AUGUST 2001
Thursday August 30
AUSTRALIAN
BALLET'S NEW DIRECTION: David McAllister hasn't wasted any time putting his
mark on Australian Ballet. He's hired new dancers, plans to hire more and expand
the company. He wants to dance more Australian fare and take the company
touring. The Age (Melbourne)
08/30/01
DEPORTATION
REPRIEVE: Last week the director of the Scottish Ballet was given five days
to leave the country after his contract running the company was not renewed. Now
the government has issued a stay of the deportation order. Glasgow Herald 08/29/01
Tuesday August 28
SCOTLAND'S DEBATE
OVER DANCE: Scottish Ballet's plans to abandon being a classical dance
company and take up modern dance are being challenged by prominent members of
Scotland's dance community. The troubled company has been plagued by money woes,
and its American-born director was recently told his contract would not be
renewed. The Scotsman 08/28/01
Monday August 27
STAR GUESTS:
Guest-star invitations aren't just for stars anymore. Increasingly, members of
big companies are asked to come and guest with smaller dance groups. For lesser
members of big companies, such invitations give them opportunities to grow.
The New York Times 08/27/01 (one-time registration required for access)
REBIRTHING
DANCE IN CLEVELAND: It's been a year since the Cleveland San Jose Ballet
closed in Cleveland, and departed to be reborn in Silicon Valley. So does that
mean dance is dead in Cleveland? No - here and there are stirrings...
Cleveland Plain Dealer
08/26/01
Sunday August 26
WANNA
DANCE? Despite numerous attempts, Los Angeles has never supported a major
dance company. Now another effort - but this one is starting small and hoping to
build big through the community. Los Angeles Times
08/26/01
DANCE
WISDOM: A list of 100 dance greats is an opportunity to hear what those
greats thought/think about the power of dance. The New
York Times 08/26/01 (one-time registration
required for access)
Friday August 24
MIKKO
IN BOSTON? Is Finnish choreographer Mikko Nissinen about to become artistic
director of Boston Ballet? Last week Nissinen quit as head of Alberta Ballet,
and he's widely assumed to be Boston bound. Boston will admit only that
Nissinen's been interviewed along with "several other candidates." Boston Globe 08/24/01
GOVERNMENT
SUPPORTS DEPOSED DIRECTOR: Even while the Scottish Home Office has ordered
deposed Scottish Ballet director Robert North to leave the country, the Scottish
arts minister is supporting North. "There has been cross-party support at the
Scottish Parliament for Mr North, who still has one year of his contract left to
run before the transformation of Scottish Ballet into a contemporary dance group
begins." Glasgow Herald 08/25/01
- GO NORTH:
Scottish Ballet dancers are supporting ousted director Robert North, saying he
was not to blame for the company's woes. "The dancers believe there was no
audience for contemporary dance outwith the Edinburgh Festival and specialised
showcases such as the annual New Moves event. The Scotsman 08/23/01
Wednesday August 22
WHEN THEY
REALLY REALLY DON'T WANT YOU: Last week the Scottish Ballet informed
Robert North it wouldn't be renewing his contract as artistic director. Now
North has been told by the Scottish government he has to leave the country
within eight days or he'll be thrown in prison... Glasgow Herald 08/22/01
Tuesday August 21
TOURING
DANCER KILLED IN CARACAS: A dancer on tour in Caracas with the National
Ballet of Georgia was killed by bandits on his way home after a performance this
week. The death was the latest in a crime wave that has swept Venezuela.
New Jersey Online (AP) 08/21/01
Monday August 20
WITHOUT MISSING
A STEP: With so many dance companies falling apart when their founders are
no longer there to guide things, it's refreshing to see one that has made a
seemingly effortless transition. Hubbard Street Dance Chicago seems to be
thriving after Lou Conte, its director of 23 years, moved on. The New York Times 08/20/01 (one-time
registration required for access)
Sunday August 19
BOSTON
BALLET-BOUND? "Mikko Nissinen, artistic director of the Calgary-based
Alberta Ballet, resigned yesterday amid rumours that he has been offered the
equivalent post at Boston Ballet." National Post
(Canada) 08/18/01
Friday August 17
DIRECTOR ATTACKS SCOTTISH
BALLET: Robert North, Scottish Ballet's outgoing director, has attacked the
company's plans to change directions. "There are people here who think that
classical ballet shouldn’t exist and they want to kill it. They keep appearing
and they keep trying to kill it and Scottish Ballet keeps fighting back."
