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Show Cinderella7 brings four-nighrsellouF sources with similar boundaries. This would seem to increase a production's chances for being judged by an appropriate standard, for being assessed in light of what it is designed to achieve, instead of by designs in applicable to it by virtue of un-timeliness. un-timeliness. After all, if we want to hear Santana do we go to a Utah Symphony concert? Do we judge the Who by the same standard we apply to Beethoven? younger witness of "Cinderella" is owing to audience ignorance. It is the responsibility of the theatregoer theatre-goer or the ballet buff to know what production philosophy coincides coin-cides with his own. Because of Salt Lake's excellent Repertory Dance Theatre, Ballet West can in good conscience select productions from the classical repertory, aiming for the older, though not necessarily elderly, clientele, and for the younger student of classical dance to compose com-pose its audience. Likewise, PMT can produce money-making shows in good conscience, con-science, or a relative perversion of good conscience, because Babcock Theater exists as a back-up, playing to an audience not uniformly, uni-formly, but characteristically, different. Although many followers of the arts do not define their boundaries so narrowly as to include in-clude only the classical or only the modern, it is perhaps the responsibility of those who do to apprise themselves of production BY JANE COTTRELL ENTERTAINMENT STAFF None of the arts are static. Literature, music, painting and the dance, though commonly classed into handily-labeled schools and periods, are constantly con-stantly changing. What was The Now in the arts for our parents is history to us. This metamorphic process was graphically illustrated last week at Ballet West's performance of "Cinderella," in production for i second-season crowds after opening to a four-night sell-out ; last winter. Artistic director William Chris-tensen's Chris-tensen's ballet fantasy drew such diverse reactions as these, in reference re-ference to special effects such as the horse-drawn coach in which Cinderella physically departs at the end of Act I. From a grandmotherish person: "Marvelous. Very effective." From a twenty-ish person: "Too explicite, It leaves absolutely nothing to the imagination." These comments reflect the difference in artistic expectations produced in only a generation's time. They also reflect pressures on producers of the performing arts, such as Ballet West and Pioneer Memorial Theatre. Men like William Christensen of the dance company and Keith Engar of PMT are behind the eight-ball when it comes to repertory reper-tory selection. Although their situations sit-uations are not identical, they are roughly analogous. Moneymaker Vs. Artistic Not consistently, but very often, the choice of production narrows down to something with good box-office potential versus something with artistic integrity. And not consistently, but very often, the former wins out. This corrupting of artistic Jurity is bemoaned primarily by itudents and the younger set, vhose tastes in the arts are often a jeneration away from their larents' tastes. I Ultimately, disappointment uch as that voiced by the |
