Ian Macmillan

I imagine that some will have known this news on the provision of in-house accommodation for final year students at Elmhurst was in the wind: http://www.birminghampost.co.uk/news/local-news/elmhurst-dance-school-birmingham-expansion-6455290

Links – Tuesday, December 31, 2013 UK – New Year Honours List 2014 – Dance & Ballet Awards: Guardian DBE: Gillian Lynne CBE CBE: Carlos Acosta OBE: Lady Patricia Hobson MBE MBE: Assis Carreiro, Jane Pritchard BEM: Margaret Jaffe (With apologies to anyone I’ve missed – it’s a rather long list!) Memories of the year that was, hopes for the year to come: Valerie Lawson, Dancelines Feature – Choosing the Best St Petersburg Nutcracker: Galina Stolyarova, SP Times Feature – Li Cunxin, Mao’s Last Dancer & AD Queensland ballet: Annie Navin, The Australian Feature/Gallery – Toe Shoes at New York City Ballet: Michael Cooper, NY Times Feature – Sydney Opera House – A Ballet Memory: Anne Davies, Sydney Morning Herald Review – Ockham’s Razor, Arc, Memento Mori, Every Action, Sydney: Elissa Blake, Sydney Morning Herald Birmingham News – Elmhurst School of Dance expanding: Steve Nicholls, Birmingham Post

Plus Assis Carreiro and Jane Pritchard as MBE. There may very well be others - it looks a longer list than recently: http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2013/dec/30/new-year-honours-2014-the-full-list

I was glad to get off the road after a cross-country journey home from Oxford yesterday and absolutely endorse Anna's best wishes to all those who still have sizeable journeys to come. So, Happy Christmas to all ....... and a Link, of course, but don't be taken in at the start: http://vimeo.com/81847258

Links – Wednesday, December 18, 2013 Today’s Nut harvest on this anniversary of the very first in 1892, SP Times : Review – American Ballet Theatre, The Nutcracker, NY: Apollinaire Scherr, Financial Times Triple Review – New York City Ballet, American Ballet, Gelsey Kirkland: Marina Harss, DanceTabs Review – National Ballet of Canada, The Nutcracker, Toronto: Michael Crabb, Toronto Star Review – English National Ballet, The Nutcracker, London: Gerald Dowler, Classical Source Review – New Jersey Ballet, The Nutcracker, NJ: Robert Johnson, NJ Star-Ledger Review – Pacific Northwest Ballet, The Nutcracker, Seattle: Rosemary Ponnekanti, News Tribune Review – Alberta Ballet, The Nutcracker, Calgary: Salena Kitteringham, Calgary Herald Review – Joffrey Ballet, The Nutcracker, Chicago: Eddie Arruza, Chicago Tonight And elsewhere: Reviews – William Tuckett, Wind in the Willows, London: Clement Crisp, Financial Times Rachel Ward, Telegraph Zoë Anderson, Independent Lyndsey Winship, Evening Standard Vera Liber, BTG Gallery – Royal Ballet, Jewels: Dave Morgan, DanceTabs Review – Matthew Bourne/New Adventures, Swan Lake, London: Graham Watts, Londondance Review – Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Ellington Program + Revelations, NY: Brian Seibert, NY Times Best of 2013 in New York and environs: Robert Gottlieb, NY Observer Robert Johnson, NJ Star-Ledger And around the Bay Area: Rita Felciano, SF Bay Guardian Preview – Ivan Putrov’s Men In Motion, London: Louise Jury, Evening Standard Book Review – Never Far From Dancing, Ballet artists in new roles, by Barbara Newman: Paul Arrowsmith, DanceTabs Interview – Antonia Grove, AD of dance theatre company Probe: Matthew Caines, Guardian

