Jan McNulty

As the IG post has been taken down I have locked this thread against further comment.

There's more detail here: https://bbo.dance/dance-with-us/online-half-term-classes

PRESS RELEASE For immediate release — 22/09/2020 © Creative Studios 90-year-old bbodance is fully online this term! To support its students and teachers during the COVID-19 pandemic, the international awarding body, bbodance is going completely online for the first time in its 90-year history. During the September-December term, students from around the world can take: Online classes during half term Online Scholars classes Digital Examinations ...while aspiring and established dance teachers can tune into: Live-streamed professional development courses and in-depth Teaching Qualifications courses, fully online in terms of delivery, assessment, and support. To motivate students during the difficult lockdown months, bbodance has also organised an online competition with BRB's Brandon Lawrence and Sir David Bintley, CBE. 151 students from around the world were featured in the competition film. bbodance celebrated its 90th anniversary this spring. About bbodance Founded in 1930 by Edouard Espinosa and formerly known as the British Ballet Organization (BBO), bbodance is an international dance awarding organisation with a large membership in the UK and Australasia. bbodance provides Ofqual-recognised syllabi in Musical Theatre, Jazz, Contemporary, Classical Ballet, Modern, and Tap, as well as comprehensive teacher training and inspiring events. bbodance Patrons include Strictly Come Dancing Judge, Craig Revel Horwood, former Artistic Director of Rambert, Mark Baldwin OBE, and BRB Principal, Brandon Lawrence, a former bbodance Scholar.

Hello Berrysmum and welcome out of the lurking shadows. Thanks for sharing your DD's experiences.

Links - Tuesday 22 September, 2020 Gallery - Richard Alston Dance Company: Chris Nash, Guardian Streaming News - New York City Ballet announces casting for first 2 weeks of their digital season: News Desk, Broadway World Cinema News - Bolshoi Ballet, Romeo and Juliet: News Desk, Broadway World News - Boston Ballet announces 20/21 roster: News Desk, Broadway World Streaming News - Arthur Pita, Natalia Osipova, Jonathan Goddard, The Mother - A Short Dance Film: Teresa Guerreiro, Culture Whisper Streaming News - American Ballet Theatre, Moving Stories; Four from the Joyce Theatre, New York: David Mead, Seeing Dance Live Review - Shaun Parker & Company, In the Zone, Sydney: Geraldine Higginson, Dance Australia Book Review - Yvonne Rainer, Work 1961-73: Cassie Packard, LA Review of Books

Sad news but The Lowry is not the only Arts Complex in this position. It's dreadful for everyone.

There has just been a feature about this on our local TV news. They will be using the smaller Quays auditorium and 3 other spaces within the complex. I assume they will be using the Studio Theatre and the gorgeous space they use for weddings. I'm not sure where the other space will be. The theatre is reopening with Six at the end of November - in the main Lyric auditorium and obviously with social distancing in place.

Looking at the comments, quite a few are from horrified parents and others. Talk about a company shooting itself in the foot!

The Eifman Ballet has an interesting repertoire. It's worth looking through the old posts in the other sections of the forum to get an idea. I just searched on Eifman and see that the auditions for this year have passed. https://www.balletcoforum.com/search/?q=eifman&quick=1

Links - Monday 21 September, 2020 Obituary - Joan Harris Neergaard, dancer, director & teacher: Karen Bate, Bourenmouth Daily Echo Feature - English National Ballet’s 2020 Emerging Dancer Competition, 5 questions to 6 finalists: Bruce Marriott, Dance Tabs Review - Royal Danish Ballet, Cinderella, Copenhagen: Eva Kistrup, Danceview Times Preview - Trailer released for American Ballet Theater’s Film Festival: Broadway World News - Houston Ballet opens 20/21 season digitally with Stanton Welch’s Just: Staff, Houston Press News - Cape Town City Ballet retrenches dancers amid pandemic: Kirsten Jacobs, Cape Town etc

I've only had time to look at the performance and the opening minutes of the discussion. The dance is just beautiful and I really enjoyed it. I loved the theatre curtain! Thanks for the link Janite.

