Elitism alive and well at the Washington Center

The Washington Center has announced its line-up of shows for the 2012-2013 season and as usual it’s full of unknown artists, strange music, unusual shows and esoteric performers.

In other words it’s just like all of the previous years and absolutely nothing I want to see.

It’s a performing arts program designed for the elitists of this community and is completely out-of-touch with the wants and desires of most of the taxpayers.

A person’s who’s opinion I highly respect – – my wife’s – – said that all art is elitist and always has been. She pointed out that art is expensive and that only the rich can afford to own art and experience art.

And that I suspect is the theme of the Washington Center for the Performing Arts. Even the title smacks of elitism.

Here are some of the acts booked by the center for the coming year. Mystical arts of Tibet; Cape Breton fiddler (I think that’s somewhere in Canada but it could be from the British Islands); the Imperial Acrobats of China; Montreal Jazz Ballet; and Folklorists from Mexico.

There are other acts, more mainstream, but you get the idea. I’m sure than every act is interesting and that every performer is a professional but I don’t want to be educated to the world of art. I want to be entertained.

And, that’s the problem with the Washington Center. It doesn’t book acts I want to see. Instead, it caters to the elite.

At the same time, it wants us, the average taxpayer, to help finance operations and up-keep.

Washington Center supporters point out that local groups use the theater and that school children are educated into the theater experience by Junior Programs, and all of that is true.

But, the perception of the Washington Center for the Performing Arts of an elitist institution, sucking up public money, to provide international arts education to a small group of arts lovers is not without merit.

Perhaps we need such a facility in our community.

But, please, don’t ask me to pay for it.