Month: August 2001

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

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

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)

“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

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

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

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

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

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

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