Links – Tuesday, December 17, 2013 100th Birthday Party – Marc Platt, ex-Ballets Russes de Monte Carlo: Mary Ellen Hunt, SF Chronicle Review – Australian Ballet, Cinderella (Ratmansky), Sydney: Michelle Potter, DanceTabs Quick Q&A – National Ballet of Canada’s AD, Karen Kain: Courtney Shea, Globe and Mail Review – Scottish Ballet, Hansel and Gretel, Glasgow: Unattributed, Glasqow Theatre Blog via STV Preview/Interview – Martha Clarke, Chéri, NY: Marina Harss, DanceTabs Review – Juilliard School, Wind von West, Nakamuraya, Seeds of Endurance, Torrent, NY: Gia Kourlas, NY Times Review – An Evening With Dancing Rogues, DC: George Jackson, Danceviewtimes Feature – The Royal Ballet’s Pointe Shoes: Judith Mackrell, Guardian (In this regard, other companies are available.) DVD Review – Love Tomorrow: Katie Colombus, Arts Desk Today’s Nutcrackers: Reviews – National Ballet of Canada, The Nutcracker, Toronto: Paula Citron, Globe and Mail Dana Glassman, National Post Review – American Ballet Theatre, The Nutcracker, NY: Meghan Feeks, Huffington Post Review – Ballet San Jose, The Nutcracker, San Jose: Mary Ellen Hunt, SF Chronicle Review – Oakland Ballet, The Nutcracker, Oakland: Carla Escoda, Huffington Post Review – English National Ballet, The Nutcracker, London: Siobhan Murphy, Metro Review – Moscow Ballet, The Great Russian Nutcracker, LA: Lewis Segal, LA Times And to end today: En Pointe and Pregnant: the benefits of ballet for Moms-to-be: Ruthie Friedlander, Elle

Despite the headline, this video seems very much more about Harvey Nick's in Leeds than NB's Cinders: http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/yorkshire-living/leisure-fashion/fashion/video-cinderella-with-northern-ballet-and-harvey-nichols-1-6315063 Not one for tomorrow's Links, I think.

Avid readers of our Links may have spotted one from an Independent writer, D J Taylor, this morning. It's chiefly a discourse on the extent to which new technologies may have started to control us, but he starts by referring to the Acosta interview originally in the Radio Times (and not the later Telegraph précis that launched this thread) and effectively dismisses it as an 'inter-generational putdown' not based on evidence but on assumption: http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/ballet-star-carlos-acosta-can-rage-but-we-are-all-slaves-to-the-machines-9005296.html

Links – Monday, December 16, 2013 Review – Matthew Bourne/New Adventures, Swan Lake, London: Clement Crisp, Financial Times Some American Nutcrackers: Review – American Ballet Theatre, The Nutcracker, NY: Alastair Macaulay, NY Times Review – San Francisco Ballet, The Nutcracker, SF: Rita Felciano, Danceviewtimes Review – Gelsey Kirkland Ballet, Inaugural production -The Nutcracker, NY: Siobhan Burke, NY Times Review – Ballet Memphis, The Nutcracker, Memphis: Keith Dorwick, BTG Nutcracker fresco game - Find the characters: Boston Globe Review – Australian Ballet, Cinderella (Ratmansky), Sydney: Valerie Lawson, Dancelines Review – Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Lift, NY: Deborah Jowitt, Arts Journal/DanceBeat Review – Mora Godoy, Chantecler Tango, Paris: Patricia Boccadoro, Culturekiosque Feature – William Tuckett, Wind In The Willows, London: Helen Brown, Telegraph Riposte - Carlos Acosta can rage, but we are all slaves to the machines: D J Taylor, Independent Interview – Tsiskaridze on his Vaganova post: Maria Golubkov, Rossiskaya Gazeta via Ismene Brown Blog Review – Tere O’Connor, Bleed, NY: Apollinaire Scherr, Financial Times Review – NAISDA Dance College, Our Home – Ngalpun Mudth, Sydney: Jill Sykes, Sydney Morning Herald

Links – Sunday, December 15, 2013 New York Times 'Best of 2013': Duets, Trilogies & Revisiting Motown: Alastair Macaulay, NY Times When Ballerinas Get Brassy: Gia Kourlas, NY Times A Time for Farewells & Comebacks: Brian Seibert, NY Times Global Nutcrackers: Review – English National Ballet, The Nutcracker, London: Luke Jennings, Observer Review – San Francisco Ballet, The Nutcracker, SF: Lauren Gallagher, SF Examiner Video Feature – Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, Some Claras Remember: Victor Swoboda, Montreal Gazette Backstage Slideshow – Sacramento Ballet: Randall Benton, Sacramento Bee Review – Matthew Bourne/New Adventures, Swan Lake, London: Vera Liber, BTG Review – Scottish Ballet, Hansel and Gretel, Glasgow: Unattributed, Sunday Herald Preview – Juilliard School, Wind von West (Bausch), NY: Roslyn Sulcas, NY Times Review – Diversity, Limitless, Glasgow: Andrea Mullaney, Scotsman Preview – Forces of Nature Dance Theatre, A Kwanzaa Celebration, Newark: Robert Johnson, NJ Star-Ledger

