Category: dance

A new NEA report suggests that “not-for-profit dance companies may see as much as a 30% loss of earned income in the next few years, and even a heavier fall in contributions.”

Volochkova weighs in at just under 110 pounds on a 5-foot-6 frame. How could Bolshoi Ballet star Anastasia Volochkova be too heavy at 110 pounds on a 5’6″ frame? The Bolshoi fired her this week for being too big. “In the anorexic world of ballet, that qualifies her as a virtual Amazon, as one U.S. reviewer called her after a performance at the Kennedy Center earlier this year. And in the conspiratorial world of Russian ballet, her abrupt dismissal qualifies as a scandal of major proportions, flavored by a lively debate over her physical shape, the mysterious public disappearance of her onetime dancing partner and dark hints of shadowy money men quietly pulling the strings from backstage.”

“Scottish Ballet plans to move out of its historic home in Glasgow’s west end and into the Tramway venue in the city’s south side, provoking outrage among the visual arts community. It would mean the closure of the Tramway as an internationally renowned venue. Leading artists and gallery owners described the move as ‘vandalism’ and ‘a tragedy’, and promised a campaign to save it.”

“A long-running feud came to an end yesterday when the ballerina Anastasia Volochkova was fired by the Bolshoi Theatre for being too heavy for male dancers to lift. The ousting of Volochkova, a prominent Russian celebrity, marked the climax of a row over claims that she was too large.”

“In the dance world, Danish-born Johan Kobborg has quietly amassed a major international following. Technically, he is a dancer of great elegance and finish, but what draws audiences to his performances is their intense dramatic colour. Like Nureyev, he turned to ballet late (at 16). He had already toured Europe as a schoolboy singer and proved himself a highly promising violinist when he was accepted for ballet training at the RDB school. By 21 he was a principal dancer in the company.”

The Joffrey Ballet, which has performed frequently with recorded music, has made a commitment to perform with live music for the next season and beyond. The company has also hired a new music director, Leslie Dunner, who made headlines last year when he was publicly dismissed by the Annapolis Symphony for reasons which were never disclosed.

Janie Hampton started ballet at the age of 46. “No, we don’t wear tutus. No, we don’t dance on points – can you imagine what 12 stone of fat and gristle would do to those tiny bones in my toes? No, I haven’t lost any weight, but I am definitely a lot more supple and I can stand on one leg for a lot longer. My French has improved too – though I haven’t found many uses for croise devant, sur le cou-de-pied or temp de flêche when I’m on holiday.”

“Anastasia Volochkova, Russia’s most loved and loathed ballerina, has sparked a bitter row with the prestigious Bolshoi theatre following the reported hospitalisation of her male dancing partner, whom industry sources have said was injured lifting her ‘overweight’ frame.”

Washington DC’s annual dance awards, “the local dance field’s three-year-old answer to the theater’s Helen Hayes Awards and the Washington Area Music Awards cannot yet be seen as anything other than a nice pat on the back among friends. For one thing, the dance groups in this town are so varied in size, budget, quality, visibility and numerous other factors that it seems unwise and unfair to lump them all together in categories such as outstanding group performance and outstanding overall production. How can the bulk of the troupes – shoestring operations composed of dancers who rehearse during time off from their day jobs – hope to prevail when lined up against the Washington Ballet, with its $5 million budget, ready rehearsal space, time-tested repertoire and large stable of splendidly trained, full-time dancers?”

As other dance companies struggle, the National Ballet of Canada posts its third balanced budget in three years. “Revenues for the year were $16,529,000, 46 per cent from the box office, 20 per cent from fundraising, 28 per cent from government grants and six per cent from other income. The company now has an accumulated surplus of $98,000.”