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Performing Arts

Monday

Tuesday

Legendary Motown Singer-Songwriter Dies

Recording artists Nick Ashford and Valerie Simpson attend the Alvin Ailey Opening Night Gala Performance at the New York City Center in 2009. Ashford died from throat cancer Monday. He was 70 years old. Jason Kempin/Getty Images hide caption

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Jason Kempin/Getty Images

Obituaries

Legendary Motown Singer-Songwriter Dies

Nick Ashford passed away Monday after battling throat cancer. He was age 70. He and his wife Valerie Simpson wrote some of the most memorable R&B hits from the 1960's, including "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" and "Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing."

Legendary Motown Singer-Songwriter Dies

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Thursday

Wendy Wasserstein, 'Lost' And Found

Wendy Wasserstein in 1985, beneath a poster for her play Isn't It Romantic. Wasserstein's plays examined the place where the upheaval witnessed by the baby boom generation met the demands of family and professional life. Ed Baily/AP hide caption

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Ed Baily/AP

Opinion

Theater

Wendy Wasserstein, 'Lost' And Found

The Pulitzer- and Tony-winning playwright wrote about the struggle by her generation to balance professional and family life. A new biography sheds light on the links between Wasserstein's life and the characters she created.

Wendy Wasserstein, 'Lost' And Found

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Saturday

Aziz Ansari: From Business School To Hollywood

Aziz Ansari, who stars in the new film 30 Minutes or Less, says his comedy is about life and personal anecdotes. Colin Patrick Smith hide caption

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Colin Patrick Smith

Movies

Aziz Ansari: From Business School To Hollywood

When the creators of NBC's hit sitcom The Office approached Aziz Ansari about a new mocumentary-style sitcom, the 25-year-old stand-up comedian said yes — even though he had no clue what the show was going to be about.

Aziz Ansari: From Business School To Hollywood

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Friday

Thursday

World Art Managers Find New Funding Models In D.C.

Kennedy Center fellow Reem Kassem recently used her Kennedy connections to help organize an outdoor arts festival in Alexandria, Egypt. Kennedy Center hide caption

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Kennedy Center

Culture

World Art Managers Find New Funding Models In D.C.

Cultural diplomacy usually comes in the form of a traveling art show or celebrity visit, but this summer the Kennedy Center is engaging in a deeper kind of diplomacy; a fellowship program that provides training for arts managers from around the world.

World Art Managers Find New Funding Models In D.C.

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Wednesday

A Flamenco Pilgrimage, In Pursuit Of Duende

Flamenco dancer Merche Esmeralda performs during a flamenco festival in Jerez, Spain, in 2006. Jose Luis Roca/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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Jose Luis Roca/AFP/Getty Images

Dance

A Flamenco Pilgrimage, In Pursuit Of Duende

For a 50-year-old American lawyer, mother and avid flamenco dancer, the moment of abandon that is the peak experience of the form was elusive. So she traveled to a festival in Jerez, Spain, to locate what flamenco's practitioners call duende.

A Flamenco Pilgrimage, In Pursuit Of Duende

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Despite Criticism, Oscar Nominee Proud Of 'The Help'

In Jackson, Mississippi in 1963, (left to right) Skeeter Phelan (Emma Stone), Minnie Jackson (Octavia Spencer) and Aibileen Clark (Viola Davis) together take a risk that could have profound consequences for them all in DreamWork's drama, "The Help," based on the New York Times best-selling novel by Kathryn Stockett. Dale Robinette/DreamWorks hide caption

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Dale Robinette/DreamWorks

Movie Interviews

Despite Criticism, Oscar Nominee Proud Of 'The Help'

Viola Davis hesitated before agreeing to play a maid, but says her character rose above stereotypes and embodied struggles of Civil Rights-era Mississippi. The film follows African-Americans who become friends and develop a furtive writing project through which they defy social norms. Davis speaks with guest host Allison Keyes.