Clement Crisp's eloquence is very much on display in today's FT 4* review of both RB and ENB Nuts. Whilst admiring young Mr Muntagirov's "beautiful classic dance," he dismisses his "quaint jerkin, a confection of nasty brocade suitable for Quasimodo's appearance in a TV Dance show." When on form, there's nobody to beat him ...... and can we take that as confirmation that he might just have the odd glance at Strictly? http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/6b70816c-6316-11e3-886f-00144feabdc0.html#axzz2nLr8SWWC

Alison: I don't know about others but, particularly through doing Links, I find that newspapers and magazines are increasingly living off each other's work to fill their pages. Sometimes an original source will be quoted, but I don't recall seeing any source mentioned in the near-whole page spread given to this in today's Times.

Dave: I agree absolutely on the long Gene Kelly/Leslie Caron dance sequence in American in Paris. And I'd add the barn-raising sequence in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers - though neither was strictly a 'ballet film.'

In fact, all three of the defendants were convicted - not surprising in Zarutsky's case. Ismene Brown has now posted a fuller version of this morning's events in court, and it would appear that sentences will be delivered later today: http://www.ismeneb.com/Blog/Entries/2013/12/3_Guilty%2C_guilty%2C_guilty%2C_says_judge.html Edit to add: Just spotted on Twitter info to the effect that Dimitrichenko has been given 6 years; Zarutsky 10 years; and Lipatov 4 years. No collateral for this yet. The BBC now has this: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-25197504

Links – Tuesday, December 3, 2013 Review – Mark Morris Dance Group, Both Programmes, London: Alastair Macaulay, NY Times Review – New York City Ballet, The Nutcracker, NY: Leigh Witchel, NY Post Review – Pacific Northwest Ballet, The Nutcracker, Seattle: Moira Macdonald, Seattle Times Stub Review – Boston Ballet, The Nutcracker, Boston: Jeffrey Gantz, Boston Globe News – A Tiller Girls Comeback for the BBC’s Christmas: Sarah Rainey, Telegraph Preview – Isaac Mizrahi/ & John Heginbotham, Peter and the Wolf, NY: Felicia R. Lee, NY Times Review – Ballet Boyz – The Talent, Serpent, Fallen, Glasgow: Eric Karoulla, The Skinny News – Rambert opens new £19M home: Nicola Merrifield, The Stage Review – Eleanor Bauer, Big Girls Do Big Things, Melbourne: Chloe Smethurst, The Age Previews – Red Shoes & The Selfish Giant, Glasgow, Edinburgh: Mary Brennan, Herald News – Dancers take over St Paul City Ballet to keep it going: Emily Mongan, Pioneer Press Bolshoi Theatre Latest: - Trial – All three just found guilty. BBC News Voice of Russia – Chief Conductor Resigns: RIA Novosti and elsewhere - Adviser to Filin leaving: Ismene Brown Blog Self-explanatory … I think: Metro US

