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The dancers of the Pennsylvania Ballet onstage at the Performance Garage in spring 2021. (Photo by Alexander Iziliaev.)

Dance lovers ask why the Pennsylvania Ballet is now the Philadelphia Ballet

Dance of the rebrand

As arts producers across town return to in-person performance, the former Pennsylvania Ballet announced a surprising rebrand. Camille Bacon-Smith asks whether it’s moving the company forward.

Camille Bacon-Smith

Jul 06, 2021 Essays 4 minute read

What could we change if we applied our intention to it? Kyle Allen and Kathryn Newton in ‘The Map of Tiny Perfect Things.’ (Image courtesy of Amazon Studios.)

What can ‘Naked’ and ‘Map of Tiny Perfect Things’ teach us about unsticking our lives?

Time to deconstruct determinism

When Michelle Chikaonda continued her very own pandemic festival of time-loop movies, she found out that the phrase “it’s time” has more than one meaning.

Michelle Chikaonda

Jun 15, 2021 Essays 5 minute read

A way out of the basement. (Photo via Shutterstock, by Igor Normann.)

The mixologist’s daughter: raising a glass to reinvention, again

Over the course of almost 30 years, some things change and some don’t—and Anndee Hochman, from writing to bartending and back again, learns that personal reinventions don’t have to shake the foundations of family.

Anndee Hochman

Jun 08, 2021 Essays 5 minute read

Six feet apart…in the station, that is. (Photo by Roz Warren.)

Does an Amtrak trip between Philly and New York feel Covid-safe?

The almost post-pandemic rails

Roz Warren was vaccinated and ready to take her first jaunt to New York City in over a year. Does she recommend Amtrak?

Roz Warren

Jun 08, 2021 Essays 6 minute read

This summertime destination has all the trappings of modern civilization. (Photo by Tomwsulcer, via Wikimedia Commons.)

Heading to the Jersey shore this summer? Here’s what locals want Philadelphians to know

Coexisting down the shore

Jersey shore native Rob Laymon has some tips for migrating Pennsylvanians hitting the beach this summer.

Rob Laymon

May 25, 2021 Essays 4 minute read

Enjoying family routines that didn’t change much with the pandemic: the writer and her son, George. (Photo by Gabrielle Kaplan-Mayer.)

One year later, I’m still speaking up about pandemic narratives that ignore disability

What I’m learning about parenting, disability rights, and myself

One year after Gabrielle Kaplan-Mayer noticed that family life with autism made for an easier transition to pandemic life, she’s learned a lot about herself and how society views disability.

Gabrielle Kaplan-Mayer

May 11, 2021 Essays 4 minute read

More than a sartorial survey: these gardening gloves got Drexel staffer Rosalind Sutkowski through the pandemic. (Image courtesy of the Fox Historic Costume Collection, Drexel University.)

Drexel University presents ‘The Clothes We Wore and the Stories They Tell’

Our pandemic wardrobe

A new online exhibition from Drexel’s Robert and Penny Fox Historic Costume Collection explores what we wore in the pandemic. Pamela Forsythe reviews.

Pamela J. Forsythe

May 10, 2021 Essays 4 minute read

For the past year, some of our most high-stress encounters have been at the grocery store. (Photo by Alaina Johns.)

Good afternoon, shoppers: The pandemic is no excuse to be rude

Gimme some space (please)

We’re all navigating a weird and troubled pandemic world. Roz Warren says we don’t have to be rude on top of everything else.

Roz Warren

May 04, 2021 Essays 3 minute read

Disclosing disabilities is personal and vulnerable. For many, it's never a positive experience. (Photo by Madison Thibodeau.)

Witnessing the Impact: Disclosing and accommodating disabled students in the classroom

I can't recognize that

BSR is partnering with the Witnessing the Impact of Covid-19 in Disabled People’s Lives archive project. Here, Madison Thibodeau spotlights how schools and universities aren't doing enough to accommodate their disabled students, especially during a pandemic.

Madison Thibodeau

Apr 28, 2021 Essays 5 minute read

Identity is complicated and contextual, whether we’re raising our hands on screen or in person. (Image by Melita, via Adobe Stock.)

When we can’t meet in person, do we need a shorthand for our identity?

Invisible in the Zoomiverse

It’s hard enough to navigate our identities IRL. What happens when we’re reduced to a Zoom box or other distanced communication? Anndee Hochman considers.