MAY 2002
Friday May
31
BALLET VS OTHER: The
School of American Ballet (SAB) at Lincoln Center and the La Guardia High School
of Music & Art and Performing Arts across the street both enroll the city's
best dance students. But their styles are entirely different. "While their
styles differ, the two schools have long had an amiable relationship. SAB is
strictly a dance academy; students there must go elsewhere for high school
courses. La Guardia, a public institution with a reputation for strong
academics, has been a popular choice. But the dust has barely settled on a
controversy that raises questions about the perpetuation of racism and elitism
in the dance world, and the power of the private sector over public education."
Village Voice 05/28/02
SCOTTISH
BALLET CHOOSES NEW LEADER: The beleaguered Scottish Ballet has named a new
artistic director - Ashley Page, the choreographer and former principal dancer
with the Royal Ballet. The company has been rocked since announcing it was
ousting its former director and reinventing as a contemporary dance troupe. The Scotsman 05/30/02
Thursday May
30
FRANKFURT
KILLS DANCE: In what it hopes will be a money-saving move, the city of
Frankfurt has decided to close down Ballett Frankfurt, the city's acclaimed
contemporary dance company. The company is led by choreographer William Forsythe
and has earned an international reputation. Says Forsythe: "Ballett Frankfurt
has the highest income rate in relation to public subsidy of any cultural
institution in Germany. We have a 96 per cent attendance rate at our
performances, and I have earned this city 40 million marks [about £12 million]
with my touring. What single other person has contributed that kind of money to
the city?" The Telegraph
(UK) 05/30/02
REINVENTING
THE ENGLISH NATIONAL: Why is the English National Ballet's Matz Skoog trying
to reinvent the company? Why not? "Ever since it was founded in 1950 (as
Festival Ballet), it has played second fiddle to the Royal Ballet. Not only does
it receive a fraction of the latter's funding - £5m from the Arts Council as
opposed to well over £9m - it has less access to the best dance talent."
The Guardian (UK) 05/30/02
Tuesday May
28
MEASURING
SUCCESS: Australia's Chunky Move dance company is exploring success and
failure. So it sent out a survey to people around the country "asking them to
indicate their favourite and least preferred dance movements - flexed feet, you
may like to know, did not score well outside Tasmania - music, costumes and
choreographic style. On the basis of a statistical breakdown of the survey
results, [choreographer Gideon] Obarzanek has created Australia's most and least
wanted dance work." The Age
(Melbourne) 05/28/02
RESISTANT
TO CHANGE: The English National Ballet "badly needs a shake-up. At a time
when ballet needs more than ever to supply a young, live, theatrical challenge
to the dominance of the internet and TV over today's culture, the major British
companies have been beating a retreat into safe programmes. Now ENB sees its
box-office competition no longer as the top world ballet companies but as The
Lion King." But recognizing change is necessary and actually being able to
accomplish it are two entirely different things, the company's new director has
discovered. The Telegraph
(UK) 05/28/02
- ATTENTION
SOCCER WIDOWS: Male dancers of the English National Ballet have posed in a
giant poster ad "draped only in their national flags which are also those of 11
World Cup countries. It's all in the best possible taste. The text promises:
"For 180 minutes of pure artistry (and no penalty shoot-outs)". We are targeting
soccer widows. Our message is you don't have to sit there on the sofa beside
your old man - come and see our fantastic dancers instead."
