Shanghai women

The Shanghai Restoration Project, Zhang Le and NeochaEDGE Wows NYC

The Shanghai Restoration Project had the sold-out audience at New York’s Asia Society shouting for more after their curtain call.  But it was only day two of the Chindia Dialogues, a four-day festival of Chinese and Indian writers, thinkers, artists and performers coming together for the Asian Arts + Ideas Forum, and the staff needed to pace itself.  As the lights went up, the audience buzzed with appreciation, having watched stunning statuesque Shanghai singer, Zhang Le, and New York Hip Hop artist, Jamahl Richardson, riff on traditional Chinese melodies spiced with New York Hip Hop.  The dazzling videos were equally stunning.

Leydorfpix
  • December 16, 2011
  • Posted by: Jay
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  • Culture

Writer, Mark Leydorf, Makes Art On The A Train

Actor and Writer, Mark Leydorf, talks about his latest incarnation: Artist.

Zadie Smith
  • May 28, 2010
  • Posted by: Jay
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  • Culture

PEN World Voices: Zadie Smith

Writer Zadie Smith on her surprise at enjoying a festival.

Ismael Beah, author and former child soldier

Child Soldier Ishmael Beah

Ishmael Beah talks to New York City high school kids about his memoir, A Long Way Gone, about his experience as a child soldier in Sierra Leone.

Bowery: The Times They Are A-Changin'

Bowery: The Times They Are A-Changin’

Boutique hotels and $25 burgers make it hard for any art institution to survive, but if they have a Bowery address, it’s near impossible. Once analogous with flop houses and wet brains, the Bowery has become one of the most sought after addresses in the City. We spoke with a couple of the last holdouts of Bowery institutions, Don Holman founder of the Bowery Poetry Club and Tony Amato, founder of the Amato Opera. After a successful 60-year run Amato shuttered his doors in 2009. We were lucky to catch up with him before his retirement.

PEN World Voices Literary Festival

PEN World Voices Literary Festival: Kick off

PEN World Voices co-founder, former PEN Executive Director Michael Roberts and co-founder Salman Rushdie and many others talk about the inaugural festival that brought international writers to packed theaters and venues across New York City.

PEN World Voices: Philip Gourevitch

PEN World Voices: Philip Gourevitch

Writer Philip Gourevitch, on the aftermath of political violence.

PEN World Voices Chris Abani

PEN World Voices: Chris Abani

Chris Abani, Nigerian writer, “Graceland” and others, on how diverse cultures can lead a society’s transformation.

Tango Seduces New York

Tango Seduces New York

Text by Karen Zraick, NYC24

Argentine tango is more than a dance for the couples that glide along the dance floor on Saturday nights at the 92nd Street Y. It’s a love affair, a meditation, a life lesson —at its best, a communion between two bodies.

“I never had a passion as strong, as vivid as tango in my life,” said Patrizia Chen, a Manhattan author and chef. “It’s orgasmic.”

That physical vulnerability, that willingness to allow someone to grip you and pull you close, creates an intense intimacy between partners, while the melancholy lyrics give the dance an air of wistful romance.

“No other dance has such a close embrace,” Chen said. “You have to give yourself to the other person.”

Send:The Essential Guide to Email for Office and Home, by David Shipley and Will Schwalbe.

Send: The Essential Guide to Email for Office and Home

Office workers chime in on their email likes and dislikes.