After reading Sid Smith`s indifferent and uninspired review of Shirley Mordine & Co.`s latest performance at the Columbia College Dance Center, I had a hard time deciding whether the review was good or bad.
I called Jenny Quinn, artistic director for Mordine & Co., and learned something very interesting. Every program at every show at the Dance Center contains a survey for patrons to fill out. It is noted with regularity in these surveys that people make an extra effort to see performances that have been panned by Sid Smith or Richard Christiansen, entertainment critics for the Tribune.
Is this reverse psychology? Or is it possible that your paper could use a few critics who have some inclination toward the performing arts and know what they`re talking about?
