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John Schmitz and Fred Solari’s production of several dance companies in one show is one where “no one is truly served, and least of all the artists.” Does it occur to her that various companies are put together to draw a larger audience? To enable patrons of one dance company to see another? That even with six dance companies performing together the theater was only half full on a Saturday night? If the artists were not truly served, the fact is that without being able to perform together they would not be served at all–Mr. Schmitz and Mr. Solari could not afford to invite them in the first place.
Ms. Shanahan’s review of the dance reiterates the old Reader adage that if people liked the performance it must have truly sucked. It is somewhat incredible that words such as “crowd-pleasing” are used to describe the worst of performances. While Ms. Shanahan was accurate in the small amount of print devoted to a few dancers, the opposite impression of the audience (based on my sample of about 20 people) was generally reflected in the review.
Molly Shanahan replies:
