Images of geisha and courtesans are often mislabeled. For those unfamiliar with subtleties in the styling and wear of kimono, obi, and...

George Fredrich Handel. Public Domain. The Messiah, written by George Frideric Handel in 1741 and first performed in Dublin before its...

Has anyone else been outraged by the clips on WNYC when they ask people on the street “Who is Beethoven?” followed by soundbites of...

RL Fifield. 2008. It’s something about the light of shops shining out onto the sidewalks, people wrapped in coats, the tall buildings...

RL Fifield performing Botan with Ichifujikai in 2006. My height earned me male roles, along with accompanying tummy padding under my...

This woodblock print in the Metropolitan Museum of Art depicts The Geisha Toye as a Vendor of Poems, and dates to c. 1795. Geisha were...

This  finger-wag at women about appropriately dividing their time between pleasure and work is fun to sing. Interesting that work is...

Swank at The Green Mill. RL Fifield 2012. During our recent trip to see Jeremy W.(of Le Cafe Witteveen) and Tina S. in their Chicago...

Nothing underlines the fact that Sesame Street is a New York product like this 1974 clip “Subway.” It’s a bit discordant and urban,...

Kimono? White makeup? Shamisen music? In New York City? I spent a few years as part of a semi-professional kabuki dance troupe here, as a...

While I think the city of Baltimore had little to do with inspiring the creation of this dance tune by Fred Rich and the Hotel Astor...

While I think the city of Baltimore had little to do with inspiring the creation of this dance tune by Fred Rich and the Hotel Astor...