So Scottish National Ballet has killed off its classical ballet and plans to reinvent as a modern company. Why? “Money is suspected to be the motive. No-frills contemporary dance, with its smaller forces and taped music, costs less to do than ballet, with its spectacle, corps de ballet and orchestra. Plus, I fancy, there is a vague feeling that Scotland is a culturally go-ahead place (as the Edinburgh Festival annually reinforcess) and certain influential people chafe against ballet’s old-fashioned values and senior audiences.” The Telegraph (UK) 09/01/01