Holiday cheer pulls into the station at New York Botanical Garden's train show, and other picks for the week of November 27th.

The chance to go beyond the American Ballet Theatre proscenium, a nine-day festival of 21st century music and more on this week's arts and culture check-list.

Photographer Jo Ractliffe's stark South African images at the Walther Collection and MoMA, Pascal Rioult returns to the Joyce, Bang on a Can Marathon, and more.

The Morris-Jumel Mansion, free music at Symphony Space, Bach by Simone Dinnerstein at the Met, and German Expressionism at MoMA.

Around NYC this week: the kick-off of the African Diaspora International Film Festival, a free afternoon concert of Beethoven's finest, and more.

I know, I know, the headline of this column sounds a bit like the spam clogging your e-mail inbox. Believe me, it is not. It’s my new year’s arts resolution for 2010. The problem I am tackling: the custom of reviewing live performances, which seems especially out of balance during the extended economic downturn. Simply [...]