Jan McNulty

Oh I shall enjoy watching that later. Not only an interesting topic but Kenneth Tharp whom I used to love as a dancer.

Unless things have changed accounts for FY ending 31 March 2020 don't have to be filed with the charity commission until the end of January 2021. I don't know about Companies House).

I've watched the trailer - it looks as though it will be well worth watching.

Links - Friday 23 October, 2020 Obituaries - Marge Champion, dancer, actor & choreographer: Emily Langer, Washington Post Ronald Bergen, Guardian Feature - Could dance be a weapon all over again?: Gia Kourlas, NY Times Feature - Carlos Acosta, AD BRB: Refashioning ballet with socially distanced tutus: Anna Bailey, BBC News Live Preview - Birmingham Royal Ballet, Lazuli Sky, Birmingham: James Rodger, Birmingham Mail News Item - Northern Ballet returns to Leeds show for live performance: Staff, BBC Live Review - Northern Ballet, Iconic Classics, Leeds: Mark Brown, Telegraph Feature - Photographer captures Norther Ballet dancers’ determination to return to the stage: Ruby Kitchen & Danny Lawson, Yorkshire Post Live Review - New York Ballet Theatre, LIFT, Lab, Live, New York: Gia Kourlas, NY Times Live Feature - Running Live Dance Drills at The Armory, New York: Brian Seibert, NY Times Streamed Review - Fall for Dance, Programme 1: Brian Seibert, NY Times Streamed video - Dance Theatre of Harlem, Dancing through Harlem: Kyle Macdonald, Classic FM Feature/Review - Portland Dance Film Fest: Amy Leona Havin, Oregon Arts Watch Short Film Review - Jill Ogai, Forma: Gracia Haby, Fjord Review Documentary Preview - Audrey (Hepburn): Grace Back, Marie Claire

Can you watch the IPlayer? I thought it was geo-blocked. It's good if you can.

Northern Ballet have recently advertised that it was still available via the iPlayer on their social media channels and that it is being re-shown on BBC4 (it was shown earlier in the year). I've realised that some items on the iPlayer are available for a lot longer than others but is it worth the effort to search them out?

Links - Thursday 22 October, 2020 Obituary - Marge Champion, dancer, actor & choreographer: Robert D McFadden, NY Times Streamed Review - New York City Ballet, Digital Fall Season Programme 5: David Mead, Seeing Dance Feature - Calvin Royale lll, principal American Ballet Theatre: Zita Allen, Amsterdam News Preview - Royal Ballet, The Nutcracker (2020), London: Teresa Guerreiro, Culture Whisper Streaming Preview - San Francisco Dance Film Festival (online): Janice Berman, SF Classical Voice News - Royal Academy of Dance gives access to its archives to mark 100 years: News Desk, Broadway World News - Birmingham Royal Ballet, The Nutcracker, London: Staff, Metro News - West Australian Ballet announces its 2021 season: Jo Litson, Limelight News - Choreographer Trey McIntyre to debut newest dance film featuring Royal Ballet’s Joshua Junker: News Desk, Broadway World Film News - JARV IS: A musical response to Michael Clark: Cosmic Dancer: Teresa Guerreiro, Culture Whisper Feature - Kathryn Morgan’s (dance) journey: Kat Timofeyev, Fordham Ram Feature - Ivan Blackstoch & Nafisah Baba on working on Beyoncé’s Black is King: Lyndsey Winship, Guardian Video Feature - Orlando Ballet kicks off new season in front of live audience: Jessica Albert, Fox 35 Orlando Video Feature - Tulsa Ballet goes to great lengths to create safe performances: Erin Christy, KTUL

I'm set up on the test and trace app although so far I have only been to one place where I have had to check in. When I went there on Wednesday at about 2pm and checked in the app told me that I would be logged in there either till midnight or till I checked in elsewhere (whichever was sooner). Would I still be contacted if someone checked in at 6pm when I had left over 3 hours earlier? I don't have to check in when I go to the supermarket or the corner shop (just about the only other places I am going to).

Links - Wednesday 21 October, 2020 Live Review - Dancers of NYCB, six short works, New York: Marina Harss, DanceTabs News - New York City Ballet digital season to present a programme of new works: News Desk, Broadway World Live Preview - Birmingham Royal Ballet, The Nutcracker, London: Teresa Guerreiro, Culture Whisper Streaming Preview - Scottish Ballet, The Secret Theatre: Teresa Guerreiro, Culture Whisper News - Houston Ballet dances into a drive-in film festival: Molly Glentzer, Houston Chronicle Streamed Review - Pacific Northwest Ballet, Rep 1 (9 excerpts): Michael von Baker, The Sunbreak Streamed Review - New English Ballet Theatre, Remembrance: Deborah Weiss, Dance For You Magazine Films Review - Amy Seiwert & Jennifer Archibald, SKETCH FILMS: Red Thread: Rachel Howard, Fjord Review Feature - Ballet Hispánico celebrates 50 years as a leading Latinx dance organisation: Shirley Gomez, Hola! Video Feature - Ballet Austin adapting amid coronavirus pandemic: Fox 7 Austin Streamed Review - Vincent Dance Theatre, In Loco Parentis: David Mead, Seeing Dance Book Review - Wendy Perron, The Grand Union - The story of the accidental anarchists of downtown dance: Marcia B Siegel, Arts Fuse Film Feature - Choreographer Rena Butler illustrates Chicago’s “Tale of Two” cities in Hubbard Street Dance film: Kyle MacMillan, Chicago Sun Times Streamed Review - Sketch Dance Company, To Have and to Hold: Graham Watts, DanceTabs News - Ballet Central to show Nutcracker film in Cambridge: News Desk, Broadway World Film (YouTube) Review - Chrissy Cochrane & Laura Quiles, Atmosphere Suite: Maryam Philpott, Reviews Hub

Apparently some sort of announcement about this year's Nutcracker is due on Thursday. There's a bit of "teasing" going on on Thursday and apparently Carlos Acosta was on R4 this morning.

