sandik

So will Lindsi Dec be far behind?

One thing about humor -- if we see something that satirizes a topic, that means it's assumed that we know the topic. I'm not trying to imply that all crappy "guy in a tutu" sketches are signs of cultural literacy, but if we didn't have a baseline recognition for ballet, comics wouldn't be using it for material. So our challenge is to change the stereotype.

All good points, but I'm especially interested in 3 and 4. Those of us who are parents (and probably everyone else) are familiar with the term "teachable moment" -- this is one of those. As a dance writer, I would want to see this show highlight all kinds of dance, and all levels of engagement, from highly skilled professionals in all styles to avocational, once a week participants. I won't indulge in my full soapbox speech here, but we all know how significant this art form is, and how shallow her comments were. Alongside my distress as a part of the dance community, I was astonished at her willingness to make such cruel comments in order to curry favor with her viewers. That sticks in my throat fully as much as her nitwittery about dance. If this child was excited about a math class, would she have quipped that "we all know how long that will last"? And as far as your own query -- she wasn't thinking. That's the problem.

Thanks for the report -- I am insta-free.

Dammit. She was a wonderful designer, with a great original perspective.

When this surfaced at the beginning of the day I was frustrated and offended, but seeing the upswelling of responses from all corners of the dance community I ended the day very happy to be a part of such a wonderful world of artists and enthusiasts. I'm hoping that the producers at ABC will take up this challenge to educate themselves and their audience -- we'll see what happens. But whatever the outcome, I'm really pretty proud of the dance world.

Me too!

Very interesting options, all of them. SFB has certainly made a virtue from necessity all these years, but I can't imagine that anyone is really thrilled with their current schedule, which seems incredibly dense to most of us. Will be very curious to see if they actually shift their calendar around.

thanks for this -- I actually can get access to a number of journals through my college alumni association (Reed College!), but I know many folks cannot, and as subscriptions get more and more expensive, it's becoming very difficult to keep on top of this part of the dance writing world.

Her thoughtless comments were offensive on several levels. She's mocking a child, she's reinforcing antiquated gender roles, she's denigrating the idea of arts education in the schools. Her apology is weak at best (I saw an early version where she misspelled "mountain" as "maintain."). This has indeed been the scandal of the day, and I would hope for a more robust response from GMA. I don't watch breakfast television, but many people do, and this program has done a miserable job with this. If you would like to speak up about this, you can look at this online petition, or send a message to ABC.

Ah, I hadn't really considered the competition shows when I thought about this -- you've put your finger on a good point!

Just one, but a great choice -- Shearer was an astonishing and unique dance artist, and I'm thrilled to hear that her archive is being stabilized.

It's really August now!

Damn -- alongside all the misery he's spread throughout his community, he doesn't seem to realize the damage he does to the field. Crap, crap, crap.

Sad news, has to travel.

"What do they do?" "All sort of comical di-dos." I've seen this online a few times, but most folks don't get past the "ooh, icky" aspect of the style -- we don't seen contortionist acts in a conventional music context anymore, but this must be what music hall and vaudeville programs were full of. We look at the programs today -- the wild mixture of elements -- and we just don't have a clue. And yes, astonishing core strength.

Did you see Lamb in the cinema broadcast of Age of Anxiety? She was very affective in an edgy, tension filled part. I will take all of your Brahms Waltzes and trade you Within the Golden Hour. I have loved it for years.

Interestingly, there are several college alumni organizations that give members all kinds of electronic access to publications. I was happily surprised to learn that my school (Reed College, in Oregon) offers access to all their JSTOR publications -- this has saved me several trips to my local university. In general, big love for libraries!

I've got it around here -- it is indeed full of good things.

I've wondered about the blood doping angle, but I'm not a sports person and so don't know the territory. And yes, more defibrillators could save lives.

I'd love to see that option for some publications I just don't follow, but I don't know of a newspaper who currently offers this -- do you have any examples?

Lucky you -- I'm glad you got that chance.

That's actually a pretty good spread.

I've never seen her live, but her cinema appearances have been lovely.

I recall similar stories when PNB danced there a few years ago -- lots of collapsing off stage and sucking on oxygen bottles. They say you get acclimated after a couple of days, but I have a feeling that's for normal walking around stuff -- not dancing.