Miami City Ballet

10/30/2011



LC...

I put up those paintings for DK to enjoy, I don't look
at ballet what race, nor do I look at actors that way,
I look at both to see who is the great performer....
Race shouldn't have anything to do with performers.


Cheers..Joe

Quote :

Race shouldn't have anything to do with performers.

So any idea why the Miami ballet is all white?

Miami ballet is all white because the very best black American dancers are in the UK:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/2010/dec/04/black-ballet-cassa-pancho

I'm sure the Alvin Ailey could give them a run for the money.

One of the comments on that article said something to the effect that cultural diversity means that different cultures gravitate to different things. If everyone does the same thing, what happens to diversity? Of course that would mean defining what diversity even means.

I must agree that labels really confuse the issue since so few things have finite boundaries.

It is my personal belief and experience that a lot of sameness creates more of the same. However, every trend has its exceptions.

I found Miami a very exciting city; those who live in New York City and love it (you either love a big city or hate it; seems there's no 'okay' to a description of life in a big city) consider New York exciting.

For me, part of the excitement was the cosmopolitan effect of so many different cultural influences. I feel challenged and excited when I have new experiences and I believe I am more creative by taking those experiences and blending them into something new and wonderful.

Therefore, for me, a city of diversity offers more experiences that are different and challenging that force me to think in new ways. The exercise of my mind makes it sharper. I believe I am not the only person who reacts to diversity in that way. Universities have often encouraged an international student body for similar reasons.

As regards the Miami Ballet, I did overlook the recruitment aspect. I was thinking "Miami" meant from Miami and more likely it means performing in Miami as mentioned by LC. Therefore, the city would not have as much influence on the company as I might have thought.

LC wrote:

One of the comments on that article said something to the effect that cultural diversity means that different cultures gravitate to different things. If everyone does the same thing, what happens to diversity? Of course that would mean defining what diversity even means.

It's a good point, actually. In an earlier post you mentioned the disparity in academic achievement among different racial groups. Scientists can measure limb lengths and widths, assess body fat percentages, monitor heart rate and lung capacity and make other physical measurements. Human intellectual ability has a great deal to do with upbringing and stimulation. It's difficult to measure people (irrespective of race) with different upbringings in different environments. Basically, we are diverse within and without our race. If we were all the same, how would you allocate all the diverse jobs? It's diversity that makes the world go round.