April 24, 2024 - Pencils, dance, and Chihuly

We’re putting a fine point on the pencil. Rendered ordinary by its utility and ubiquity, it does have a romantic origin story involving a lighting strike that unearthed graphite in the north of England.  Even so the pencil endures  as practical, and reliable. After all, when the tip breaks, just snap your Number 2 in  two, and…you  have two pencils. The fascinating story  of the pencil is the subject and object of  a new book.From there, so you think you can’t dance? A free Alvin Ailey workshop might move you to think otherwise. We’ll talk to Alvin Ailey’s Matthew Rushing about this and their 65th season, which whirls through Boston next week.Finally,  we head off to the New Bedford Art Museum with a look at their new exhibition, which chronicles the impact of revolutionary glass artist Dale Chihuly.