Arts Professional Story: Lucia Mauro, Arts Writer and Critic

Lucia Mauro

Like many aspiring dancers, one of my earliestinspirations came in the form of the unapologetically melodramatic 1948 film,The Red Shoes, featuring Moira Shearer as art- and love-torn ballerina,Victoria Page. When asked why she dances, Shearer’s character famouslyresponds, “Why do you want to live?” I became captivated by the movie’s strangeand glamorous universe, complete with a Svengali-esque ballet impresario,Leonide Massine’s wild-eyed turn as a sinister cobbler in the fantasy-balletsequence, and sweeping views of the French Riviera. But beyond the film’salmost kitschy allure, I think it inherently made me understand the art form’sunwavering demands, joys, heartaches and possibilities.

BACKGROUND

I began studying ballet, tap and jazz at the age of 9 at a small school inChicago not long after seeing The Red Shoes on television. I continued myballet studies at various studios before moving on to Chicago’sEllis-DuBoulay School of Ballet, as well as attending classes at New York’s JoffreySchool of Ballet and David Howard’s studio. Over time, I found that – as muchas I loved to dance – I received greater fulfillment from my writing. Andwriting became and remains my first love. While still in elementary school, Irealized I could combine my interest in dance and writing by becoming an artswriter and a dance critic. So it became a fairly steady goal. I still have ahuge scrapbook, from my childhood and teenage years, filled with dance reviewsand articles – my earliest training ground for a career in dance writing andcriticism. Then, as editor of my high school newspaper, I added a section ondance, music and theater criticism. In retrospect, it’s hard for me to believethat American Ballet Theatre, Light Opera Works and the Goodman Theatre weresome of the institutions reviewed. I actually was drawn to many art forms and,over the course of my career, I have covered dance, theater, music, film andvisual art.

I graduated from Loyola University Chicago in 1986, with degrees in English andCommunication. Since I was hard-pressed to find any openings for dance critics,I worked mainly in the publishing and public relations industries shortly aftercollege. Early full-time jobs included Kraft’s Corporate CommunicationsDepartment, MacLean Hunter Publishing, TravelAge Mid-America Magazine, andpublicist for the Avandaro Golf & Spa Resort near Mexico City.

While working in these fields, Ibuilt a separate resume as a freelance dance/theater critic and arts writer forPioneer Press Newspapers, Copley Newspapers, the Daily Herald and numerousweekly publications. From this point, my arts writing career began to takeshape in unexpected ways. The best advice I can give to aspiring artsjournalists is to keep an open mind about your career path and try to get asmuch writing experience as possible (even if it means starting out small).Honing your critical voice is akin to artists honing their craft.

By the mid-1990s, I found myself experiencing a domino effect of opportunities.I wrote for so many publications that I was able to become a full-timefreelance writer. Those publications included New City, Chicago Sun-Times, PerformINK, URChicago, In Theatre Magazine, Footlights, Chicago Magazine, Chicago Social,DanceMagazine, Dance Teacher, Dance Spirit, Stage Directions, Fra Noi, and manymore. I founded the first local website devoted to theater reviews: www.chicagotheater.com.

I currently review dance for the Chicago Tribune and write about the arts forChicago Magazine, The Chicago Collection, Front Desk, Playbill, and more. Ialso have written three books for McGraw-Hill: Career Portraits: Fashion;Careers for Fashionplates & Other Trendsetters (now in its third edition);and Careers for the Stagestruck & Other Dramatic Types (now in its secondedition). I served as editor of A Leap Across the Atlantic: The Memoirs of TwoBallet Dancers (2006).

Throughout my writing career, I’ve always welcomed the opportunity of servingon various arts panels and speaking about careers in the arts to elementary,high school and university students. That has led to countless speaking opportunities,which I enjoy as much as writing about the arts. I began talking about danceand theater on WGN-Radio’s “The Dean Richards Show,” and have been featured onthe Minneapolis-based station, “The Career Clinic.”

Most recently, I am thedance critic for WBEZ-Chicago Public Radio’s “848” program. I also was featuredin the Emmy Award-winning documentary, The Chicago Dance Project. Another verysatisfying aspect of my work is conducting numerous pre- and post-showconversations and lectures. I host the monthly “About Dance” program – now inits fourth year – at the Chicago Cultural Center;the Auditorium Theatre’s FireSide Chats (for the fifth season); InConversationat The Arts Club of Chicago; American Ballet Theatre’s Spotlight Seminars at Chicago’s Civic Opera House and at New York’s Metropolitan Opera House, andmany more. In 2008, my career path came full circle. I was named an adjunctprofessor of dance history in LoyolaUniversity’s Departmentof Fine and Performing Arts.

In addition to the arts, I have devoted a separate career to writing andspeaking about Italian culture, history, language, the arts and my own Italy photography across the United States.

INDUSTRY CHANGES

We are all aware of the current downturn in newspaper and magazine profits dueto the Internet. That ongoing fact has completely altered the career path fortoday’s aspiring arts writers/critics. We now live in a world where literallyeveryone is a critic via blogs and podcasts. However, I believe an individualcan still build credibility, knowledge and experience within these new media.Always, always, always hone your writing and create a unique and definitivevoice. I recommend the long-term method of establishing a sound foundation ofcraft and integrity over trendy, superficial and short-term approaches to one’scareer. As uncertain as the job outlook may seem for many recent journalismgraduates, the opening up of fresh and innovative media outlets is actuallyquite exciting.

Arts writers can be even more creative about how they tailortheir work and lives, and are essentially able to customize their careers. I’min the process of launching my own new media outlet, with the goal of furtherstrengthening and uniting Chicago’sdiverse dance community while attracting new audiences for dance. I’m a greatbeliever in educating audiences about dance, but it’s crucial to approach it ina smart, engaging and spirited way. Dance and its multiple genres is forevergrowing and evolving. Chicagois one of the few cities that showcases the range of dance disciplines andoffers numerous venues for dance artists.


THEORIES FOR CRITIQUING

Following are my guidelines for writing a review:

• A critic must respect the artists he/she is reviewing.
• Being a critic is more than a job. It’s a way of life,and critics should bring as much dedication, passion and integrity to theirwork as the artists they are critiquing.
• Speak to both the artist and the audience in the review.
• Provide an honest and balanced assessment and clearlystate why the performance was moving or provocative or why it fell short of itsgoal.
• In a similar vein, offer constructive criticism; don’tattack an artist personally in print.
• Approach the writing of a critique as its own craft.
• Address key ideas that arise from the performance.
• Discuss how the work is relevant for our times.
• Don’t advance personal agendas.
• Avoid a smug and condescending tone.

Artists with questions can email me

Lucia Mauro has been writing about theperforming arts throughout Chicagosince 1988. She is an arts writer and dance critic whose work appears in the Chicago Tribune, ChicagoMagazine, The ChicagoCollection, and more. She is the author of three books for McGraw-Hill,including Careers for the Stagestruck & Other Dramatic Types (now in itssecond edition). In addition to being ChicagoPublic Radio’s dance critic, Lucia hosts “About Dance” at the Chicago CulturalCenter, the “FireSideChats” at the Auditorium Theatre and many live conversations with artistsacross the country. She is an adjunct professor of dance history at Loyola UniversityChicago. Luciais also a photographer and has published two books of photography: FriezeFrame: Textures & Colors of Italy(2004) and Frieze Frame II: Textures & Colors of Italy (2006).