Sounds a little stuffy and expensive, doesn't it?

There's a happy medium between highbrow pretension and red cups...

The elephant in the room has morphed into a big, yellow bird.

How did Big Bird get dragged into the 2012 election kerfuffle? (I might add that he was dragged unwillingly -- at least according to Sesame Street's reps who wish for the brand to remain nonpartisan... Big Bird himself...

So for my latest post, I had to really put in couch time in order to catch up on some television. I've found the recent surge of dance shows on the small screen so compelling. Could it be a passing fad, or something more? In a series of posts, I'll...

Whether it's to relatives at a family party or a random guy at the bar, when people ask what I do and I respond that I'm a dancer (or a month ago, a "dance major"), such a simple answer invariably begs more questions. No, I am not an "exotic dancer."...

This past weekend, a cohort of Columbia College Chicago dance majors (including yours truly) loaded up a Megabus and headed for Madison, Wisconsin to participate in the North-Central regional American College Dance Festival.

It was a weekend filled with dance classes, performances, and presentations. We got to meet others...

In reflection upon my final semester in this urban collegiate dance program, I find it relevant to discuss the intersection between dance training and professional performance and what it means to the Chicago audience.

As a dancer: Wow! I have so many peers doing wonderful things around the city. My...

There exists a small handful of cultural Christmas relics which are greeted each season with nostalgic warmth. They are as much a part of Christmas as the pine tree and the baby Jesus. There are the families that read "'Twas the Night Before Christmas" each Christmas Eve in front of...

In our not-so-distant past, the word "contemporary" simply meant, "occurring in the present." These days, it has the stunning power to elicit anything from an exasperated eye roll to a peeved tirade to a polite smile from a dancer.

I don't necessarily know how or why, but somewhere along the...