The Guardian (UK) 05/27/02
Monday May
27
THE
BOLSHOI'S MARKET FORCES: For much of its 200+ year history, the Bolshoi has
set its budgets based on artistic need rather than theatre economics. This meant
ticket prices could be low. Now things are different, and the Bolshoi has
implemented a new ticket pricing scheme that more properly reflects the
marketplace for its efforts. "This new ticket-sales system increased ticket
revenue by 82 percent in its first month. Further price increases, made possible
by a new distribution system with many sales points, should push up ticket
revenue to $10 million—almost three times higher than last year’s figures—in the
2001–02 season." McKinsey
Quarterly (registration required)
06/02
Sunday May
26
END OF AN
ERA? George Balanchine's choreography built New York City Ballet into one of
America's great cultural institutions. "Now the unthinkable has happened: at the
City Ballet, Balanchine ballets have become boring, pompous and passé. Since
Balanchine's death, what was once so vital has become dull and "established: a
lifeless orthodoxy reigns. What happened? Balanchine's ballets are not in
trouble just because Balanchine died. They are in trouble because an era has
ended." The New York Times 05/26/02
JUSTIFY
THE LOVE: In 1997, hoping to create and encourage an alternative
contemporary dance company, Australia's Victoria government put out a tender for
a company it could support. A group called Chunky Move won the support, but ever
since the group has been mired in controversy. "It is, perhaps, not unfair to
suggest that by their excellence and versatility, the Australian Ballet and the
Sydney Dance Company have unwittingly undermined the evolution of alternative
groups such as Chunky Move." But now it's time for the company to prove "to the
dance public and arts funding bodies that their investments and faith were not
based on false judgment." The Age (Melbourne) 05/25/02
BALLET
IS GONE WITH THE WIND: Atlanta Ballet has canceled plans to create a ballet
based on Gone with the Wind. "Board members felt the company could not
take on the $1 million fund-raising drive to create the original full-scale
ballet while it was trying to reduce its debt and balance its budget." Atlanta Journal-Constitution
05/25/02
Thursday May
23
FORM
OVER FLAMBOYANCE? It is the eternal question of every artistic competition,
whether the subject be music, dance, or pairs figure skating: is flawless
technique more important than artistic merit, or vice versa? Judges at such
events, who tend to be professionals in the field, often prize technique, since
they are trained to look for detail and minutiae, while critics and writers may
take a broader view, preferring a passionate but flawed performance to one of
careful calculation. A recent edition of one of North America's premiere dance
competitions illustrates the point. The Globe & Mail (Toronto) 05/23/02
Wednesday May
22
WHAT
EUROPE NEEDS: The three-year-old Carolina Ballet, based in Raleigh, North
Carolina, travels to Europe with a production of Handel's Messiah. This is,
writes one German critic, the kind of dance not seen in Europe anymore. It
should be. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
05/21/02
Tuesday May
21
IF YOU CAN MAKE IT
THERE... Is the Paris Opera ballet school the best in the world? " The
school was founded by Louis XIV in 171. Of the 300 or so who apply for entry
each year, some 30 are accepted; after one year, 10 survive; and of these, only
a handful graduate." The New York Times
05/21/02
A
REAL NATIONAL DANCE? Classical ballet is struggling in Ireland in a cut-down
form. "So should we still aspire to having a full-time national ballet company
in Ireland? 'I don't think the audience is there to sustain that type of
company. A healthy dance culture should have all forms of dance but a full-time
classical company certainly wouldn't be viable." Irish
Times 05/16/02
- RESPONSE
- DEFENDING THE FULL-LENGTH: Should Ballet Ireland give up traditional
full-length classical ballets and think about becoming a modern company, as an
Irish Times dance critic seems to have suggested? The director of Ballet Ireland
argues full-lengths are just what the company's audiences want. Irish Times 05/17/02
Monday May
20
BALLET
SUMMIT: Artistic directors of 11 of the world's leading ballet companies are
meeting in Toronto to discuss the future of the art form. "Audiences are
shrinking and many of the big companies, especially in North America, are
finding it hard to compete in a crowded entertainment market. The economics of
ballet companies, many of which live hand-to-mouth, make it almost impossible to
take the kind of artistic risks needed to keep the art form vibrantly
alive." National Post
05/18/02
- SENSE
OF CHANGE: In a public session, the artistic directors talk about the
future: "The artistic process is about change. We shouldn't assume that ballet
will go on forever and ever, (Ballet) is a living art form. It's not a museum
and it's not a church." Toronto Star 05/20/02
DEFENDING
THE FULL-LENGTH: Should Ballet Ireland give up traditional full-length
classical ballets and think about becoming a modern company, as an Irish Times
dance critic seems to have suggested? [Editor's note: that story doesn't appear
to be online] The director of Ballet Ireland argues full-lengths are just what
the company's audiences want. Irish Times 05/17/02
Friday May
17
TURNING
AROUND RAMBERT: When Christopher Bruce took over the Rambert Dance Company
in 1994 "audiences had dwindled frighteningly, and Britain's oldest dance
company – 75 last year – was in danger of being killed off. 'People were saying
there was no place for a repertory company, and the sword was hanging over both
London Contemporary Dance Theatre and Rambert. I didn't believe this at all."
