Controversial Political Opinions

[JasonBlack]

(04-15-2022, 09:54 AM)David Horn Wrote: Can I assume you have never trained in any of these fields?  Take ballet.  To be great, and that's what the target should be for serious dancers, lessons need to start in the preteen years, preferably before age 10.  Lessons aren't expensive in the early years, but promising candidates (i.e. all the youth who will be part of serious companies, and certainly all principals) need to begin serious training in their early teens -- usually with noted teachers, typically in dedicated facilities far from home (not everyone lives in a major city).  The same can be said for musicians, painters and sculptors, and writers, though writing can be studied more easily than the others.

So yes, you can obtain the product of their work for little to nothing.  That doesn't make it worth what you pay.

You assume incorrectly. I trained as an opera singer (baritone) for 5 years before switching career paths. My fees for voice lessons? Anywhere from $25-50 a week. Well within the reach of a teenager with even the most entry-level part time job (assuming their parents wouldn't pay for it, which the majority would, even among the working class). There are certain more niche fields like sculpture, opera, ballet and crafts that require more extensive training which might do well with better funding, but this should not be a blanket policy afforded to all forms of art. It takes extensive training to sing like Joan Sutherland or Robert Merrill. It takes a lot less to sound like Drake or Madonna.