Dance News
 Why Dance Doesn't Move Ahead? "If ballet dancers say they are desperate to perform new choreography, and ballet directors say they would love to give it to them, can it really just be the public's lack of imagination that keeps our companies confined to such cautious repertoires? Or is it that we need to look to America for better ways of marketing the art form?" The Guardian (UK) 05/02/08
NY Ballet Competition Gets A New Director Richard Chen See is the new director of the New York International Ballet Competition. Chen See is a 14-year veteran of the Paul Taylor Dance Company. New York Sun 04/28/08
Jerome Robbins - Greatness In The Shadow Of Greatness Robbins spent 30 years of his life working with Balanchine's NY City Ballet. "This kept him in Balanchine's shadow, but on the whole he loved and revered that shadow. It is hard to think of any world-famous artist in history working as Robbins chose to: as great a celebrity as Balanchine or more so, and much wealthier, he used the dancers Balanchine had trained, he used ballet technique as Balanchine had developed it, and his ballets were performed in a repertory that was dominated by Balanchine's." The New York Times 04/27/08
Baryshnikov On Jerome Robbins: "His legacy is so abruptly divided between Broadway and ballet. I really think that inviting Robbins to be an associate choreographer Balanchine knew very well his Broadway work and the level of the talent, and especially Jerry's immense desire to work with him and admiration. Balanchine took him as an apprentice and trusted him. I think that was one of Balanchine's great qualities as a leader. But who took from Robbins? I don't know, I don't know, I really do not know." Foot in Mouth 04/25/08
The Way To Riches: Become The "Capital Of Dance?" The resort town of Blackpool has revealed plans to create a "festival and events zone", with a capacity of 30,000 on the seafront in the Tower Headland area, which would spearhead the town's "ambition to become the capital of dance"
TheStage 04/24/08
Lydia Lopokova, The Bloomsbury Ballerina Although some found her irritating, nobody thought her faux. Lydia Lopokova was the real thing, possessed of what Virginia Woolf described as 'the genius of personality'. The Telegraph (UK) 04/25/08 Marking A Milestone By Embracing What's Next San Francisco Ballet is celebrating its 75th anniversary with a whopping ten world premieres in three nights. "Since the choreographers include Paul Taylor, Mark Morris, Christopher Wheeldon, James Kudelka, Jorma Elo, Stanton Welch and Yuri Possokhov, the season is automatically of national and international significance." The New York Times 04/24/08
In This Version, Romeo And Juliet Dance Off Prokofiev's original version offered a happy ending. "This version, written in 1935, was censored by Soviet authorities, who insisted on the reinstatement of Shakespeare's ending, but has now been recovered thanks to documents unearthed by the Princeton University musicologist Simon Morrison." The Guardian (UK) 04/23/08
Why Dance Doesn't Thrive In Spain? In an interview with the Spanish daily El Mundo, Tamara Rojo, a principal dancer with the Royal Ballet in London, said good ballet had not been seen in Spain since Russian dance troupes toured it in the 1940s. "It is not this [elitism], nor the price of tickets - it is more expensive to see football. No, the real problem is lack of creativity and the lack of support from authorities makes dance distant from most people." The Guardian (UK) 04/21/08
Russian Dance Wars "Russian ballet watchers are in for a good spring with the Kirov's tour. But a depressing future awaits if the factions in St Petersburg and Moscow start to harden and a cold war of dance ideologies starts to brew." The Guardian (UK) 04/21/08
Age-Busting Dance The Prometheus Dance Elders Ensemble's youngest member is 55; the oldest, 85. "Nearly half of the Elders are or were professors - of medieval literature, social work, education, the arts. They are also painters, models, activists, therapists, mothers, grandmothers, and widows. Most of all, they are very much themselves." Boston Globe 04/20/08
Tue, 05/06/2008 - 4:32pm | Anonymous
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