I used to work with some folks who would use the term ‘opera’ as code for striptease club. They would go away on business and see the ‘opera’. As a wet-behind-the-ears youngun’ I didn’t catch on that the opera was something else for at least a couple of years. Come to think of it I was never invited….
Anyway, my wife and I went to the Atlantic Ballet last night. Super stuff. There are some things that are testimony to the evolution of a community and that symbol set against the Moncton of 1985 is powerful.
I’m not a snob by any measure. I still eat Wendy’s burgers, watch baseball and listen to some pretty mundane music. But every time I go to that ballet it is a reminder to me that places like New Brunswick can build some really neat and unexpected things when there are people stubborn enough to fight for it.
The mandarins of the national ballet world would like nothing better than to have Ontario ballet companies tour down here and that should be enough to placate the locals. I much prefer the idea of bringing in a bunch of Ukranian and other international dancers and building a world-class ballet right here. Ontario has 45,000 people working in performing arts and related occupations, New Brunswick has 1,000. We need a little more creative and artistic content created here.
Completely agree re. We need a little more creative and artistic content created here.
Do you have a source/link for the stat on performing arts related occupations?
Unfortunately, the only detailed information on performing arts occupations is from the Census. You can view the 2006 data and compare it to 2001 and 1996 here (http://bit.ly/9R6Zic). There is a monthly/annual survey that covers peforming arts and spectator sport employment in New Brunswick but that is only at the aggregated level (no breakdown by occupation).
To be honest David, if I could imagine a perfect demographic of NBers, it would be those that are still non-elitist enough to engage in a Washington Nationals game but still be able to keep one foot in the cultural scene. In other words, it would say a lot about the type of individual we are retaining here in this province if we have a bunch of people who were born to modest conditions but have risen to heights by way of education wherein they are open to new experiences and wealth that were not afforded to them by their parents.
What’s the alternative. Having everybody drinking a six pack of beer and going four wheeling in the fall while exchanging stories about how their children’s grand kids came up for an annual summer visit from a far away land telling stories of high academic achievement and how cool their piano and ballet teachers are.
> We need a little more creative and artistic content created here.
Agreed.