Enrico Cecchetti was literally born into dance: he came into this world in a theater dressing room, only to make his stage debut moments later as an infant in his father's arms. In the 78 years to follow, Cecchetti never left the dance world. Despite his great talent and importance, Cecchetti did

Classical, Composed, Grand, Physical force, Romantic ballet

Henry Threadgill's music might best be described by the name of his band: Very Very Circus. His circus of sound combines traditional jazz instruments with strings, accordions, and tubas, and integrates influences from Mexico, Asia, Europe, and elsewhere. Out of this eccentric multiplicity emerges an

Collage, Composed, Contemporary/downtown, Eclectic, Layered, Polychromatic, Sophisticated

Imagine the short story as poetry. And imagine that Alice Munro isn't merely a writer -- she is a literary alchemist, stirring, distilling, testing, and violating the language and conventions of the short story with breathtaking results. As fellow short-story writer Lorrie Moore observed, "It's the s

Composed, Dense, Domestic, Elegant, Low realism

Clement Greenberg began pronouncing his aesthetic judgements in the 1930s, inaugurating a personal Golden Age that lasted into the '50s. During these decades, Greenberg wrote clearly and perceptively about Modernist art, serving as the editor of Partisan Review and as art critic for the Nation. The a

Anal, Clean, Composed