Links - Sunday 20 September, 2020 Streaming Reviews - Hofesh Shechter Company, Grand Finale: Howard Loxton, British Theatre Guide Maryam Philpott, Reviews Hub Feature - Ursula Lopez, flamenco dancer & incoming director of Andalucian Flamenco Ballet: Cristina Hodgson, Olive Press Streaming News: LA Intersections: Music, Language, Movement: Randall Roberts, LA Times

BRB have issued a teaser of Lazuli Sky on FB and IG:

Is this the website of the school? https://schoolofballet.eu

18/09/2020 English National Ballet’s Holloway Production Studio English National Ballet has officially named the state-of-the-art main studio within its new home at London City Island, the Holloway Production Studio, in recognition of a substantial charitable donation from philanthropist, Charles Holloway. The occasion was marked with a special socially distanced ribbon cutting celebration with performances given by finalists of the Company’s upcoming Emerging Dancer competition accompanied by a small group of musicians from English National Ballet Philharmonic. Tamara Rojo, Charles Holloway, Sir Roger Carr - English National Ballet’s Holloway Production Studio © Laurent Liotardo Tamara Rojo CBE, Artistic Director of English National Ballet said: “The Holloway Production studio sits at the heart of our new home and has transformed the way we work at English National Ballet. Its scale and versatility have given us freedom to be truly ambitious in our creativity. It is also a space that we can open up to other theatre, dance and music companies so that its benefits are shared throughout our artistic communities. On behalf of all of us at English National Ballet I want to give heartfelt thanks to Charles Holloway for his incredible generosity.” Sir Roger Carr, Chair of English National Ballet said: “The scale and quality of the Holloway Production Studio has helped us slowly get our dancers rehearsing and creating again after lockdown and we are sincerely grateful to Charles for his vision, his philanthropy and his kindness to our company and all its wonderful artists.” 2019 saw English National Ballet enter a new chapter in its history when it moved into a purpose-built 93,000 sq ft home in East London. Recently awarded the Architect’s Journal Building of the Year 2020, the building features seven rehearsal studios, state-of-the-art fitness and rehabilitation suite, costume atelier and dedicated engagement spaces. At the heart of the building sits the Holloway Production Studio which features a fully fitted fly tower and is rigged with technical gallery, lighting and sound desks allowing for technical rehearsals to take place before arrival in a theatre. The innovative studio also has retractable seating for 175 so audiences can be invited in to see work in its formative stages, opening up the artform. -ENDS- English National Ballet is a National Portfolio Organisation supported by Arts Council England. Notes to Editors About English National Ballet English National Ballet has a long and distinguished history. Founded in 1950 as London Festival Ballet by the great English Dancers Alicia Markova and Anton Dolin, it has been at the forefront of ballet's growth and evolution ever since. English National Ballet brings world class ballet to the widest possible audience through performances across the UK and on eminent international stages including The Bolshoi Theatre and Palais Garnier; its distinguished orchestra, English National Ballet Philharmonic; and being a UK leader in creative learning and engagement practice, building innovative partnerships to deliver flagship programmes such as English National Ballet's Dance for Parkinson's. Under the artistic directorship of Tamara Rojo CBE, English National Ballet has introduced ground-breaking new works to the Company's repertoire whilst continuing to honour the tradition of great classical ballet, gaining acclaim for artistic excellence and creativity. 2019 saw English National Ballet enter a new chapter in its history with a move into a purpose-built state-of-the-art home in East London which brings a renewed commitment to, and freedom for, creativity, ambition, and connection to more people, near and far, than ever before. www.ballet.org.uk About Arts Council England Arts Council England is the national development body for arts and culture across England, working to enrich people's lives. We support a range of activities across the arts, museums and libraries - from theatre to visual art, reading to dance, music to literature, and crafts to collections. Great art and culture inspires us, brings us together and teaches us about ourselves and the world around us. In short, it makes life better. Between 2018 and 2022, we will invest £1.45 billion of public money from government and an estimated £860 million from the National Lottery to help create these experiences for as many people as possible across the country. www.artscouncil.org.uk

Hello Ballet_mum3 and welcome to the Forum!

Lovely news from Denmark. Thanks, Jane. Of course, Kizzy Matiakis graduated from Ballet Central.

Windows 10 apparently has its own video editing software:

YouTube review of editing software for Windows 10:

