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