Surely that is down to whether the individual dancers want this on their biographies? One issue coming out of the pandemic is that most of the websites I look at have not been properly updated since before lockdown. Usually there are people who can put on news items but as regards the rest we have just got to wait.

Hello Melane and welcome to the Forum!

Links - Tuesday 20 October, 2020 Preview Feature - Will Tuckett talks about the creation of Lazuli Sky for Birmingham Royal Ballet: Mark Monahan, Telegraph News - Scottish Ballet to premiere a festive feature film just before Christmas: Brian Ferguson, Scotsman Live Review - Latvian National Ballet, La Bayadère, Riga: Jenifer Sarver, Bachtrack Live Review - Dancers of NYCB, six short works, New York: Gia Kourlas, NY Times Feature - The Bubble Doctor is in: she keeps dance companies moving: Roslyn Sulcas, NY Times Exhibition Review - Michael Clark: Cosmic Dancer, London: Chris Waywell, TimeOut Interview - Erico Montes and Kath Haling discuss new dance film Hush: Constance Drugeot, Broadway World Feature - KDH Dance (Austin) created a socially distanced dance work to be performed on the lake. Then the city shut them down: Jeanne Claire van Ryzin, Sight Lines Magazine Feature - Skater and ballerina ignite Louvre Museum and Musée d’Orsay (Paris): Staff, Surfer Today

I already had an account! I am being understanding, given the current situation, but when I was prompted to check and update my details I just kept getting taken round in circles. I didn't mind doing the donation though.

I tried to book a free ticket and the system just didn't do anything. I used the donate button to make a trivial donation and it worked!

Links - Monday 19 October, 2020 Obituary - David Toole, double amputee dancer: Sky News Live/Streamed Review - Royal Ballet, Back on Stage, London: Sarah Crompton, Observer Streamed Review - Akram Khan Company, The Silent Burn Project: Jann Parry, DanceTabs Streamed Review - Hamburg Ballett, Ghost Light: A Ballet in the Time of Corona: Maggie Foyer, Seeing Dance Preview Feature - Sarasota Ballet dances safely into homes: Susan L Rife, Sarasota Herald Tribune Video Feature - Dancers from New York City Ballet put on rooftop performances: Yahoo News via WABC Live Review - Azara, Just Another Day and Night, London: Lyndsey Winship, Guardian Opinion - The cyber jobs add is a laughing matter: David Mitchell, Observer

Thanks Tulip. It looks to me as though (through observation) she got a contract when she graduated in Spain and was, several years later offered another contract with SB and then moved on again. We none of us really know why or how particular dancers ended up in particular companies and, on the whole, I think it is pointless to speculate. None of this should detract from the very real concerns parents have about their children embarking on the vocational route.

If I use "And" at the beginning of a sentence it tends to be "And furthermore ...." or "And another thing ...." because I am blummin' annoyed about something!

The Victor Ullate company in Madrid is a well know company is Spain and I would have thought that that would also have counted as a decent contract! If Wikipedia is to be believed she joined that company at 17 and was presumably 22 when she joined SB. From the perspective of a ballet watcher I have seen many dancers over the years and watched them develop as artists; not all dancers come out of school as such complete performers as Alexander Campbell who is now with the Royal Ballet. (He joined BRB from school and was getting leading roles right from his first season.)

I don't understand your first sentence.

I don't understand your comment about Tamara Rojo. She was offered, and accepted, a contract at Scottish Ballet after being seen by then AD Galina Samsova. I remember seeing her dance Juliet there not long after she started. Is Scottish Ballet not a major contract? It is one of our UK national companies. As far as the Bolshoi goes I have read on many occasions that they do typecast dancers but not necessarily on their body types but on what the management perceive as their strengths. I was under the impression that Osipova was slotted into the soubrette category so that it was unlikely she would be cast in, for example, Swan Lake and that she wanted a more varied repertoire. As a watcher I prefer to see a company with diverse dancers and I don't personally think it is entirely down to body type why different dancers do not fit with various companies.

You got it in one!

Rimrose Valley Country Park is a magnet for groups of lycra clad cyclists who assume they own all the pathways and go at sometimes ludicrous speeds spread across mixed use paths. My favourite walk onto the main body of the park is through quite a narrow path the eventually has a sharp bend and incline. I've lost count of the number of times I have had to leap out of the way of speeding cyclists coming down the incline and around the blind bend. Mind you last weekend took the biscuit when I was nearly mown down by two speeding runners who were part of a group timing themselves!