ELMHURST SUPPORTS STUDENTS & STAFF AS THE BIRMINGHAM BASED BALLET SCHOOL MAKES A FULL RETURN TO ACADEMICS AND DANCE After five months of lockdown and many hours of remote learning across its academic, artistic and health and wellbeing departments, Elmhurst Ballet School, the vocational school with close links to Birmingham Royal Ballet has finally welcomed back students and staff to its Edgbaston, Birmingham home. Over the summer months a variety of support mechanisms have been put in place and a 27-page, Covid-19 specific risk assessment developed, with parents and the Elmhurst workforce an integral part of the conversations to reopen the school. Now, a week into the 2020-21 academic year and the new procedures are being implemented and continue to evolve as staff and almost 200 UK and international students have returned to Elmhurst with their safety and wellbeing at the heart of the school’s activity. Jessica Wheeler, Principal of Elmhurst Ballet School, said: “We are so happy to see our school community come back to life. The incredible team have become masters of Zoom but you can’t beat interacting with people in person. In light of Covid-19 and the impact it has on mental and physical health, we have made numerous changes to the way we deliver our world class training and education. At the end of week one we can already see students and staff have hit the ground running and some level of normality has returned to the school.” Students have quickly adapted to the rigour and focus of training and are clearly delighted to be back in the dance studios, albeit the necessary social distancing restrictions. Over the coming weeks the school is going back to basics as students regain their strength, reacquaint themselves with the finer details of the classical ballet technique, and work in large studio spaces after months of dancing in bedrooms, kitchens and living rooms. Now into week two, marking Elmhurst’s first full week back at school and support services and health clinics will resume as normal. Students’ overall health and wellbeing has already been assessed and excellent results show students have maintained good levels of fitness through the summer, with thanks to the extensive online offer. Elmhurst academic classrooms are also buzzing as teachers focus on practical elements of the curriculum in Science, Drama and Art, particularly during the autumn term. Thanks to delivering online classes during the lockdown, academic staff are not far behind where they should be in their schemes of work, and the curriculum will be adjusted accordingly to ensure any gaps in students’ learning are continually addressed. This additional support across the classrooms, dance studios, Elmhurst’s pioneering Health and Wellbeing Centre and boarding, will be complemented with a new whole school programme devised by leading performance psychologist, Niall O’Carroll. Niall has worked with world and Olympic champions and corporate clients in the pursuit of excellence. He takes a unique approach to understanding distractions and building a culture of excellence. Niall O’ Carroll, commented: “I was introduced to Jessica and Elmhurst Ballet School in 2014 and was instantly impressed by the work ethic across the entire school. Elmhurst’s ambition to be listed amongst the top ten ballet schools in the world excites me and I look forward to sharing my experiences from the corporate and sport sectors to support the school in its aim to produce the best quality of young people and dancers.” -ENDS- Elmhurst Ballet School is based in Edgbaston, Birmingham and will celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2023. It is a world-renowned centre of excellence in association with Birmingham Royal Ballet and prepares talented young dancers aged between 11 and 19 to become the thinking dance professionals of the future. The school nurtures individuality through a holistic approach to training, education and health which helps students to become independent, collaborative and versatile artists ready to take their professional places on the world stage. Elmhurst’s dance training is of the highest quality and is delivered by current and former dance professionals. In addition to an excellent academic offer, a pioneering health and wellbeing centre and on-site boarding facilities for the Lower School, the training is enhanced by opportunities to work with Birmingham Royal Ballet, visiting choreographers and dance artists. Elite but not elitist, Elmhurst believes that talent is classless and its exceptional training opportunities should be available to young dancers regardless of their financial, social or cultural backgrounds. Whilst Elmhurst is an independent school, typically some 80% of students benefit from Government support to train at the school. Vice Presidents include Carlos Acosta, CBE (Director of Birmingham Royal Ballet) and Wayne McGregor, CBE (multi award-winning British choreographer and director and Artistic Director of Studio Wayne McGregor). HRH Duchess of Cornwall has been the school’s Patron since 2006 and last visited the school in January 2020. www.elmhurstballetschool.org

Hello Josh's Taxi and a belated welcome to the Forum! Best wishes to your son for his start at RCS.

I know about that scattier by the day feeling Joan! There's something I am really looking forward to on Tuesday (a Zoom event) and I only went and double booked myself with something else. Fortunately I was able to reorganise the something else!

Hello DancemumLouise and welcome to the Forum!

And they've gone from being a tad confusing to totally confusing!!

Links - Saturday 12 September, 2020 News - Royal Opera House online: Autumn dates: Teresa Guerreiro, Culture Whisper Feature Review - Buglisi Dance Theater, Table of Silence, New York: Joshua Barone, New York Times Featurette - Precious Adams, English National Ballet: Isabel Edwards-Brown, Harpers Bazaar (scroll down) Live Review - Circa, Leviathan, Brisbane: Elise Lawrence, Limelight Video News - Orlando Ballet ready to take the stage again: Nadeen Yanes, Click Orlando Video News - Tulsa Ballet further postpones season: Ashlynn Brothers, News on 6 And finally… Feature - I’m a fairy unicorn ballerina…: Kerry Elson & Sarah Garfinkel, New Yorker