Watermill

All this talk of the Phoenix is making me so nostalgic. I remember the first issue (1969?). It was sold on street corners by city newspaper boys:"Hey getchah Feenicks!!" I was a drama major at Emerson (where they required dance: I took ballet: very amusing) The Phoenix was THE paper and I'm glad to hear it continues to rise from the ashes on a weekly basis. Alexandra, I realize nobody who writes about the arts is actually making a living off it (except for a chosen few). I have several freelancer friends and have heard how difficult it is. Here's a question, then: Does that mean the chance to affect public taste, the power to reach so many readers, is part of the reason to write? It's not for the money, then what is it for?

All this talk of the Phoenix is making me so nostalgic. I remember the first issue (1969?). It was sold on street corners by city newspaper boys:"Hey getchah Feenicks!!" I was a drama major at Emerson (where they required dance: I took ballet: very amusing) The Phoenix was THE paper and I'm glad to hear it continues to rise from the ashes on a weekly basis. Alexandra, I realize nobody who writes about the arts is actually making a living off it (except for a chosen few). I have several freelancer friends and have heard how difficult it is. Here's a question, then: Does that mean the chance to affect public taste, the power to reach so many readers, is part of the reason to write? It's not for the money, then what is it for?

btw: I was not suggesting that anybody turn off the rock music. I worry that they've never tried anything else like jazz or folk or classical. That kind of narrow exposure is what I was ranting about. OK, earphones back on..volume on 11!

To the Dance Writer: Set a Standard. Stick to it. It's not the critic's job to be either cheerleader or demonizer. Be prepared to fend off or ignore emotional letters to the editor. Do not party with the company. If you do your job well, you will either be fired or have a job for life; it all depends on who's in charge, and you can't control that. But you can sleep at night and get up in the morning and look in the mirror without self-loathing. And godammit write well....work as hard at your craft as the dancers do at theirs. I realize the above is rather high-falutin' and if followed by those writing for dailies will quickly lead to pink slips. I feel at this point that "working from within to change the system" is not the best policy. I also feel that editors don't take this part of the arts page very seriously, so a strange sort of artistic martyrdom is called for. Imagine the freedom in your writing if you didn't really care if you were fired for it? On the other hand, (can you tell I'm a Libra?) those who have established themselves and are trying to make a living at this have a tough choice: you have worked hard to become a "taste-maker" and wish to continue nudging your dance companies in what you think is the right direction. To answer Alexandra's questions: Too much overpraise robs you of credibility. Too scathing an attack indicates pathology (even if it is warranted). You have to be balanced and bite the good side of your tongue. As a theatre professional, I read NY Times' Frank Rich for years, often violently disagreeing with him, but his writing was so entertaining, his arguments so well reasoned and his taste so authoritative that I almost went into mourning when he stopped his theatre column. While he was rarely mean-spirited, he never failed to call a show rotten if it smelled that way. And that included 10 million dollar Broadway musicals. I am reminded of a Phillipino saying: "Fishing for a minnow while standing on a whale" Is it possible that while we fish about for a solution to the mediocrity of the daily dance coverage, that here on the internet, in forums such as this, we are standing on a whale? Just a thought.... Watermill

I agree with the above quote. There are different ages of appreciation. I think it is as obnoxious to push classicism on the general population of youth as it is for fifty year olds to be still obsessed with the very thin pleasures of Lynard Skynard. But I think we have a problem, Houston... The generations born prior to, let's say the 60's, grew up with a greater exposure to the classical arts. Examples: A popular movie of the 40's "Stage Door Canteen" featured Gypsy Rose Lee and Yehudi Menuhin. Ed Sullivan followed the Marquee Chimps with opera greats. When NBC was developing color TV in the 50's it chose the opera Carmen, the ballet Sleeping Beauty, and a 3 hour Richard III with Olivier as PRIME TIME (!) offerings. Now, this exposure didn't keep me from totally becoming a rocker in my far flung misbegotten youth, but as I grew older, the immense, deep pleasures of the classical arts beckoned to me not as a strange, alien life forms, but as something that had always been around. I just wasn't ready for them til later. Therfore attending a ballet or symphony was easier to do. It was something grownups did...and I was proud to (finally) be a grown up. Two important changes have happened over the course of these last 30 years: The general exposure to the finer arts has obviously diminished, and people don't want to become grownups in a youth obsessed society. Nightmare sentence dujour: "After their his and her Botax injections, they hopped on their Harley, and roared off to the latest Final Stones concert." The Aged Watermill

Susan, I appreciate your frustration. In addition to your criticisms I would add that the quality of her writing just isn't very good. Dancers going "Wheee!" (!?) Let's put it this way: If the Boston Ballet company danced like she wrote, you'd probably have to move! Watermill

