ALL GROWN UP: If you’re a dance fan, you’re officially in Nutcracker season (just count all the productions listed on our calendar). Most of those shows require children on stage, and while some of those kids grow up to be dancers, most of them just go on to regular, work-a-day jobs. A few of those Nutcracker vets were interviewed recently by dallasnews.com, including a quartet of sisters, a sailor and a scientist.

ART + SPORTS: The Cowboys Stadium art collection has mostly been in place for around two years now – we’ve checked in on it on occasion. But the question that has mostly just lingered out there is: How will fans attending a game interact with the art? Ryan Sachetta paid a visit to the stadium during a recent game and asses the experience for glasstire.com. Among his quibbles – there’s not really anywhere to sit and contemplate the work, and a ticket into the stadium doesn’t necessarily allow access to all of the art.

QUOTABLE: “If The Simpsons has planted even a cartoon seed of familiarity with Pagliacci, it immediately makes my job that much easier. After all, an entire generation learned What’s Opera, Doc? from Elmer Fudd and that rascally rabbit, Bugs Bunny.”

– Dallas Opera General Director Keith Cerny, talking about the challenge of introducing opera to a younger generation, in an interview with theaterjones.com.