What's up with elitism?

I recently returned from an amazing professional development opportunity in the UK, a Rural Retreat for Emerging Artistic Directors and Producers in Dance. I have lots to share about the experience and will do so in the next few weeks, but for now I want to talk about elitism, or rather, ask a question. This morning I came across a quote about elitism from the late Richard Bradshaw of the COC. Elitism was a hot topic of conversation at the retreat. Bradshaw was quoted as saying:" The essence of the collective ritual, wether it's religion, sport or art, is to bring people to the highest point of excellence to create an elite to which people aspire - and then open up the elite so that it is accessible to everyone. That is the opposite of settling for the lowest common denominator." Is this true or a justification for support of the high arts? What do you think? Read Full Post...