Two South Florida dance companies closed recently. West Palm Beach's lively, lovely Ballet Florida filed for bankruptcy two weeks ago, and Miami-Dade's gallant Ballet Gamonet, after months of financial struggle, suspended performances in March and seems unlikely to return.(hat tip valdez)Meanwhile, American Idol host Ryan Seacrest will get $45 million to stay with the show for another three years, and Goldman Sachs made $4.3 billion in profits from April to June. Presumably, both Goldman execs and Seacrest feel like dancing, though it's doubtful the rest of us would want to watch.
These events may not seem connected, but they are. We've always been a society that values profitability and celebrity above almost all other qualities.
tuesday is a joke / played on those not quite prepared / the same game again
Thursday, July 30, 2009
a society that values profitability above all
an article from the miami herald has been popping up on facebook pages and in email blasts over the last couple of days (certainly among us artsy types.) considering the turmoil going on at the skylight right now, it's a worthy read.
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Maybe we should check with Ryan to see if he wants to be a donor!
ReplyDeleteExcellent article by Jordan Levin of the Miami Herald, well worth reading in its entirety; especialy since so many arts writers are leaving the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. I wouldn't wish to disparage the desire to profit, as this drives so many new enterprises, but the article makes it clear that the profit motive by itself is an insufficient cornerstone for society.
ReplyDeleteNice article - thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThere's a little phrase from the NFP world, which is broader and wider than the scope you probably care about, and yet it's fundamentally vital on so many levels.
"We all understand that it's all about the mission. But over time, no margin = no mission"