Cold War tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union shaped the historical reality of the modern world. Given the current tensions between the United States and Russia, it is worth keeping in mind the past successes of U.S. cultural diplomacy. During the Cold War, one such success involved choreographer George Balanchine.

Mobility of Arab artists within Jordan and internationally is a major challenge due to lack of financial resources, visa issues and lack of exposure to potential partner organizations, according to regional NGO Culture Resource. Founded in 2004, Culture Resource seeks to tackle the mobility issue by supporting artistic creativity in the region through various initiatives. One of their main projects, provides artists financial support to increase the visibility and representation of culture and the arts from the Arab region in other parts of the world.

When Kuchipudi dance couple Devi and Girish stepped onto the stage at the Festival of India event held at Mandalay in Myanmar, they were happy to see the huge turnout for their show. This was the first time, after many years, the Myanmar government was opening the doors of its capital to host the event organized by the Ministry of Culture in India.

The Edinburgh Festival Fringe and the International Festival have both had record breaking box offices in their 70th anniversary year. [...] Shona McCarthy, chief executive of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society, said: "This has been a very special year for the Fringe as we celebrated 70 years of defying the norm, 70 years of the greatest melting pot of arts and culture anywhere on the planet, and 70 years of Edinburgh as an internationally renowned festival city.

A troupe of 56 Thai khon performers will stage the Ramayana at the Sydney Opera House in Australia for the first time, next Monday night. The khon – a dance drama by performers in masks – was part of the cultural trip organized by the Culture, Foreign, and Tourism and Sports ministries to celebrate the 7th circle birthday of Her Majesty Queen Sirikit and 65 years of relations between Thailand and Australia.