Links – Monday, December 2, 2013 Symposium Report – The Many Faces of Robert Helpmann, London: Jann Parry, DanceTabs Review – Mark Morris Dance Group, Programme B, London: Clement Crisp, Financial Times Review – Mark Morris Dance Group, Programme A, London: Jann Parry, DanceTabs Review – English National Ballet, Le Corsaire, Bristol: Alastair Macaulay, NY Times Review – Australian Ballet, Cinderella, Sydney: Jill Sykes, SMH Preview – Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater NY Season: Lizzie Simon, WSJ Preview – Scottish Ballet, Hansel and Gretel, Glasgow: Angela McManus, Evening Times Preview – Printz Dance Project, Soul + Mates, SF: Andrea Pflaumer, SF Examiner Review – Danse (3), Sans Spectacle, Sydney: Jill Sykes, SMH Review – Russian State Ballet of Astrakhan, Swan Lake, Romeo & Juliet, Guildford: Margaret Wills, DanceTabs Preview – Cape Town City Ballet’s Holiday Season: Artslink De haut en bas, ici on parle Nut: Review – New York City Ballet’s 2013 Opening, NY: Brian Seibert, NY Times Review – Joffrey Ballet, DC: Alexandra Tomalonis, Danceviewtimes Review – Birmingham Royal Ballet, Birmingham: Jeffrey Taylor, Express Claras with Ballet West remember: Kathy Adams, Salt Lake Tribune ---- and others from Billings, Montana, : Jaci Webb, Billings Gazette

Links – Sunday, December 1, 2013 Review – Mark Morris Dance Group, Programmes A & B, London: Luke Jennings, Observer Review – Baltic Dance Theatre, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Rite of Spring, Warsaw: Bruce Marriott, DanceTabs Previews – Chroma reaches Alvin Ailey in New York: Robert Johnson, NJ Star-Ledger Gia Kourlas, NY Times Feature – The Douthit-Boyds at Alvin Ailey: Leigh Witchel, NY Post Feature – Baryshnikov, still making artistic leaps: Peter Marks, Washington Post Review – Susan Marshall & Company, Play/Pause, NY: Deborah Jowitt, Arts Journal/Dancebeat Q & A Snapshot – Virgil Gadson & Julius Chisholm, After Midnight: Alexis Soloski, NY Times A very limited selection from the available global Sugar Plum Harvest: In Copenhagen - Royal Danish Ballet: Victoria Steffensen, Copenhagen Post In every corner of Chicago: Michelle Meywes, Chicagoist Interactive for the very young at Sydney Opera House: Stephanie Boulet, ABC News Small dancers with large shoes to fill at Pennsylvania Ballet: Ellen Dunkel, Philly.com Robust and varied in and around LA: Matt Cooper, LA Times The costumes in Pittsburgh: Mark Kenny, TribLive

In yesterday's Links: http://www.thestage.co.uk/news/2013/11/uks-second-specialist-dance-injury-clinic-open-birmingham/

It appears that the Bolshoi Theatre has given permission for some kind of fly-on-the-wall documentary to be filmed by the BBC over the coming months for transmission next year: http://realscreen.com/2013/11/29/idfa-13-bbc-to-examine-scandal-struck-bolshoi-ballet/ The management may well be hoping that all the fuss of the last year will be over by the time the cameras arrive!

Links – Saturday, November 30, 2013 Feature – Shannon Harkins, a face of African American ballet dancers’ struggle: Lonnae O’Neal Parker, Washington Post Reviews – Mark Morris Dance Group, Programme A, London: Clement Crisp, Financial Times Neil Norman, Express Graham Watts, Londondance Reviews – Mark Morris Dance Group, Programme B, London: Judith Mackrell, Guardian Sarah Crompton, Telegraph Sarah Frater, The Stage Lynette Halewood, DanceTabs Vera Liber, BTG Review – Mark Morris Dance Group, Both Programmes, London: Zoë Anderson, Independent Feature – Scottish Ballet, Hansel and Gretel: Mary Brennan, Herald News – Scottish Ballet to revive Peter Darrell’s Nutcracker in 2014: Mary Brennan, Herald News – Christopher Rodgers-Wilson, Australian Ballet, wins Telstra Dancer Award: Elissa Blake, The Age News – Rosemary Lee wins the Bonnie Bird New Choreography Award: Carmel Smith, Londondance Those tutus are almost done touring: Review – Royal New Zealand Ballet, Tutus on Tour, Dunedin: Hannah Molloy, NZ Theatreview Review – Stuttgart Ballet, Taming of the Shrew, London: Rosamaria, One Stop Arts Review – Phoenix Dance Theatre, Particle Velocity, London: Jaime Robles, One Stop Arts Review – BalletBoyz – The Talent, Serpent, Fallen, London: Catherine Sutherland, One Stop Arts Review – Rhythmic Circus & Root City, Feet Don’t Fail Me Now, NY: Brian Seibert, NY Times Next week in London, New Adventures Swan Lake, Shobana Jeyasingh: Judith Mackrell, Guardian Bolshoi Corner: Trial - Final prosecution submissions: RBTH Guardian and elsewhere ---- Very detailed report on the day: RAPSI via Ismene Brown Blog ---- Verdict due on Tuesday BBC to film fly-on-wall documentary inside Bolshoi: Realscreen And tis the season to visit the Kingdom of Sweets: 3 Productions around Montreal: Victor Swoboda, Montreal Gazette (+video) Training the mice for Joffrey’s production: Laura Molzahn, Chicago Tribune A pretty substantial looking local production: Cheryl Guerrero, LA Times (+ 24 shot Gallery)

