Peanut68

Thanks for that but….Sadly not in my postcode…. ‘Not all channels are available where you live’ is the freeview message. Not ANY of the channels any of my family are interested in it seems….sigh

I was blown away by that performance! It was so moving & such stunning physicality! I’d never have thought that he was a dancer soon to retire.... I truly hope I can see him at Sadlers Wells (but unlikely I fear). Any news on his next career move? I imagine any dancers would be extremely lucky to gain from his experience.... I wish him well!

I was lucky enough to be there (& wow, what an amazing night & programme of dance...) Wouid very much like tk view this....anyone know if Marquee TV can be accessed via an Amazon Firestick?

Not got Sky sadly....but thanks!

Anyone know how to find full length versions of pieces such as Revelations to watch? I’m a new concert!

Ah to be able to commit to (& afford!) something like this....

Amazing dance binge the other night with the Alvin Ailey programme filled by film ‘Yuli’ Educated me on a man/company/style is heard of but never really explored/seen & likewise, I didn’t really know much about Carlos Accosta & feel quite humbled by his story. (I’d wrongly sssumed he was a typical hot housed dancer through private training then competition launched into a career). The way the film was intercut with dance almost as ‘therapy’ , with Accosta playing out relationships through physicalisation I found very powerful & moving. I still have so much to learn of the dance world both retrospectively & current day.

I know I’ve previously hoped my DD could attend but timings never worked out sadly... on that note, why is it almost every Summer Opportunity this year seems to be 1-5th August??? Ironically she can’t do that week for anything dance related anyhow this year! Anyone know of anything for older dancers right at the end of August? (Did not go for NYB audition this year & deadlines etc passed so not an option)

Also thank you Valentina for your absolutely pertinent next steps in planning.... I have long thought of setting up a touring theatre company....had not specifically thought of it as a dance prospect....But maybe? Seeing how many wonderful & career ready dancers (& actors/performers)are out there deserving a career start & how many families need to be relieved of the funding pressures & how we need to perhaps give hope beyond the endless years of training & 'just one more course at £xxx' & break a broken industry model.... Wow, my cogs are whirring.... I genuinely am serious...so if anyone wants to join me & look at possible options/brainstorm ideas, please message me. Maybe we could set up a group drawing on the talents & expertise from the varied pool of people here? Big shout out for a social media savvy individual as I am so out of the skills set loop there!

I'm loving that as a Company name Glowlight!! And thank you for taking the suggestion one step further with your very valid thoughts & ideas. I was listening to radio 4 (when am I not??!!) which was all about an indivual who'd used crowd funding to great effect. i joined the item half way through so think I need to go & listen again online.... the gist was a 'chain' of restaurants (The Sticky Walnut was named...I seem to recall this as being a small but very lovely looking place in Chester? They then expanded/set up new restaurants in part with crowd funding. The main model used seemed to entail not actually offering shares in the 'company' but offering like for like value in food. eg. invest £100 in a particular site then gain a £100 voucher for meals at that restaurant. Well, great idea I thought! I'd likely spend £100 at a high brow place on special occasions...why not have a sense of 'buy-in/ownership' for that £100 I'd be spending anyway? So, how's about investing money & gaining tickets to performances for that value? That gains bum,s on seats...almost like pre-orders? So, who is in? Glowlight, you clearly have business acumen...I have a background in Sales.... I can't begin to say how many ideas I have actually thought through to quite a serious point.....biggest worry is the long suffering Hubbie; I think he thinks we will soon be off the ballet merry-go-round/money pit....But maybe not.....Hmmm

I’m clicking ‘like’ but really it’s more as a sign of solidarity as if course I don’t like hearing how hard & demoralising thus journey is for yours & so many of our young dancers & indeed their families… I think I suggested on this forum before that we all should join forces to create our own company of dancers….we have the talented offspring, I bet between us all the knowledge & contacts is immense & boy we know the pitfalls of training & the industry & how to ensure fair & happy & healthy treatment (& those people/places to perhaps avoid….!) BTW, I am actually serious if anyone else has thoughts on this…. After all, most dance companies started small & many as a way to self create opportunities as so few out there!

Exactly!!

