As the 2006‑2007 performing arts season looms along with its lineup of perfectly delicious offerings in all the genres, it becomes ever more clear that the greatest threat to Phoenix arts is not a lack of energy, nor interest, nor even a lack of money. No, the greatest threat to the local arts scene remains a phenomenon I have          observed for many years and which I call “Reverse Provincialism.”

In some places you find people called “provincials;” here in Phoenix, we produce reverse provincials.

Provincials, the butts of jokes for centuries, are people whose judgment suffers from being less than sophisticated because they hail from the provinces, far from the big city and its high artistic standards. Because provincials haven’t been exposed to quality music or dance or drama, they take the local village band to be the epitome of musical excellence, the church pageant to be the height of dramatic expression, etc. Everything local is the standard, so when professional musicians and actors visit from the capital, provincials think their art isn’t really that good, because it’s so different from what they’ve experienced before.

Phoenix may once have suffered from this unfortunate preference for the local over the imported. Now it suffers from the reverse: a marked preference for anything imported over anything locally made. It’s almost as if the provincial, growing aware of his own bad taste, has decided to proclaim his love of imported art as “proof” of his new sophistication.

Only, guess what? Quality is not a matter of location. Great art comes from little towns and big cities, which also produce not‑so‑great art. Quality is what the philosophers call “transcendental,” a term that will not further be reduced. Quality is itself, not something that can be defined according to origin.

In more than 15 years of writing reviews for The Arizona Republic and the late, lamented Phoenix Gazette, I again and again ran into situations of having to explain to readers or acquaintances that Phoenix really did have a professional opera company, that the members of its symphony orchestra did not have to hold “day jobs,” that the theater produced here was highly regarded by folks with zip codes like 10023.

The most memorable instance of Reverse Provincialism at work was the Christmas of the Dueling Nutcrackers. As usual, Ballet Arizona had produced a “Nutcracker,” but during this particular year it went up against a touring show billed as “The Great Russian Nutcracker.” Reviewing both productions of the classic ballet, I praised Ballet Arizona’s production as fleetly danced and beautifully choreographed, while finding the touring show a mishmash of student dancers and copycat choreography.

I was deluged with e‑mails and letters telling me I didn’t know what I was talking about. Ballet Arizona was a local dance troupe, but the “Great Russian Nutcracker” was from Russia! Actually from Russia! Therefore, it had to be better. I suspect that the outrage came mostly from folks who didn’t want to know they had paid X amount of dollars for something “Great” and “Russian” when they could have paid the same, or less, for something vastly superior with a local brand. People, understandably, want to think they’ve gotten value for their hard‑earned dough. But thinking they’ve gotten value and actually getting it are not the same thing. To do that requires understanding the product you’re purchasing.

Like all cities, Phoenix has a certain self‑image that can work for or against it. We know what we’re good at. We know this is a fantastic place for golf and backyard barbecues, for real estate ventures and crystal‑clear vistas. I look forward to the cultivation of a Valley‑wide awareness that we are also blessed with a community of performing artists capable of making art of the highest degree.