Category: dance

In response to serious criticism from three major choreographers of the quality of UK-trained contemporary dancers, Judith Mackrell considers the nature and purpose of the dance education on offer – and allows as how British dance is healthy enough that lots of artists from elsewhere want to be part of it.

Kevin O’Hare, artistic director of the Royal Ballet: “Look at Benjamin Millepied’s first season for the Paris Opera. He’s got Wayne McGregor, Chris Wheeldon and Liam Scarlett involved, and Arthur Pita. In Britain, we’ve got choreographers that people around the world want.”

“A quick glance at Dance UK’s website would suggest an art form that was in very good shape. It reports a dramatic increase in the number of professional dance companies over the past two decades, as well as pointing out that audiences have risen significantly, and students studying the subject at school have grown by more than 200%. But behind the scenes the situation appears less rosy.”

“The pre-2004 company associated with these particular works, which call on a variety of leading, solo and ensemble dance forces, eventually numbered as many as 44 dancers. The one now under Ms. Johnson’s guidance has 18. She has stressed that in the years since it was reformed in 2012, Dance Theater of Harlem has evolved into a touring company.”

“This is what musical-comedy dance can look like when it’s made by a choreographer who knows how to do more than just stage a song. Once you’ve seen it, you’ll know what you’ve been missing, and find it hard ever again to settle for less.”

His staging (direction as well as dance) of the Gershwin show, just opened on Broadway after knockout success in Paris, “perfectly encapsulates the artistic character of the boyish-looking, 42-year-old Wheeldon: a sophisticated balletmaker who is a hopeless fan of razzle-dazzle.” Sarah Kaufman tells how he came to the project.

The star-to-be was the Royal Ballet’s Leanne Cope, the show was An American in Paris, the director was her old colleague Christopher Wheeldon. And – sorry! – neither nudity nor running water was involved.

“Dancers in the new show’s four categories – ballet, contemporary, hip-hop and southern Asian – are hoping for similar acclaim.”

“The show opens with a big dance number, closes with a 14-minute ballet and, with ballet dancers in the leading roles, it relies on dancing all the way through to propel the plot. It perfectly encapsulates the artistic character of the boyish-looking, 42-year-old Wheeldon: a sophisticated balletmaker who is a hopeless fan of razzle-dazzle.”

“The pain that dancers experience—I don’t know if it can be compared to any athlete, or anything. There’s something that is engrained in us as ballet dancers where we constantly have a poker face on. Even on stage, we experience some of the most extreme physical pain. You go through a ballet that’s three hours long and have to still put on a face that you’re enjoying yourself and performing. It takes a lot of mental strength to not let all those negative thoughts come into your mind, to just push them out and stay focused in the moment for a very long period of time. I think we’re some of the strongest people.”