BOOKER T. LOSES 5: DISD announced Wednesday that it is moving 235 positions out of the district’s magnet schools and learning centers so that it will continue to qualify for federal funding. The local arts community has had its eye on how the repositioning would affect Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, and now we have our answer: the school will lose five positions. In the grand scheme of things, Booker T. made out a lot better than others – seven of the schools lost 10 or more positions. Not including the two schools that gained positions in the move, schools lost an average of 9.8 positions.

TEXAS TEASE: North Texas has become a hot bed of burlesque troops in recent years, with Ginger Valentine, the Lollie Bombs, the Velvet Kittens and others shimmying all over area stages. But what motivates these women to get up in front of an audience and take (most of it) all off? (Hint: it’s not the money.) DFW.com asks that question and many more in an exhaustive look at the local burlesque scene. Bottom line: it’s a more creative outlet than you might think.

SMILES ALL AROUND: Quick reports that Dallas duo Smile Smile has been asked to open for Metric on the band’s upcoming national tour. Unfortunately for Quick, the tour starts tonight in Seattle, meaning that Smile Smile is out for its planned performance at Quick’s Big Thing on Friday. … New York Magazine‘s Vulture blog reports that the kids featured in the Oscar-winning short documentary Smile Pinki are faring pretty well in relation to their Slumdog Millionaire counterparts. A lot has been made of the crummy conditions the Slumdog kids returned to following that film’s Oscar victory. But Megan Mylan, the Highland Park High School grad who directed Smile, reports that the kids featured in her film have received scholarships to attend better schools.  Smile Pinki is currently airing on HBO.