The new BalletcoForum

[John Mallinson]

As some of you will be aware, this forum has been being overseen by an interim committee (details here) appointed by Bruce Marriott when he decided to archive ballet.co.uk. In light of the huge amount of disappointment many people expressed at the thought of life without Balletco, Bruce created a new forum which was named BalletcoForum so that there would be some continuity from the previous site. The committee’s mandate comes to an end on March 20th 2012, when the permanent committee takes over the day to day running of the site in all of its aspects.

In this regard, we thought we’d give you some information as to how it will be run for the time being; however it is very much a work in progress and we will be looking to improve and enhance the site as time goes on. We would very much appreciate your thoughts, comments and suggestions at any time, so please do contact us if you have anything you’d like to put forward. Similarly, if you have any questions please contact us. The members of the new committee are:
 

Annabel Cowdrey – Moderator

Simonetta (Sim) Dixon – Chair and Forum Relations Moderator

Ian MacMillan – Moderator and Secretary

John Mallinson – Site Administrator

Bruce Marriott – Site Administrator (resigned 15 January 2014)

Lee McLernon – Moderator and Treasurer

Janet McNulty – Moderator

Dave Morgan – Committee member

Alison Penfold – Moderator

Julie Woodhams – Moderator

Trog Woolley – Site Administrator

 

Big thanks go to Anna Merrick, who was a member of the interim committee and whose contribution has been most valuable in enabling us to be ready to take BalletcoForum into the future.

Use of the Site
In About BalletcoForum you will find some instructions and help on how to use this site. You will also find the Acceptable Use Policy which we have changed slightly from that of Balletco. Anybody registering to use the site agrees that they will abide by this policy.

Financing of the Site
The interim committee has agreed to finance the site for three months whilst proper arrangements and governance are put in place. The plan is to ask members to make a voluntary annual donation and we hope that all who value the site will do this. The level has yet to be set, but we think it will be in the range of £10-£15 per year. The more who contribute the less it will be of course. It is one of the priorities of all involved to get this in place soonest.

The financial side of things (including the setting up of a bank account and accounting) will be administered by the BalletcoForum Trust, which will be comprised of the following BalletcoForum committee members:
 

 

Simonetta (Sim) Dixon (Chair)

Lee McLernon (Treasurer)

Ian MacMillan (Secretary)

John Mallinson (Member)

Bruce Marriott (Member) (resigned 15 January 2014)

 

Technical Administration of the Site
The day-to-day administration of the site will be overseen by John Mallinson, ably assisted by Trog Woolley. We will be reviewing the look of the site and coming up with some improvements to its appearance.

Site Members
Anybody who registers to use the site automatically becomes a member. We heartily encourage you all to contribute to the discussions, and indeed start them too! It will be up to all of you to make this site a success, so please do use it! We would love to hear from all of you lurkers out there, don’t be shy… everybody’s views and opinions are of interest. We especially welcome reviews and news from members who are outside the UK as it is a great way to keep everyone informed of what is going on in dance in places that we don’t necessarily hear about on a regular basis.

Daily Links
The daily links on balletco were always a big undertaking for anyone who volunteered to do them, sometimes taking two or three hours. We are very lucky that Ian MacMillan, Janet McNulty and John Mallinson are continuing to do a sterling job of the links every day, but again, we would welcome contributions from all of our members: if you see anything that would be of interest and is appropriate to the site please add it to the relevant (or new) postings in the Performances, News or Doing Dance forums.

The Future
The committee is very keen to start increasing membership, and usage, of the site, so please do spread the word. We look forward to a creating, with our members, an active, harmonious, fun and interesting site for dance lovers all over the world, so… let’s get to it!

Finally…
…and most importantly, the committee wishes to extend its heartfelt thanks and deep appreciation to Bruce Marriott for the 16 years of hard work, love and commitment that he gave to ballet.co.uk. Balletco was one of the first online dance forums, and it is thanks to Bruce's vision and continuing dedication (and financing!) that the site grew into a successful, worldwide community. It was respected by both dance lovers and those within the dance world, and has given rise to all kinds of friendships and online groups.

We all owe him a deep debt of gratitude, and are very grateful that he has agreed to continue as a member of BalletcoForum. His knowledge and experience will be a great asset in helping the new committee go forward. We wish him great success with his new venture, DanceTabs.

 

[Bruce]

Great to see the new forum floated off and I hope it's a wonderful success under its new community management. I'd like to thank all on the committee - Lee McLernon, Sim Dixon, Ian Macmillan, John Mallinson, Anna Merrick and Dave Morgan - for (a) no matter how busy, agreeing to be on the committee and shepherd things forward and ( for making it all come together and getting the all important long term governance in place.

 

Nobody makes money out of this - it's all done on goodwill and because it's the right thing to do. I hope *all* users will help fund the site when details become available and also get involved in propelling BalletcoForum along - its not just a place for reading but also a place for writing, be it deep, fun or just the sheer excitement of seeing something new and wonderful. Thanks again all - this is your forum now.

 

PS: And thanks for the thanks - you sweet things!