SheilaC

He was a wonderful dance artist, beautiful dancer, very moving actor in roles such as Jasper in Pineapple Poll and in The Lady and the Fool. His career was affected by apartheid even once he got to England as South Africa refused to let him perform when the Royal Ballet touring group planned going to South Africa ( similar to what happened to the cricketer Basil D'Oliveira).

I'm not fully convinced. I was at the opening night of The Judas Tree and was absolutely appalled. I spoke to Monica Mason in the interval and several other women joined us. I said that such graphic violence against women was wrong, that there would be women in the audience who had been raped who would be in shock- as I was, I was shaking, even though I haven't suffered rape- and that many men would also be shocked. My husband wasn't there but he always refused to see the ballet, even on the video that I bought that included it. Monica Mason told me and the other women that many of the female dancers were very upset by it. Later that night I wrote to Jeremy Isaacs, Director of the ROH, saying that the audience shouldn't be paying for MacMillan's psychoanalysis on stage. Deborah MacMillan's explanation is interesting but doesn't explain the immediate impact when one first sees the ballet and, from a psychoanalytic perspective, one could regard the explanation as rationalisation. I should add that I was great admirer of MacMillan, including of The Invitation, the first ballet to depict rape on the stage, despite De Valois's reservations. I have seen the ballet since the premiere, the impact is now less and I think some of the choreography is really good; but my analysis remains.

This interview with Luke Ahmet is well worth watching - I saw it live. Luke makes some interesting comments on the many choreographers he has worked with- MacMillan, Bruce, and others, including, at one remove, the great Bob Cohan - and how one learns a role in more depth and more intimately (my words) choreography that has been created with, or learned from, the choreographer. His sincerity and integrity are deeply impressive.

The ballet museum (Dansmuset) is very close to the theatre, on a shopping street. It is fairly small but has a wide variety of photos and objects from a long historical arc. In particular there is a permanent exhibition with a lot of information on Ballets Suedois (the 1920s Swedish ballet company that performed a lot in Paris). When I went last autumn there was a very interesting exhibition on Nureyev but I think it was not a permanent one. There is a small shop and good cafe. (The other museums I went to included one devoted to Abba (my daughter is a fan) on an island that has several museums, a short ferry ride from the Old Town and quite close to the theatre. On the island we also went to the Viking museum (much better than the Yorvik in York). Unfortunately I suffered with severe tooth ache so didn't visit quite as many museums as we might have done. Wandering around the old town is a cultural experience in itself. There were interesting photos at the theatre of old productions, a dispersed mini-exhibition.

The next Ashton masterclass dates have just been announced. The October one is Sunday 15, focusing on the Awakening pas de deux in Sleeping Beauty , led by Dowell. The second one will be on Sunday 18 February, so far no information on the coach or ballet piece.

Northern Ballet has issued more information about the Tiler Peck piece (I expect Jan will post the official announcement soon). Peck is creating her ballet to Janacek's Intimate Pages. I do love that music so, in some ways, I'm looking forward to it- but it is unlikely to be as marvellous a ballet as Christopher Bruce's Intimate Pages., it had emotional depth as well as fluent choreography. I do so wish that some company (Yorke Dance Project?) would revive it.

Revelations is also on the programme for Alvin Ailey 2, which is touring regionally in the autumn. I'm not sure if it can be the whole piece as I get the impression that it's a fairly small troupe. Replying to Art_enthusiast, i think that the best programme is the Ailey classic bill, Ailey's choreography at its very best. So much so that I once did a Eurostar day trip to Paris just to see it, even though I live 200 miles from London. In the past the standard of choreography danced by the Ailey troupe has been somewhat variable, although it looks stronger in the season at the Wells; the dancers, of course, are superb.

I think Rang means level and rij means row. Every seat I've ever had at Amsterdam has had very good views, although I mostly opt for fairly central seats so it may be not so good on the side. It's a lovely theatre, for a modern one- got so much more atmosphere than the Bastille in Paris. And great views of the river from the windows in the foyer areas.