The Scotsman 08/17/01
- TROUBLED
COMPANY: The Sottish Ballet has had a long a troubled history, almost from
its start. Its current financial and leadership crisis is just the latest in a
long series of difficulties. The Glasgow Herald
08/16/01
POTATO
STOPS PERFORMANCE: A performance by San Francisco Ballet at London's Covent
Garden had to be stopped and the theatre cleared after a potato, being
microwaved backstage by one of the dancers, exploded during the second
intermission and filled the hall with smoke. London
Evening Standard 08/17/01
Thursday August 16
SCOTTISH
BALLET CRISIS: The Scottish Ballet's artistic director's contract is not
being renewed, and the company is in crisis. "The company, which has suffered
repeated crises and stalemates since it was established in 1969, announced a
major overhaul of its policies and direction, with Christopher Barron, the chief
executive, saying the company was essentially being repositioned from a ballet
to a contemporary dance company." The Glasgow Herald
08/16/01
Wednesday August 15
PROTECTING THE
DANCE: Recent court battles over the late Martha Graham's dance legacy have
made dancers more aware of copyright issues. "Most choreographers seem aware
that putting a copyright line on a filmed or videotaped performance constitutes
a technical copyright. What they may not realize is that a work is under
copyright at the instant it's created, but that unless they file a 'writing'
with the Library of Congress, creators have no right to collect damages on
alleged infringements. No lawsuit for, say, plagiarism, can be instituted.
(Since the '70s, a 'writing' has included notation and/or any filmed record of a
dance.)" Village Voice 08/14/01
ACCIDENTAL
CAREER: Christopher Wheeldon is the hottest young choreographer around right
now. Not long ago the 28-year-old British-born dancer was a star with New York
City Ballet. How he got there, though, started with an ankle injury. The Guardian (UK) 08/15/01
Monday August 13
LIVING
HISTORY: At the Edinburgh Festival, a mini-history of modern dance, played
out through its experimentalists. Sunday Times
08/12/01
Sunday August 12
THE
EDUCATION OF BRUCE SANSOM: Sansom was one of the Royal Ballet's star
dancers. Now he's completed a year studying management at the San Francisco
Ballet, and is off for another year at the Kennedy Center. He's already being
whispered about for a return to the Royal as artistic director. The expectations
are high... San Francisco Chronicle 08/12/01
Friday August 10
GRAHAM
SCHOOL WINS COURT BATTLE: A judge has ruled that the Martha Graham Center
can continue to use the name and teach Graham technique. Graham heir Ron Protas
had contended he owned rights to all of Graham's work and was withdrawing
permission for the school for access to it. But the judge found that "there was
clear evidence that in 1956 Graham had sold the school and its name," and
declared Protas not to be a "credible witness." The
New York Times 08/08/02 (one-time registration
required for access)
Thursday August 9
ONLY
TWO MORE YEARS OF MISHA? Mikhail Baryshnikov is 53 and still dancing. "He
has had six operations to one of his knees. Some mornings he is so stiff that he
has to crawl to the bathroom and get under a hot shower before he can move
easily. He is convinced he will die at 60. He says, 'All my relatives died very
young. I really believe in genetics. I hope I am wrong. I will go when I am 55,
when I am 60. I am prepared: at least I can speak about it. . '." The Telegraph (UK) 08/09/01
Wednesday August 8
POSTCARDS FROM
THE EDGE: There was a time Mikhail Baryshnikov epitomized all that was
classic in classical ballet. But in the past decade he's turned into a champion
for the most forgotten corners of modern American dance. The Guardian (UK) 08/08/01
Tuesday August 7
BADMOUTHING
THE BOLSHOI: The Bolshoi Ballet is coming to New Zealand, but the director
of the Royal New Zealand Ballet isn't impressed. "He admitted he had seen only a
television advertisement for the tour but said he knew immediately that it would
be mediocre. 'I've been in the profession for over 30 years and I know what's
good and bad ... You can smell it'." New Zealand Herald 08/07/01
ROYAL
WELCOME: Ross Stretton hasn't even taken over as the next artistic director
of London's Royal Ballet yet and the dance world is already buzzing about who
might take over if he doesn't work out. Former Royal Ballet star Bruce Sansom
left the company last year to study arts management, and the speculation
is... The Telegraph (UK)
08/07/01
Monday August 6
FARM
CLUB: Not all the world's elite dancers come out of SAB or St. Petersburg or
London. The small town of Carlisle, Pennsylvania has produced way more than its
share of dance stars. "For the last 46 years, Marcia Dale Weary and her Central
Pennsylvania Youth Ballet have produced dancers well known in the ballet
world." The New York Times 08/05/01 (one-time registration required for access)
Wednesday August 1
MORE TROUBLE AT ABT:
"Another high-ranking executive at the scandal-ridden American Ballet Theater
has been hit with charges of sexual harassment.A complaint filed with the Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission accuses David Richardson, ABT's assistant
artistic director, of 'being sexually affectionate' with male dancers, 'kissing
them about the face and mouth, hugging and caressing them' and subjecting them
to a 'sexually-harassing, hostile and retaliatory environment.'" New York Post 08/01/01