Again, I am inspired by an article this morning – from the BBC Culture page:
Does pop belong to the past?
The article ends with:
Rock, pop, classical – music is music, and the future is right here.
I recall seeing a few articles and performances to showcase what the arts will be like in the future. One of these performances was a rendition of Romeo and Juliet where the casting was diversified. Both Romeo and Juliet were women and there were all sorts of ethnicity represented on the stage. I believe it was part of the National Performing Arts Conference back in 2008.
Since then, we are seeing more representation of music is music, theatre is theatre, art is art, etc. I am wondering when a total fusion will occur between past and present, genre and genre, when these types of performance presentations will be the norm and not the exception.
We are intrigued by the Bach Hip Hop crew that has made its round on the internet via YouTube:
We enjoy mashups and juxtaposing odd mixes of programming. What would it look like if these types of fusions became the typical instead of the exception in our industry?
Maybe we would see more:
- Pop and classical music programming on the same concert
- Dance showcases with a variety of dance (think hip hop and contemporary ballet on the same program)
- Classic theatre with a twist (although we are already seeing Shakespeare changing before our eyes)
- Contemporary classical being performed like a rock concert (the beginnings are here!)
- Visual artists becoming performing artists – being showcased during a performance
- Classical music being mashed-up with just about any other music genre
- Dance, theatre, art, and music rolled into one (aside from opera)
Collaborations hit the nations, mashup crazy, arts get hazy with the fusion of the beat, dancers heat, arts hit the street. The spoken word occurred as the highlight of the night, and the actors poured out their monologues, not in the theatres, in plain sight. What would it look like if we allow ourselves to be free, free from the traditions that defined who we used to be. The world is changing and we are too. Don’t worry, it will be good, an audience building coup.
Cheers to happy and loyal audiences,
Shoshana
Shoshana Fanizza
Chief Audience Builder