The government's latest policy is no surprise, although deeply worrying. In general, their view of what education should be about has, for several years, been narrowly focused on skills hence their emphasis on STEM degrees, rather than broader, more humanistic, degrees which aim to teach students how to think and to learn how to learn. Skills learned on science maths and computing degrees are valuable but those specific skills can be out of date in a few months. The 'soft' skills learned in the arts can be valuable for life and transferable across many occupations. So far as degrees in dance, music, drama and other creative arts are concerned they may not typically produce a 'graduate' job or high earnings soon after graduation, but they develop the personal skills that are crucial to the economy. The government wants more enterprise but most STEM courses, with their narrow focus on technical skills and learning the right way to do things counteract, rather than are conducive to, enterprise since that requires creativity and the ability to spot unlikely connections. The creative arts degrees foster communication skills, the ability to work constructively ln a team yet also to work independently in a focused way. As a university careers adviser for many years I researched the destinations and opportunities for students, specialising in the arts and social sciences and, before retirement, contacted every university that taught degrees in dance for information on what their graduates had gone on to achieve over the years. True, few went on immediately to a high salary, but many had satisfying portfolio careers, combining a range of inter-related opportunities in the arts where they continued to develop their skills and contacts. This may be less possible in the current anti-arts climate. But the qualities and communication skills gained open up a lot of broader opportunities

I saw the company on both occasions that they performed in York. It's very moving to see them, given all that is happening in their home country, and worth going to see them as a means of supporting them. However, they didn't dance the full Les Sylphides in York, and while some of their dancers are quite good, neither the content of the programme or the standard of dancing will be as high as the ENB bill, which looks to be very good, musically, as well as boasting, in Theme and Variations, one of Balanchine's most glorious classical ballets; if only BRB would do it again as SWRB did, with the sublime Yoshida doing the best performance of it I've ever seen, despite seeing many companies across the world do it. I have booked for 3 performances of the ENB programme; if I hadn't seen the Kyiv company each time it danced in York I would have booked for one performance of them and two of ENB.

Today's Observer has a very interesting article,' 12 Culture Secretaries in 13 Years', which understandably wasn't selected by Jan for the Links as it's only indirectly relevant to ballet. But it's well worth a read (really sorry I'm not capable of providing the link). It shows how, since Chris Smith, very few Culture secretaries have had any interest in the arts as a whole. It claims that Nicky Morgan suggests that few audience members at the ROH are likely to be Tory voters- even in the ROH 'dress circle' (sic) when challenged. Most interestingly it is claimed the the Arts Council had already largely prepared its funding round when Nadine Dorries sent ACE a letter in February 2022 instructing them to make ' an annual reduction of £24M in the budget for NPO investment in London and the funds to be directed outside the capital .... akin to "lobbing a hand grenade" at a process that was then almost settled'. As Joan says, the arts sector contributes significantly to the economy so it is disappointing that arts cuts, very minor compared to the national budget as a whole, can become political footballs.

You don't have to be a subscriber but if you are you can book tickets for the entire season. Otherwise, for one-off bookings, the start dates for booking are : 30 May (Robbins) ; 20 June ( Kylian, Casse-Noisette) ; 19 September (Bejart, Sadeh 21) : 17 October (Ecole de dance, Fille, Don Q, Giselle) ; 21 November ( Ecole de dance performances, Swan lake, Barbe- Bleue )

How does one get news about the strike in Paris? I've just checked the website and can find no mention whatsoever. The performances I've booked are the final three in the season but, on past experience, I doubt if the strike will be over by then.

