ballet is the balls! (note the word "ball" is actually part of the word "ballet") something as inspirational and beautiful should be readily accessible. ballet shows us that by working with the medium of the human body, through strict discipline, rigorous training and intense exploration of the medium, the limitations of the average human condition can be overcome. the dancer then becomes a metaphor for the triumph of human will.

this analogy is something all of humankind can appreciate and feel uplifted by...this is not to say everybody enjoys sitting through a ballet...it's just not some people's cup 'o tea... however, on a philosophical level i would imagine most people would groove to what i am saying... and it seems to me that $325 is a tad prohibitive for most people to spend on a night of culture. of course, i'm sure this is a fund raiser to "keep the arts alive" or what have you...but by placing such a price tag on ballet (one that is pretty much equivalent to my rent check each month) you once again perpetuate the notion that only an elite (cultural and economic) group has the ability to understand and enjoy something that is obviously basic to the human condition.

please do not misconstrue my argument, i definitely agree that the theater should be kept up, the orchestra paid , and the dancers compensated...of course! these people are masters who have devoted their lives to this endeavor...just as anyone who devotes their life for the benefit of others should be duly compensated and respected... whether the person be a mother, a scientist, a clergyman/woman, a musician, a doctor, an artist...what have you...all of these people play an integral role in enriching our human existence...however, it seems that our commodity based society is less concerned with actual human-ness and more concerned with the perpetuation of it's capitalistic laws of supply and demand.

if something is less accessible, the better it must be, therefore more people will want it and spend more money to get it, driving the price up, thereby making it even less accessible...as you can see the cycle feeds itself...of course everyone wants to experience "the best" and human nature will make people go to extreme lengths if they feel they are in pursuit of "the best" (for a basic example: look at the guys in high school that would fall over themselves lifting weights or doing incredibly stupid things to get that "best" girl) ...

however, if attainment of "the best" is seemingly so out of reach, human nature dictates that we will tend to resent that which we cannot have. (back to the high school example: kids that got straight A's...geeks.) and promptly we will remove ourselves from association with that which we resent.

and this dear reader (let me thank you in advance for getting this far in this tirade of mine) is exactly what is happening in our commodity based society. people are negating the creative, human parts of their existence because the "finer things in life", i.e., an appreciation for beauty and that which is human, has been relegated to a cultural elite...who wants to hang out with them anyway? snobs...i'm going to watch MTV.

- rachael mc intosh