Susan, I appreciate your frustration. In addition to your criticisms I would add that the quality of her writing just isn't very good. Dancers going "Wheee!" (!?) Let's put it this way: If the Boston Ballet company danced like she wrote, you'd probably have to move! Watermill

"Were the dancers vocalizing, they might be saying ''Wheeee!'' " Just read the Boston Globe's review of Boston Ballet's opening night. Not to beat up on this particular writer, who for all I know also has to cover community theatre and 4H fairs, but why is so much main media coverage of ballet so mediocre? I think I read better reviews of performances in this forum! I'm stewing about this because when I moved to Portland (from NYC, mind you) six years ago, Martha Ulman West, president of the Dance Critics Assoc was reviewing for the Oregonian. Since her retirement...let's just say I miss her desperately. And the Seattle critic writes like she was a PNB board member. What is it like in your hometown paper? Outside of the pundits in the London and NYC papers, does anyone know of a critic they feel rises above the low average of most dailies? A Cranky Watermill Who Hasn't Had His Coffee Yet...

"Were the dancers vocalizing, they might be saying ''Wheeee!'' " Just read the Boston Globe's review of Boston Ballet's opening night. Not to beat up on this particular writer, who for all I know also has to cover community theatre and 4H fairs, but why is so much main media coverage of ballet so mediocre? I think I read better reviews of performances in this forum! I'm stewing about this because when I moved to Portland (from NYC, mind you) six years ago, Martha Ulman West, president of the Dance Critics Assoc was reviewing for the Oregonian. Since her retirement...let's just say I miss her desperately. And the Seattle critic writes like she was a PNB board member. What is it like in your hometown paper? Outside of the pundits in the London and NYC papers, does anyone know of a critic they feel rises above the low average of most dailies? A Cranky Watermill Who Hasn't Had His Coffee Yet...

Thanks for the review, Ed. I'm definitely going to take a listen to this intriguing work. How would you rate him with Adams? Or should he be compared to Broadway type composers? Sounds like his work is already on a level with (but very different from) Sondheim. Watermill

As Boston (lace-curtain) Irish I found Angela's Ashes so immediate in its cadence and humor, that I was taken by it from the first page. I totally understand and share the repugnance you felt towards the horrid drunken father, Ed, but I felt it was handled with such a wise and gently humorous child's point of view that I found myself cying alternately from sadness & laughter. This, by the way is a particuliarly Irish affliction. Throw in my obsession with the Boston Red Sox, and you will quickly guess that I may not be all that reliable a literary critic. But I'm still proud of my ripe combustible combination of melancholy, mischief & Martyrdom! (Not to mention a horrible habitual alliteration addiction) Watermill, Descendant of Dublin Tavern Keepers

Gahd, this thread is running for so long, I'm now entering my second book! Reading Cynthia Ozick's "Messiah of Stockholm". The prose is so luscious, I find I'm slowing down to make it last longer. Haven't done that since McCourt's Angela's Ashes. Speaking of Ms O, I know there were a lot of Cold Mountain fans, but her Puttermesser Papers should have won the National Book Award that year. I dunno: mebbe ya needed ta bea NooYawkah! Watahmill

Hey, c'mon guys, what's the scuttlebutt on the film Robert Altman's shooting there? If Altman is true to form, he should be very involved with the nitty-gritty of the dancer's lives and work. Don't make me wait for the E! special... Watermill

Sorry...not a clear or careful analogy...I was referring to how the symphonies audition players, not conductors. You are of course right: the musical corollary is conducting and it IS even worse!

Has this been recorded yet? Would love to hear it.

Would Francia Russell of PNB then stand as the shining (American) example? Soloist at NYCB then Ballet Mistress, then 24 years as AD of a top company and founder of a top school. I don't think anyone else comes close, but is her accomplishment undercut at all by her co-AD being her husband Kent Stowell? Would she have been given the opportunity on her own? I fear not. Especially in 1977. And what a loss that would have been. Her amazing accomplishments stand as an indictment of prejudice against women Artistic Directors. I think, however that it is an attitude that still pervades society in general. I could be wrong, but I believe most ballet Boards of Trustees are at least half women. Remember, those women had to vote, too. And look at the appalling ratio. (And in some cases, appalling results) Is it possible that the expansion of the job description of AD (see Alexandra's post) has resulted in a regression, a sort of slipping backwards, that has prevented the appointment of more women AD's? If the AD was less responsible for financial and admin would the ratio be different? The symphonies place auditioners behind a screen, and just listen. The chair is given to whomever plays the best. All they know about the candidate is that they're number #35. I wish there was a "screen" for Ballet Company Artistic Directors. Watermill

I am a big fan, too, Ed. She had the soul so lacking in others at her level. In her Tosca there is no space between the artist and the character. Beyond magnificent! And I could weep when I think of what was lost because of her relationship with Onassis. What a strange wonderful/awful story.