I'm afraid I don't agree that Apollo is old fashioned. The choreography, particularly for Terpsichore, looks much more contemporary, to me, than the choreography by Nunes and Bintley for the other two ballets, enjoyable though the dances for both those ballets are. And the quality of the music by Stravinsky is on a different level than that by Luke Howard and Simon Jeffes, although they are easy on the ear, even produce earwigs. Of the two casts, while Mathias Dingman gave a solid performance, Brandon Lawrence really seemed to understand what the role of Apollo is about, not just dancing superbly but charting the progress from unsure, even vulnerable, young Apollo to maturing into a god recognising his responsibilities. Celine Gittens, his Terpsichore, captured the Balanchine style better than any of the other female dancers, although in the second cast Yaoqian Shang and Miki Mizutani were close and the first cast, Lucy Waine and Amelia Thompson, were better in their second performance. But all the women smiled too much and their smiles seemed to be too focused on the audience- it is Apollo they are dancing for. The choreography, mounted by the redoubtable Patricia Neary, differed in quite a few respects from the production that the company danced for several years, mounted by Desmond Kelly, himself a great Apollo, no doubt the reason why Kelly was one of only two people allowed by Balanchine, and later the Trust, to stage Balanchine ballets. It is well known that Balanchine often adapted his ballets for different dancers and companies so Kelly and Neary must have learned different versions. The most famous difference, of course, is whether the ballet starts with the depiction of Apollo's birth and ends with him mounting the staircase, the original version, which BRB adopted. As others have said the programme was well balanced and while Apollo is quite spare, Interlinked had lots of dance to very catchy music, very enjoyable although with emotional undertones, and Still Life at the Penguin Cafe is varied, amusing, colourful with lively music, but ultimately with a serious message. I was disappointed that the company didn't do even more to celebrate Brandon at the end of his final performance for the company, although Caroline Miller did come on stage to present him with a bouquet and hug and there was a small flower throw. I knew Carlos Acosta was unlikely to come on stage, given he had Covid, but David Bintley or someone else could have made the gesture.

In an innovative double bill based on a theme of death and remembrance, Dane Hurst choreographed and directed both new ballets premiered in Leeds on Friday. It was an ambitious programme that included two dance companies ( Phoenix Dance, based in Leeds, and Jazzart Dance Theatre, based in Cape Town) and two opera companies (the choruses of Opera North and of Cape Town Opera) supported by the full orchestra of Opera North, conducted by Gerry Walker, their Music Director. Dane is the previous artistic director of Phoenix, now their Artistic Consultant and Guest Choreographer, and currently the artistic director of Jazzart Dance theatre, based in Cape Town. The two pieces were complementary in theme, yet contrasting in both music and dance style. Whilst both pieces explore grieving for the dead, Requiem, inspired by Mozart's final unfinished score, is shaped by religious influences from the Old and New Testaments and is full of sadness. The second piece, The After Tears, is more celebratory, after sections of mourning, and is shaped by the specially commissioned score by the South African composer, Neo Muyanga. Dane Hurst's choreography for Requiem is contemporary, initially focusing on the group of 8 dancers as a whole, later concentrating on the interactions of smaller groups and of individuals, which I found even more moving. Equally impressive, the opera chorus also contributes to the movement, swaying and making gestures in unison and being moved as groups later to frame the dancers' performance, so they are integrated into the work more fully than if they were only singing. In the second piece, After Tears, After a Requiem, the choreography is not exclusively standard contemporary dance, rather it is a fusion with South African dance, related to new ideas in the townships about renewal. Whilst much of the first piece is sombre much of the latter part of the second one is vibrant, the dance reflecting the lively music and bright costumes. The programme was ambitious, bringing together dance and opera companies from South Africa and Northern England. It was a total success and the response from the full audience was rapturous. The project is also another milestone in the history of Phoenix, ruptured last year despite a highly successful retrospective gala. All performances were cancelled and this is, I assume, the first performance for about a year. Only one of the eight dancers has been a dancer with Phoenix previously, as far as I can make out. Phoenix has had many lives since I first saw it in a community hall in Teesside over 40 years ago as a lively group of three dynamic young black men from inner city Leeds; as its name indicates, it has risen from the ashes many times. Let's hope that it survives in these difficult times. There are only a few performances between now and June 4 at the Leeds Grand Theatre. But the good news is that BBC4 will be showing a film of the programme later in the year.

