Jim Luce

'Lovely, never, never change. Keep your breathless charm. Won't you please arrange it? 'Cause I love you.' Those glorious Dorothy Fields penned lyrics to Jerome Kern's evergreen 'The Way You Look Tonight' bubbled through my head during Kilowatts Dance Theatre's joyful performance of Jaime Shannon's 'Flights and Follys'. It was just a couple of swells dancing with their lady-friends to the type of tunes that Gram and Pops listened to when new; back when 'it weren't no sin' to revel in the unabashed sunshine of life. How wonderful to visit those times again.

A highlight of this year's Erasing Borders Festival was that it took place on Indian Independence Day; perhaps that is why each artist infused the work with such celestial splendor. We opened with Carolina Prada of Colombia - who is based in New Dehli, India - performing the choreography of her Guru, Janmejoy Sai Babu in the Mayurbhanj Chhau style. It should be noted that each artist seemed to personify a specific human virtue. In the case of Ms. Prada, that virtue was intimacy. I felt as if she were dancing for me alone during her majestic solo. This piece showed the embodiment of feminine and masculine energy in one godly being. With her extreme extension, gravity defying barrel turns, leaps and bounds, perfect balances, and tremendous expression, Ms. Prada proved the perfect incarnation of God as a dual gendered being.

A gracious speech given by Jonathan Hollander - Artistic Director of Battery Dance Company - opened the 35th annual Battery Dance Festival. There was a welcome emphasis on all that went into making this festival possible, including calls for thanks to: Council member Margaret Chin and her continued support, American Express for two years of support, Holiday Inn for giving eighty free rooms - for the full run of the festival - to out-of-town artists, Mary McCormick and Funds for the City of New York for their support, Air India for flying the participating artists of India to New York, and the doctors of Weill Cornell who were on standby 'just in case'. Mr. Hollander closed his remarks with a special thank you to the main sponsors of the festival: 'The artists; they do it because they want to be here in front of you, the public.'

The National Meningitis Association (Lynn Bozof, President) honored New England Patriot and Super Bowl MVP Deion Branch with the Nancy Ford Springer Award. Scroll down for photos from the event!

Put on your dancing shoes and celebrate all things Cuban with Chuchito Valdés and his Quartet tonight, August 15, at The Ridgefield Playhouse

Put on your dancing shoes and celebrate all things Cuban with Chuchito Valdés and his Quartet on August 15 at The Ridgefield Playhouse

RAHWAY, NEW JERSEY — An upcoming art exhibit in Rahway will prove the adage that a true artist “paints not what they see, but what they feel.”

On Saturday, June 6 from 11:00 a.m.-noon, artist Sandra Frank of Westfield will offer a free workshop for those who wish to make art instruction accessible to individuals who are blind or have low vision.

RAHWAY, NEW JERSEY — An upcoming art exhibit in Rahway will prove the adage that a true artist “paints not what they see, but what they feel.”

Pioneering humanitarians and tomorrow's global leaders were honored at an elegant reception hosted by The James Jay Dudley Luce Foundation in conjunction with Orphans International Worldwide at the Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka to the United Nations on Thursday February 26, 2015. Scroll down for photos from the event!

Michael Barrett, now in his 7th year as CEO and General Director of Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts, announces the lineup for the 65th Caramoor International Music Festival, held annually at the Center's distinguished 90-acre garden estate in Katonah, New York.

The classical music world is gearing up to celebrate Frederic Chopin's 200th birthday on March 1st, and one of the most ambitious tributes in the world will be happening for free in downtown Manhattan.

The classical music world is gearing up to celebrate Frederic Chopin's 200th birthday on March 1st, and one of the most ambitious tributes in the world will be happening for free in downtown Manhattan.