Review of A Dance Recital

Cross posted at Close Reading

The art of writing reviews is art. In addition to providing information about a particular performance and perhaps a critical analysis of the work, reading a review is an opportunity to observe, and appreciate, the artistic elements of the review itself. In other words, the reader is given two performances to consider; often the merit of one clearly outshines the other.

Without implying that the recital, last night, performed by Shen Wei was any less impressive than the review of that performance in today's Post & Courier, the craft of the review struck this amateur reviewer as unique and interesting; using the form of the present tense was a bold and imaginative stroke that effectively conveyed the power of the performance.

Understanding that the appreciation of art is an intensely subjective experience renders moot the consideration of objective criteria when it comes to appreciating the reviewer.