I hope Romany will start dancing again soon with the Royal. But I'm wondering if she has been spending time with Dane Hurst. They were engaged but I've just watched a video of him on the Phoenix website and he was wearing a very thick wedding ring! Either way, I expect she'll be in Leeds on Friday for the premiere of 2 works by Dane, one for Phoenix (Requiem to Mozart's choral masterpiece, with the chorus of Opera North and its orchestra) and After Tears: After a Requiem, to music by South African composer Neo Muyanga for Jazzart Dance Theatre and Cape Town Opera. Dane is now director of Jazzart Theatre. The programme is inspired by the grief and loss experienced during Covid.

On Wednesday's Composer of the Week, (BBC R 3: May 17), about 18 minutes in, there is an interesting discussion of Sleeping Beauty. Monica Mason explains why the Rose Adagio is so terrifying for dancers and talks of how incredibly nervous Fonteyn was before performing Beauty in Russia. Matthew Bourne says he was unsure about doing a production based on SB for 20 years but visiting Tchaikovsky's home and seeing his small bedroom was what decided him to go ahead. Available on Sounds.

Tchaikovsky will be the Composer of the Week, Monday (15 May) to Friday, 12 noon for an hour, on Radio 3. On Monday Monica Mason and Matthew Bourne will be contributing to the discussion of Swan Lake. It will also be available on Sounds if you can't hear it live.

Madam was very impressed by Bintley and chose him to perform her ballets, notably Checkmate. The Rake's Progress was one of the very first English ballets (score, choreography, design- based on Hogarth's classic pictures) so should be kept in the rep for historical reasons- also it gave Fonteyn a major early role as the Betrayed Girl. I am not alone in thinking Bintley was at least as good a character dancer as choreographer, if not better. He was unsurpassed in Fille as the Widow and Alain. But once he stopped dancing he didn't like any reference to his career as a dancer. One of the times I interviewed him when he was director he gave me short shrift for referring to his dancing career.

The link that Amelia so kindly posted of excerpts of ballets recreated by Pierre Lacotte contains several clips of the very young Osipova dancing The Pharoah's Daughter.

I went to her performance of Juliet, it was a Saturday matinee, she was very good and really looked the part. Her experience as a dancer was deepened by having been a dancer in Ballet for All, the organisation run by Peter Brinson to show some of the classics to regional audiences in a sort of workshop mode of ballet plays giving insight into specific classics. In particular Maggie did Giselle and without doubt that experience contributed to her being one of the most moving Giselles of her era.

The package also claimed that they hope to present it worldwide. (Could that be why booking still hasn’t opened in Sunderland. The company has never replied to my request for a booking date.)

I don't think anyone has noticed that Frankie will be performing in the autumn, after all - in the Linbury with Alex, in Krsiten McKnally's The Limit (Oct 20-28). Hannah Rudd and Jacob Wye are the alternative cast.

So much so that NYCB wanted her to join them, although I'm not sure I agree with Fonty that she would have been one of Balanchine's muses, she had different qualities from most of them.

When the Royal Ballet first danced it they did so with such commitment that it seemed a total masterpiece, despite the unusual score (for a ballet), the brown sombre costumes, the (initially) seeming lack of emotional engagement. I do so wish they would do it again. Another ballet I'd really love to see again is Christopher Bruce's Ghost Dances, a section of the score was played this morning on R3 (as was a Scott Joplin piece that's in Elite Syncopations, which we are likely to see again). The Royal never did it and the latest incarnation of Rambert, (who created it) is not likely to choose to perform it again. Yet the spirit of the ballet is very much in tune with the times and the Sadler's Wells audience would love it..... as they did the environmentalist piece by Crystal Pite that NDT did last week (at the final performance Simon McBurney, of Complicite, who created the piece with Crystal, came on stage and addressed the audience to urge us to fight what he called ecocide; a political act that would be completely unthinkable at ROH!)