Author: Douglas McLennan

“National Lottery funding, supplemented by private and corporate donations and other public support, is giving British dance a major face-lift. The result is the construction of new, purpose-built centres for training, research and performance across the land, or the complete refurbishment of existing institutions.” The Times (UK) 10/09/01

“Across Britain, huge sums are being spent upgrading old dance centres and building smart new ones. [But] though these centres are undoubtedly good for modern architecture’s health, whether they have any value in improving the quality of modern dance performance itself is a moot point.” The Telegraph (UK) 10/09/01

Members of the Scottish Parliament “are set to challenge the controversial merger between Scottish Ballet and Scottish Opera, after conducting an inquiry into the dance company’s proposed change in artistic direction. The news will be welcomed by the ballet’s 36 dancers who have threatened strike action over the proposed change.” The Scotsman 10/09/01

Opposition is mounting against Scottish Ballet management’s decision to abandon classical dance and become a modern company. Scottish politicians called company leaders “gutless and spineless” in their treatment of the company’s artistic director and said the dancers had been dealt with in an ‘appalling’ way. Sunday Times 10/07/01

Does London’s Royal Ballet star ballerina Sarah Wildor’s departure bode ill for the future of the company? “Dark omens are being read in this parting. The death of the ‘English’ ballet bloodline appears imminent, and to many concerned watchers the triumph of foreign all-comers and guest stars in the new regime may end the last vestiges of individuality that the Royal Ballet had as a company. Well, I’m not sure I see it quite like that, though I do confess to anxiety. These are tricky times.” The Telegraph (UK) 10/06/01

“The classics are infinitely renewable and in the public domain. They can also be the aesthetic equivalent of comfort food. Yet when invested with a life of their own, with the kind of faith and commitment that colored Soviet ballet performing in the mid-20th century, the classics do approach the pure vitality of dance. That ideal is probably too much to ask, however, of choreographers and performers living in so different a time.” The New York Times 10/07/01 (one-time registration required for access)

The outrage that greeted the first performances of the Stravinsky/Nijinsky collaboration ‘The Rite of Spring’ has never been equalled, and the ballet, credited with reinventing both musical and dance forms, has become nearly as innocuous a piece of the standard repertoire as ‘Swan Lake.’ So what can a forward-thinking company do to breathe new life into a work that was designed to shock and surprise? Chicago’s Joffrey has some ideas. Chicago Tribune 10/07/01

At least six members of a touring group of dancers and musicians from Phnom Penh abandoned the troupe’s US tour Monday and appeared to be planning to seek US residency. “In Cambodia as a performer, you can hardly survive on that profession. There are no stages to perform on. There’s only one theater, and it’s been burned down. The government has no money to fix it up.” Washington Post 10/05/01

Last spring Royal Winnipeg Ballet star Tara Birtwhistle quit the Winnipeg and joined Alberta Ballet. The Winnipeg is one of Canada’s top companies, and the move was seen as a coup for Alberta. But only a few weeks into the new season, Birtwhistle has quietly left Alberta and rejoined the Winnipeg… National Post (Canada) 10/05/01

Ross Stretton has only been director of London’s Royal Ballet for about a month, but already the complaints are starting. Stretton says “I need to change the concept of what ballet is”. But that concept won’t include star dancer Sarah Wildor. Wildor suddenly announced her resignation last week after it was obvious she didn’t figure high in Stretton’s plans. The Royal’s subscribers are also less than pleased by some of Stretton’s other moves. Sydney Morning Herald 10/03/01