David Edward Smikle was born in 1953 in Queens, some three thousand miles from Portland, OR, where, that same year, Carrie Mae Weems came into the world. Both had an artistic bent: Smikle gravitated toward music; Weems to street theater and dance. The two wouldn’t meet until 1977, by which point Smikle had changed his name to Dawoud Bey. 

Years ago, Muskegon’s Frauenthal Center welcomed to its stage The Dance Theatre of Harlem. The organization was founded in 1969 by Arthur Mitchell,a principal dancer with the New York City Ballet and protégé of the famed George Balanchine.

In 2022, arts organizations are ready and raring to go, with incredible lineups of concerts, symphonies, dance performances, art exhibitions, musicals, plays and more. 

Among West Michigan’s most gleaming jewels is Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park, but you know that — word has gotten out. Years ago, its planners dreamed of someday drawing 200,000 visitors a year. In 2015, it drew over 780,000.

This Christmas may feel different than years past, but it’s still the most wonderful time of the year at the Barn Theatre where it’s festive and joyful as all get out with the return of their Christmas Cabaret, a delightful performance to complete their marvelous 75th anniversary season.

Are you a supporter of the performing arts but struggle with the affordability of season tickets? What about the dreaded commitment to purchasing tickets for performance dates months in advance?

A year ago, if you asked just about anybody on Earth what they had in store for 2021, they would say, “I have no idea.”

To tire of talking lobsters is to tire of life. Thankfully, Jewish Theatre Grand Rapids retains its youthful energy.

This month, Grand Rapids Symphony offers two spectacular, accessible, festive shows: Holiday Pops and Cirque de Noël. 

Two and a half weeks before Wellspring/Cori Terry & Dancers opened their first live, in-person performance since before the pandemic, one of the dancers tested positive for COVID-19, causing them to scrap one of the central dances they’d been rehearsing for “Unbound,” their fall concert of dance that opened Friday.