It should so NOT be the norm that our young people (well, their families) are expected to pay for being a (supposed) company dancer. I thought unpaid internship was banned as a practise? Isn’t this the same thing? Surely at the very least expenses should be met? I’d be interested to know how for example the Aud Jebson young dancers programme at Royal Ballet is run….my assumption was that they are young new company members who would be on the starting salary scale but with their salaries funded by Aud Jebson charitable foundation instead of from regular company HR coffers….thus saving the company money but with parents not stumping up cash. I wonder if indeed they are paid a London Living Wage? We've talked on this subject in other threads… So, where is the protection? Unions? Audiences? I’d hate to be paying to watch a ballet where I thought the dancers were paid only to find several are actually paying to dance….it’s quite scandalous. I do see a slight difference if it’s promoted as a training programme rather than a ‘junior’ or second’ company or similar but it’s a very blurred line…. Realism hits as our dancers get to employment age & standard…. Ability to pay to work feels Dickensian…. If a company is indeed worthwhile then surely they can fund salaries by ticket sales/sponsorship/arts grants. If not… why not???

I’m afraid I can’t help re: dress but how joyous to think of Maypole Dancing taking place! I have very happy memories of doing this in PE ( yes, dance was considered part of PE quite rightly back n the 1970’s!) at junior school & then for school fetes/sports day/visiting hospitals & care homes etc along with doing English Country Dancing….! I was thrilled when found out local primary was doing it & my kids were really excited…. Well, it lasted about 2 weeks when one idiot child went out of bounds, played with the ribbons & pulled pole over onto himself. Huge health & safety furore with nightmare ‘my little darling’s could’ve been killed’ parent…. Well her little darling was old enough to follow rules & was not hurt either….but of course, that was the end of maypole dancing for everyone really before it had begun 🙄😢 Good luck sourcing a pretty dress…. might be worth looking round charity shops? Does she need to ‘match’ in with other dancers? Might your local dance school have a white or similar dress that you could borrow (am thinking crowd scenes type costumes!) & then maybe add colourful ribbon at waist or tack on some flower embellishments?

I think I need to move to Leeds! You have so much exciting dance based up there!! I feel it’s assumed that from the south coast where I live you can get to London….though to be fair I have recently seen companies I had heard of but never before seen (Mark Bruce Company & Yorke Dance Project) more close by (Winchester & Bournemouth) Still think we fall way behind the Northern dance powerhouse!! We need more Southern companies too!!

Great concept & ideas! Have you thought about music & are there any limitations with that such as whether it has to be live/recorded/time limits/copyright restrictions/license required etc. I think I'd start by getting music to represent the creation first of Lilith (sand suggests certain sounds/music styles?), then her spurning by Adam (battle of wills....again, suggests music showing discordant nature....), then Garden of Eden/Snake also suggests certain imagery that can be shown in music... and I really like Tess1979 idea of using Rope as a prop....it made me think of a rope defined circle in Sumo wrestling (constraint) & then also how Rythmic gymnasts use ribbons (freedom)!

Ha ha! Random thing is we still seem unable to get channels I see everywhere else…. I’m keen to find arts/culture…. The Hubbie wants to be able to get Dave to watch things like fishing programmes he found when in a holiday let! We supposedly have freeview but when doing internet research it states for our postcode ‘’not all channels available in your area’ ….Sigh

Good luck to your DD SpideyDad

Sorry, I took thread on a musing tangent….back to Central & 🤞🏻 for those awaiting news

Yup….

Oh no!!! That’s a predictive text typo I didn’t spot!! 🤣

This thread has been quiet for a while…. I wonder if they are getting closer to appointing/announcing Rook’s successor?

I must say it did feel like a rollercoaster ride yesterday with constant website refreshing both for the Coliseum & here checking for tickets & then phone calls to the box office!! Really excited to attend!

Apologies if I’m being dense, but where do we access ‘Terpsichore’ for reviews? Thanks in advance!

A little off topic & I don’t wish to be a nay sayer but.... I do worry that we are offering far too many high level training opportunities & prolonging the agony before an inevitable dash of dreams as the reality of just how limited the opportunities for a career as a classical dancer are. Yes, I guess there are masses of transferable skills learned along the way that make dancers resilient & good employees in very many fields & of course diligent workers who complete many of these courses will leave with degrees or diplomas giving evidrncevif studyinv at higher education level but gain contracts as dancers? Very very few sadly.... But, I can also say to any aspiring dancer that ‘that one of few could be you’ so good luck to them one & all!