Despite Criticism, Oscar Nominee Proud Of 'The Help'

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Saturday

Merce Cunningham's Legacy: The Dance Goes On

Performers in Merce Cunningham's 1958 dance piece Antic Meet. The Merce Cunningham Dance Company's Legacy Plan is working to preserve the work of Cunningham, who died in 2009. Yi-Chun Wu/Courtesy of Merce Cunningham Dance Company hide caption

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Yi-Chun Wu/Courtesy of Merce Cunningham Dance Company

Dance

Merce Cunningham's Legacy: The Dance Goes On

Two years after the choreographer's death, and just months before the Merce Cunningham Dance Company disbands, his trust is working to preserve the dances he created by passing the art form from one dancer to another.

Merce Cunningham's Legacy: The Dance Goes On

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Friday

'Sweethearts' On-Screen, But What Happens Off?
Warner Archive

Movies

'Sweethearts' On-Screen, But What Happens Off?

Fresh Air

Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers weren't the only famous Hollywood musical team of the 1930s. Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy also starred in a series of operettas. But classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz says the two couples achieved their success in quite opposite ways.

'Sweethearts' On-Screen, But What Happens Off?

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Wednesday

Ellie Goulding's Music 'Lights' Up U.K., U.S.

Ellie Goulding sings "Your Song," which she dedicated to the late Amy Winehouse, at NPR headquarters in Washington D.C., on July 25. Amy Ta/NPR hide caption

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Amy Ta/NPR

Studio Sessions

Ellie Goulding's Music 'Lights' Up U.K., U.S.

The Welsh musician's new album Lights topped the U.K. albums chart. She won the "Critics Choice Award" at the Brit Awards and the "BBC Sound of 2010." Host Michel Martin speaks with Ellie Goulding about her childhood and career, as well as the link between art and pain.

Ellie Goulding's Music 'Lights' Up U.K., U.S.

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Monday

e-Geaux: Social Networking Without The Social Or The Networking
Courtesy of Pepys Inc.

All Tech Considered

e-Geaux: Social Networking Without The Social Or The Networking

Make your Facebook friends think you care without the time commitment of leaving a meaningful birthday message or bothering to read their ranting comments.

e-Geaux: Social Networking Without The Social Or The Networking

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Thursday

New Film Shows Pains, Gains Of Female Friendship

The characters Lily (shown) and Snow Flower exchange secret messages written between the folds of a fan. Courtesy of Fox Searchlight Pictures hide caption

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Courtesy of Fox Searchlight Pictures

Movie Interviews

New Film Shows Pains, Gains Of Female Friendship

The film "Snow Flower and the Secret Fan" is based on Lisa See's novel of the same name, and it highlights the timeless power of female friendship, as well as traditional Chinese ideas of gender roles, beauty and family. It's the latest work by Wayne Wang, director of the award-winning "The Joy Luck Club." Host Michel Martin speaks Wang about his new film.

New Film Shows Pains, Gains Of Female Friendship

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Tuesday

'Bad Boys Of Abridgement' Reduce World Of Sports

Reed Martin (from left), Austin Tichenor and Matt Rippy reduce the entire history of athletic competition to a two-hour comedy show. Meghan Moore/Megapix Photography hide caption

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Meghan Moore/Megapix Photography

'Bad Boys Of Abridgement' Reduce World Of Sports

The Reduced Shakespeare Company comedy troupe is known for condensing everything from American history to the Bible into 90-minute stage shows. Now, they're taking on sports. The Complete World of Sports (Abridged) aims to reduce every sport ever played in the entire history of the world.

'Bad Boys Of Abridgement' Reduce World Of Sports

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The RSC In NYC: 41 Actors, Five Plays, Six Weeks

A scene from the Royal Shakespeare Company's production of As You Like It in the specially constructed theater at the Park Avenue Armory in New York City. Stephanie Berger hide caption

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Stephanie Berger

Theater

The RSC In NYC: 41 Actors, Five Plays, Six Weeks

Last week, the Royal Shakespeare Company began a six-week residency in New York, performing five of William Shakespeare's best-loved plays in repertory. The productions take place in a 975-seat replica of the company's main theater from Stratford-Upon-Avon.

The RSC In NYC: 41 Actors, Five Plays, Six Weeks

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