Now, after many years of struggle, Rambert seems to have stabilized, and Bruce
is ready to move on. The
Independent (UK) 05/13/02
Wednesday May
15
HARTFORD
RIGHTS A WRONG: Five years ago Hartford Ballet fired Kirk Peterson, its
dynamic young artistic director. He had built a viable company that was starting
to get some respect, and after he left, the company eventually went bust. "After
five years, the firing is seen by many as one of Hartford's biggest boneheaded
moves instigated by an ill-advised board." Now reconstituted as Connecticut
Ballet, new management has invited Peterson back as a guest choreographer. "It
was a leap for both parties that showed imagination, risk and a love of
dance." Hartford Courant
05/12/02
Monday May
13
GOOD YEAR
FOR AUSTRALIAN BALLET: The Australian Ballet reports a healthy year - the
result of "good box office in Sydney, a short but successful season of Manon in
Melbourne, and a substantial increase in government funding." Sydney Morning Herald 05/13/02
Friday May
10
FOOT
FETISH: Chris Wheeldon is "one of the few choreographers in the world today
excited by classical ballet. While his European colleagues run amok in
soft-shoed philosophising and radical revisionism, Wheeldon carries the torch
for classicism. He does it mostly in America, his adopted home, but he’s now
back in his native Britain to make a ballet at Covent Garden." The Times 05/10/02
Tuesday May
7
BALLET'S
LATEST STAR: Christopher Wheeldon has been a full-time choreographer for
only two years. But it's been a packed two years - he's resident choreographer
at New York City Ballet, where he's been hailed a star. And "if anything,
Wheeldon has almost too much to do. He's in London now, making his first big
work for the Royal Ballet. He came here from California, where he has just
created his second production for the San Francisco Ballet, Continuum. And, just
three weeks after arriving back from the Covent Garden premiere, he has another
show on in New York." The
Independent (UK) 05/06/02
PORTRAIT
OF THE NEW ARTISTIC DIRECTOR AS A YOUNG MAN: Mikko Nissinen blows into town
as the new director of Boston Ballet. It's a rock star performance, meeting the
staff, the dancers and the company's supporters. Can he make them forget the
company's recent turbulent times? ''I'm in a great time in my life. I have a
fantastic job. I'm one of the youngest directors of the major companies anywhere
in the world. Isn't that great? I'm going to be around for a long time.'' Boston Globe 05/07/02
TURNING A BACK
ON BALLET: Adam Cooper was a star of London's Royal Ballet. He played the
grown up Billy Elliott in the movie. Then he gave up ballet for musical theatre.
Why? "I felt trapped at the Royal Ballet. It is such a tiny world and there is
so much snobbery. Some people think ballet is the only important form of dance,
and some dance critics perpetuate that view by the kind of work they cover. But
there are so many more areas of dance to explore. I very much wanted to use all
of myself, not just a tiny part." The Guardian (UK) 05/07/02
Monday May
6
GRAHAM
- FORCING THE ISSUE: Dancers of the former Martha Graham Company are
performing this week for the first time since the company shut down in 2000.
Rights to Graham's choreography are still in dispute in the courts, and dancers
say they're performing not to force the rights issue but because they want to
keep the work alive. Others fear the dispute will only be further deadlocked.
"This is going to impale the dance community on the horns of a dilemma. I see it
as a no-win situation." Newsday 05/06/02
SAN
FRANCISCO BALLET AT CROSSROADS: San Francisco Ballet is 70 years old -
America's oldest dance company. The season just ending was one of pleasant
surprises and surprising disappointments. With some major retirements coming up,
SFB is at a crossroads. San
Francisco Chronicle 05/05/02
Sunday May
5
GRAHAM TO DANCE
AGAIN EVEN WITH LAWSUIT: Ownership of Martha Graham's dances is still in
legal dispute. But dancers of the Martha Graham Dance Company, who haven't
performed together since May 2000 when the company closed because of financial
problems, is putting on a performance of Graham's work this week in New York.
The New York Times 05/05/02
DIAMOND OUT OF
THE ROUGH: New York City Ballet's Diamond Project is ten years old. At least
one critic's expectations for its success at the beginning were quite low. But
it has proven a major addition to American dance. "Essentially, the project
proclaims that the classical idiom in dance is still worth exploring and
exploiting. Part festival, part workshop, it has, at its best, challenged
choreographers to stretch their creativity. At its weakest, it has presented the
insignificant. Many of the 40 works created so far for the project by 23
choreographers have been discarded. Yet at least 14 Diamond ballets have been
picked up by American and foreign dance companies, and more important, many have
entered City Ballet's repertory." The New York Times
05/05/02
Thursday May
2
LOOKING
FOR PRINCESS DI: Peter Schaufuss, the ex-New York City Ballet star, and
ex-director of the Berlin Ballet, English National Ballet and the Royal Danish
Ballet is putting together a ballet on the life of Princess Diana. "The Princess
Diana ballet will follow musicals and operas based on her life in Germany and
New York." BBC
05/01/02
BOLSHOI ON THE ROAD
TO RECOVERY: "After almost a decade of turmoil, uncertainty and artistic
decline, Moscow's Bolshoi Theater seems on the road to recovery. The theater,
which houses both a ballet and opera company under its venerable roof, has a
newly reorganized leadership team and has released plans for an ambitious new
season. But soprano Galina Vishnevskaya, a legendary figure at the theater until
she left for the West in 1974, says that far more drastic changes are required."
Andante 05/02/02