Today's paper carried news of Ms Peaches Geldof, daughter of you-know-who, being investigated for possible contempt of court for tweeting the names of women involved in a current court case. A later BBC link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-25150129 Just another instance showing that we would do well, it seems, to think more than once before pressing 'Send' ... anywhere at all, including here.

Janet: Do you know if BRB does Les Rendezvous in the original, flowing costumes or in the summer dresses with large polka dots seen in the last RB revival? And do you know from past practice if these programmes might be the basis for the next BRB visit to Sadler's Wells? Les Rendezvous and Facade ring bells from the past in this household.

Links – Friday, November 29, 2013 Feature – Sarasota Ballet, Iain Webb & an Ashton Legacy: Brian Seibert, NY Times Reviews – Mark Morris Dance Group, Programme A, London: Judith Mackrell, Guardian Sarah Crompton, Telegraph Gerald Dowler, Classical Source Neil Norman, The Stage Vera Liber, BTG Review – Ballet San Jose, 2013 Benefit Gala, San Jose: Aimee Tsao, DanceTabs Reviews – Michael Clark Company, All Three at Once, London: Gerald Dowler, Classical Source Neil Norman, Express Bruce Marriott, DanceTabs Review – Joffrey Ballet, The Nutcracker, DC: Rebecca Ritzel, Washington Post Feature – Colorado & Moscow Ballets, Nutcrackers, Denver: John Wenzel, Denver Post Blog Feature – How to be a black ballet dancer in a white world: Judith Mackrell, Guardian Research Report – Vitamin D deficiency putting dancers at risk: Haroon Siddique, Guardian News – UK’s 2nd specialist dance injury clinic opens in Birmingham: Nicola Merrifield, The Stage Still doing what arguably any National Ballet company should be doing: Review – Royal New Zealand Ballet’s Tutus On Tour, on its 47 venue progress, reaches Timaru: Melanie Wheeler, Timaru Herald plus Comedian takes to ballet: Nigel Benson, Otago Daily Times Review – Hagley Dance Company, Save It For Me, Christchurch: Kate Sullivan, NZ Theatreview Finally, something to savour on a Bolshoi-free day: Winner of the 2013 Ballet Memories contest: Moira Macdonald, Seattle Times

Just realised that's a former pupil of Mrs M who's teaching, whilst she's out dealing with the next (potential) generation again! A neat example of how the word gets passed on.

Well, after 50 years, it's been and gone - and the BBC claims it has been awarded a Guinness World Record for the "biggest ever simulcast of a TV drama," having been run in 94 countries. Who (of those who can remember it from November 1963) would have thought it? I'm referring - of course - to BBC 1's 50th Anniversary Doctor Who Special last night. I generally sit through episodes having no idea what's going on, but last night had a strong story line, elegantly and wittily scripted, and well worthy of the hype over recent weeks. TimeOut has produced a very handy digest of the show: http://now-here-this.timeout.com/2013/11/24/50-gifs-from-the-doctor-who-50th-anniversary-episode-spoilers/ I thought Billie Piper came across very well as a Voice of Conscience and, like TimeOut, I missed a reprise of the delicious Alex Kingston's River Song. Other than that, I suspect that the decision to have just Tom Baker back from the list of extant previous Doctors was well-judged. And as we await the arrival of Peter Capaldi, we might think of John Hurt as the Doctor Who Never Was but one who, after last night, must certainly join the Pantheon of longer-appearing manifestations over the past 50 years. Ad Multos Annos!