If there was a contest for Cincinnati's Renaissance Man, Jack Rouse would definitely be collecting medals. From academia to education to a civic leader in both the arts and community development, Jack Rouse now finds himself building a Ferrari amusement park half way around the world. His soapblogs are some of the best we've seen so be sure to touch back Wednesday and Thursday to read them all.
Soapblog 2 - What's in a name?
Posted By: Jack Rouse
Posted: 6/11/2008
OK, I’ll admit it. I’m a performing arts/culture/entertainment junkie. My wife and I go to the Playhouse and Ensemble and Know Theatre and the Ballet and the Opera and the Symphony. We’ve been and are on the boards of many of these because we believe that art and culture can make a real difference in the quality of life in this city. And as has been pointed out many. many times, Cincinnati has a lot to be proud of in the area of the performing arts. So why aren’t all of the seats full all of the time? There are many reasons of course, and you only have to superficially follow national trends to understand that the empty-seat phenomenon is not limited to Cincinnati.
A few months ago I was speaking with a wonderful lady that has helped my wife and I around the house for many years. She is bright, insightful and can fix anything. And I said: “So Irene, (not her real name of course), have you ever been to the ballet?“ “What?” she replied. “Jim (her husband, but not his real name either) and I aren’t into all that frilly stuff.”
So being in a feisty mood I said, “Here are two tickets. Go.” And they went and they loved it. And they’ve gone to every ballet this season. Except they don’t call it ballet….they refer to it as “hot dance.” Next year I will give them tickets to the symphony and the opera. I look forward to seeing how they describe those events.
Because I’m thinking that it’s not what is happening on stage that may be the turn off to many. It may be what we call it. Think about it: opera, ballet, classical music. Those are fairly elitist terms; implying to many that you need an advanced college degree to even begin to understand what is going on. Nothing of course is further from the truth. Just ask Irene and Jim. They have lived here all their life, but it wasn’t until they were well into adulthood that they realized that we truly have the best in the world right here in Cincinnati.
Maybe we need to rethink all of this. Not to dumb anything down, and always realizing that regardless of what you call it everyone doesn’t like the same thing. Maybe we are in somewhat of a death-spiral of exclusivity, compounded by what we call this cultural stuff.
Cincinnati has some great music, dance and theatre (read: symphony, ballet, opera). We don’t want to change that….but we do need to make it more accessible. Maybe Cincinnati can take the lead in increasing the public awareness of how enjoyable this arts and culture stuff can be. Wouldn’t it be great to lead the way in turning ballet into “hot dance,” the symphony into “damn great music,” and the opera into “popular compelling theater.” That’s a challenge I think we’re up to. It would sure make Irene and Jim proud.