Month: March 2001

“People regularly spoke of Madam in hushed tones: what would she think of this ballet and that? Who would she like? Who wouldn’t she like? I heard tales of her fearsome authority and her strong opinions, always freely expressed.” The Times (London)

on Thursday at age 102. A dancer with the Ballet Russe and then founder of the Royal Ballet, Valois established ballet in Britain when the country had no classical dance tradition and became a revered choreographer, teacher, and director. “Her influence on the development of ballet in this country cannot be overstated.” BBC

from the UK dance community. Sir Anthony Dowell, director of the Royal Ballet described her as “one of the 20th century’s greatest and most influential figures in the world of the arts.” BBC

An apparent dispute between St. Petersburg and Moscow has interrupted the return of Anna Pavlova’s remains to Russia. Her ashes, in London since the ballerina’s death seventy years ago, were to have been sent back to her native country at the request of the mayor of Moscow; now the Russian Embassy has cancelled the request. BBC

Mark Morris and his company are moving into their new home in Brooklyn. The “sumptuous five-story, 31,000-square-foot building diagonally across Lafayette Street from the Brooklyn Academy” cost $6.2 million and is “a palace of modern dance, arguably the only one of its kind in the United States. ‘This is unusual, and it is also historic and unprecedented’.” The New York Times (one-time registration required for access)

Last month, the Houston Ballet’s artistic director announced that he was stepping down, shocking the company’s dancers and board members. Now, after further consideration, Ben Stevenson says he will stay on, albeit in a joint role with his former assistant. Dallas Morning News

“In the sixties, modern dance, like the other arts, took a turn toward conceptualism. Music, stories, stars – all the things that could draw you into an illusion, make you lose yourself in the show – were banished. The result was cleansing, but it was also a dead end.” Twyla Tharp was one of those who brought us back from all that. The New Yorker

Choreographers Paul Taylor and Merce Cunningham are the reigning masters of dance. “Mr. Cunningham and Mr. Taylor have gone their own creative ways, sometimes raising eyebrows. But once choreographers achieve eminence, certain old aesthetic controversies may lose their steam.” The New York Times (one-time registration required for access)

Maina Gielgud, who resigned as artistic director of the Boston Ballet before beginning the job, is refusing to take the rap for budget problems and the firing of nine dancers. Ballet CEO Jeffrey Babcock, who’s already developed a reputation for antagonizing company members, appears to be on the hot seat right now. Boston Globe

Gielgud denies previous reports that she quit because the company wouldn’t allocate more money. “On the contrary, all I’ve been asking them is to tell me what they do have, or at least what they feel they can afford.” Sydney Morning Herald