Jordan Levin

Hundreds of Miami-Dade middle and high school students listened to “Two Pianos” by Morton Gould. Afterwards, they wrote poems inspired by the music.  It was part of a contest called the Piano Slam.  The point is to inspire young people, using classical music, to create their own forms of artistic expression.

There are two things that drive Art Basel Miami Beach: passion for art and financial wheeling and dealing. The   organizers of one of the world's top art fairs cater to VIP's in ways that range from party invitations to private tours.  Retired attorney Frank Herzog led a group of potential buyers through the fair, taking them from abstract expressionism to minimalism, pop art, and what he thinks could be the next big thing. 

On an icy night in late December, Miami native Robert Battle, the new artistic director of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, saw his past and future come together in the heart of New York City.

After a year and a half of public grooming, of working alongside his towering predecessor, Judith Jamison, Battle was finally at the head of modern dance's most famous company, and in programming the troupe's annual five-week season at City Center Theatre, a major event in the New York dance world, he had made his real debut as director.