Sorry...I was in a rush and did not read what I'd written. What I meant was that once the Principal Dancers are elevated (over and above the female canditates) to position of Artistic Director they THEN receive the salary, power & glory. Sorry for the confusion.

Thanks, Alexandra. I read the old thread with interest, but it seems to be centered more on choreographic opportunities. I think the Artistic Director question has about six more levels of complexity to it, starting with "the Vision Thing" and ending with the dreaded Fund Raising. One thought I have is that an AD needs some Producer Type Manager Persons. If we expand the Leadership to a group of 3 or 4, I wonder how many women are holding the reigns? Cold comfort, I suppose, as the Principal Dancer men receive the big salaries and the power and the glory. I just realized something. (It often happens as I prattle on like this): candidates for AD should include all those Ballet Mistresses who have been toiling for years in the shadow of Messr Entrechat. From what I can tell, they often have to set or fix choreography, have close non-competitive relationships with the company, and are actually in the management chain. Why haven't more of them moved up? Forgive my speculation on this matter. I am an outside observer. But I did read somewhere: "We don't know who discovered water, but we're certain it wasn't a fish."

I may have inadvertantly struck a nerve. Do we need a separate thread on this? Let me add to the discussion by guessing at some female to male ratios (Feel free to come up with your own): Top 20 schools: 5 to 1 (students) Top 20 companies: 2 to 1 (apprent, corps, solo, princ) Artistic Staff: 1 to 1 (teachers, ballet master/mistress etc) Choreographers: 1 to 2 (working freelance) Artistic Directors: 1 to 20 (annual budgets over 1 mil) Hmm... vagansmom and Alexandra may be justified in their annoyance and cynicism.

Thanks for the thoughts. One problem here at OBT is that the salary might not be attractive to major candidates, so they might have to hire a "Potential" AD and cross their fingers. Vagansmom, there are two other finalists whose identities remain secret. They could be women. With Francia Russell at PNB and Toni Primble at Eugene Ballet, the NW has two out of three of it's major ballet companies run (or co-run) by women. Here in the most politically correct city in the world, I'm pretty sure there's no glass ceiling. Also: women outnumber men on the board 19 to 8. They might knee-jerk their way to a gender-biased decision, but this would belie the presence of some very powerful women on the board. Your question still stands however. I wonder what others think.

Gosh, you guys are good! I'll let you know... BTW: Am I wrong to be a little concerned that neither Stowell or Conn seem to have done much choreography nor have any AD experience? They are both extraordinary dancers...but... Don't wish to get personal, just asking the general question: Shouldn't the Artistic Director of a Ballet Co with a 3 million annual budget have some experience? It's a huge, multi-leveled job. Shouldn't candidates have at least some assistant AD work under their dance belts? Nervous in Northwest, Watermill

Ok, you gotta help me...a front runner in the OBT Artistic Director selection is described as follows: "Former Joffrey & ABT dancer; was with Stuttgart; Now in Canada; when given a chance audition with company chose to set a bit of Taming of the Shrew" That's all I've been told. Any ideas? Oh, and was seen chatting animatedly with Trey McIntyre. BTW Another front runner is Christopher Stowell

Pardon, but I'm still on my high horse over this... I have petitioned Tony Blair to call a special session of Parliament to have the bloated arrogant Richard Attenborough stricken from the list on the grounds that what he did to Chorus Line ranks only slightly behind the theft of the Elgin Marbles in the history of crimes against art. Only then will Michael Bennett stop pirouetting in his grave...

Morris Neighbor, your posts are illuminating. As an arts professional who moved from NYC to Portland Oregon, imagine the artistic "bends" I suffered upon discovering that Oregon ranks 52nd in per capita arts support ( behind Puerto Rico and Guam) And don't get me started on the lack of quality in the single PBS station, where their idea of local history is to visit ghost town brothels, and the ratio of nature to arts programing must be 65 to 1. But like I said: don't get me started... RE: PBS in general, I agree; It just feels like the whole thing is sliding slowly in the bean-counter's direction. There's this nauseating feeling as one realizes the so-called "underwriters" have become commercial sponsors. Will PBS and Fox be indistinguishable in ten years? Actually, yes, because at the current rate PBS will look like Fox now, and Fox will have fallen even further into excess in its rabid quest for "numbers". I envision "Naked Extreme Executions" and "Celebrity Bathroom Cams" as top shows... Now where did I put my Jane Austen.... Watermill