Month: March 2001

American Ballet Theatre executive director Louis G. Spisto has been accused, in a complaint filed by the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission, of illegally favoring young, gay employees. “A policy was developed to ‘disengage’ older workers in favour of younger ones, generally male, who would not be uncomfortable with the management’s preference and discourse of gay lifestyles.” At least 30 staff members have left since Spisto’s arrival in 1999. The Times (London)

St. Petersburg’s Mariinsky Theater is staging a new version of The Nutcracker. Music director Valery Gergiyev has a new interpretation of Tchaikovsky’s music, but it’s the choreography that has everyone talking. Mikhail Shemyakin is “focusing on the darker spirit of Ernst Hoffmann’s 19th-century children’s tale in order to bring out more of the story’s inherent fantasy. At the end, [the little girl] rejects the adult world and chooses never to return to reality. At the ballet’s climax she turns into a sugar figure on a giant cake.” The Moscow Times (Reuters)

In Ireland, the Arts Council has awarded £433,000 to stage a major dance festival. Great – but even in Ireland’s prosperous times, its dance infrastructure is in need of major repairs. Irish Times

“Less than a year after Philadelphia’s modern dance community lost its most important rehearsal space, [a prominent local dancer] is making plans to turn a cluster of garage buildings in the Spring Garden neighborhood into the city’s first theater dedicated exclusively to modern dance.” Philadelphia Inquirer

“Each year, any permanent member of the Paris Opéra Ballet wanting promotion to leading dancer, soloist or coryphée (a kind of demi-soloist) can apply to take part in a competition created for the purpose. More than half of them do so.” The Independent (London)

One of the great mysteries of the arts world is why one discipline can thrive while another dies a lonely death in the very same city. Yet it happens all the time, and Boston is the latest case in point. One of America’s great arts towns, full of top-quality music, fine museums, and a famous theatre scene, it has simply never embraced dance, and several companies are currently paying the price. Boston Globe 0

When Maina Gielgud left the Boston Ballet six months before she was even scheduled to begin work as the embattled company’s new artistic director, accusations flew over whose fault it was, and speculation over the “real” reason for her dismissal was rampant. The latest theory: it’s (almost) all about the money, baby. Boston Globe

Nearly forty years after Merce Cunningham burst onto the scene and changed dance forever, the 81-year-old choreographer is still one of the most innovative figures in modern dance. “The work is not and has never been trendy or appealing to popular taste. When making a dance, Merce has never considered what might be commercially viable.” Yet somehow, Cunningham has been embraced by the public like few other choreographers before or since. The New York Times (one-time registration required for access)

The ramrod straight perfect vertical line, the perfect split arabesque, is one of the most beautiful positions for a ballerina. So how did it come about? The Telegraph (London)

Performers aren’t always the most suited to be arts administrators, but David McAllister might be the exception. After giving his last performance at the Sydney Opera House on Saturday, he will step into his new role as artistic director of Australian Ballet and plans for his inaugural season already include a new “Swan Lake” and “Sleeping Beauty”, and adding 10 new dancers to the company. “His dressing room tells the tale. On one side of the table is eye makeup, foundation and powder. On the other is an ever-increasing stack of business papers.” Sydney Morning Herald