Johan Kobborg Johan Kobborg is one of the world’s premier ballet dancers, but he’s in town to perform the role of choreographer  for the Sarasota  Ballet. Wearing  jeans, a pullover and a baseball cap, Kobborg stared intently as  company members  danced his  “Salute”  in the rehearsal studio a few days ago.  The piece, which he [...]

At the opening of an exhibition of objects from his spectacular glass collection at Ringling College of Art and Design on Friday, Richard Basch made note of an interesting juxtaposition.  Ringling is has a reputation as a cutting-edge center of  computer animation and  is “the most technically advanced school in the country,” Basch said. “Yet [...]

Jeremy Jordan and Laura Osnes in Bonnie and Clyde. New York critics are shooting holes in Bonnie & Clyde, the Frank Wildhorn musical that opened on Broadway Dec. 1 after a well-received production at the Asolo Rep in Sarasota last year. “Bonnie & Clyde isn’t the worst musical to open on Broadway in the past decade,” [...]

The Asolo Rep’s My Fair Lady. I’m old enough to remember when baseball teams regularly played double-headers, particularly on holidays like the Fourth of July and Labor Day. Well, last Friday, I treated myself to a cultural twin bill, and it was indeed a red-letter day. In the afternoon, I attended the Sarasota Ballet’s exquisite [...]

Sarasota Ballet conductor Emil de Cou. When you attend the Sarasota Ballet’s performances at the Van Wezel on Friday, take a close look at the trim, dark-haired man leading the Sarasota Orchestra. For the New York Times says he “may now be the finest ballet conductor in America.” That conductor is Emil de Cou, who [...]

I saw Audra McDonald perform at the Van Wezel this past Sunday. I’m back in Sarasota after spending the last two months in Fort Wayne, Indiana.  Now, Fort Wayne is a lovely place with an arts community that’s larger than I’d expected. But compared to Sarasota? Well, let’s just say I feel like one of [...]

Since I was heading to Connecticut this week for a cousin’s surprise birthday party, I decided to take a detour to one of my favorite spots, the charming village of Woodstock, Vermont. I’ve been vacationing in Vermont  for 30 years, drawn to the state by its rural beauty, dramatic fall foliage and cozy inns. I [...]

Tailgating with friends and relatives. Though I’m a graduate of the University of Notre Dame, I’m not a rabid follower of the school’s football team (a good thing, since the one-time gridiron powerhouse has fallen on hard times in recent decades). My sports passions revolve around baseball’s Dodgers and  Rays. But since I’m spending September [...]

Tour de France cyclists race along the Rue de Rivoli, with the Eiffel Tower in the background. What better way to cap a five-week vacation in Europe than to watch bicyclists whoosh through the streets of Paris on the final day of the Tour de France? Now, I had no idea when I made my  [...]

Hello from Norway and the Crystal Serenity! Despite sporting a layered look that included a sweatshirt, sweater and parka, I was shivering this morning on a windswept hill overlooking the tiny Norwegian frontier community of Longyearbyen. Located in the Svalbard island archipelago about 600 miles from the North Pole, the town is surrounded by stunning [...]