I don't think "dead or alive" is a matter of financial viability. I think it's a matter of any kind of viability. Very few of the less "popular" arts are self-sustaining - without grants from charitable organisations and the government, it's likely we'd have little or no live classical music, ballet, or opera in this country.
Here are some performing art forms I consider well and truly "dead", at least in the West - that is, if they are undertaken at all these days, it's in extremely rare, esoteric one-time performances:
Liturgical dance
Mystery and morality plays
Chanted poetry recitations to the lyre
New wave
Disco, on the other hand, seems to have been resurrected. Go figure.
In addition, there is one art form that is pretty much "dead" when it comes to new examples being created - vs. old examples being revived: operetta.
Karen Mercedes http://www.radix.net/~dalila/index.html ________________________________ Modern methods of production have given us the possibility of ease and security for all; we have chosen, instead, to have over- work for some and starvation for the others. - Bertrand Russell, IN PRAISE OF IDLENESS
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