When President Richard Nixon visited China in 1972, his hosts treated him to a performance of The Red Detachment of Women, a “revolutionary ballet” in which girls with guns dance en pointe to music about the evil of landlords. When Nixon expressed his admiration for the production to Madame Mao, she replied with a ready-made […]
Entries Tagged as 'ballet'
For Research Purposes Only, Of Course
September 27th, 2011 · 2 Comments
Tags:ballet·China·Communism·dictatorship·Mao Zedong·propaganda·The Red Detachment of Women
Why Are These Ballerinas Smoking?
June 11th, 2009 · 8 Comments
Because they have unsually high discount rates (PDF)—which is econo-speak for, “Don’t give a sufficient damn about their future wage prospects.” Of course, if they knew what was good for them, these ballerinas would be studying actuarial science instead of practicing their arabesque positions. (Image via George Simhoni)
Tags:ballet·cigarettes·dance·economics