Category: dance

Protestors stood outside the theatre where principal dancer Simone Clarke was dancing. She was named in a newspaper last month as a member of the British National Party. “Campaign group Unite Against Fascism called for Clarke, 36, to stand down, saying she has been used to “promote and prettify extreme right-wing politics.”

“The mainstream rarely has heard of stepping. It’s a real subculture in the sense of the American psyche.”

“Wheeldon has taken an enormous risk, abandoning the comfortable role of resident choreographer at City Ballet for a venture with unknown prospects. At the same time, in a world of relatively few big-name ballet choreographers, Mr. Wheeldon’s announcement has prompted comparisons with giants in the field — like George Balanchine, the co-founder of City Ballet with Lincoln Kirstein, or Serge Diaghilev, the impresario behind the legendary Ballets Russes.”

After the debacle over who owns Martha Graham’s dances, other choreographers have begun thinking about what will happen to their work when they die. Paul Taylor and Merce Cunnigham’s plans are “as much a reflection of their singular personalities as are their dances and the troupes each has molded for more than half a century. Mr. Cunningham has made at least 150 dances since founding his troupe in 1953; Mr. Taylor has composed 125 works for the company he created in 1954.”

The famed choreographer is leaving City Ballet and starting his own company. “My friends all think I’m crazy leaving City Ballet. But even though it has been a wonderful home to me, I have found the walls beginning to close in rather than opening out. I need to see what I can do myself.”

Star choreographer Christopher Wheeldon starts his own dance company. “The company, Morphoses the Wheeldon Company, is to make its debut in August at the Vail International Dance Festival in Colorado… The company is named after a 2002 dance that Mr. Wheeldon created for City Ballet.”

“Few filmmakers can suggest the three-dimensionality of dance, and few dance-makers can successfully choreograph for camera. The artists who can elegantly marry the two forms are rare enough to merit their own festival–the Dance on Camera Festival, now in its 35th year.

Malcom Fraser has created plans for a new home for Scottish Ballet. “When you are dancing, whirling about, you really need to understand the simple geometry of the space you are in. I know that dancers like our buildings because we are not trying to impose something on their art form – we are trying to help enable it.”

The English National Ballet is being pressured to fire one of its leading ballerinas. “Simone Clarke, 36, who will take the lead in the ENB’s production of Giselle at the London Coliseum next week, said she had been called a ‘racist and a fascist’ since her decision to join the British National Party 18 months ago became public.”

“At a time when even PBS’ ‘Great Performances’ series has turned its back on dance, such network series as ‘Dancing With the Stars’ and Fox’s ‘So You Think You Can Dance’ represent a new beginning for dance as a popular art, an affirmation of the work ethic, self-affirmation and above all, the sheer pleasure involved with dancing and watching others dance.”