Ian Macmillan

Interesting, and further to my post, 70, above: on Twitter within the past hour ENB's social media folk have used the headline of a blog-type article now carried by the Independent without quotation marks, thus appearing to jab another sharp stick into the RB. The tweet runs: That's a right royal mess the Royal Ballet has got itself into - and it then links to: http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/thats-a-right-royal-mess-the-royal-ballet-has-got-itself-into-8726025.html I wonder to what extent they operate independently of their Boss?

Links – Friday, July 19, 2013 Substantial Essay - Alexei Ratmansky, Shostakovich & American Ballet Theatre: Marina Harss, The Nation ---Link back to her review: DanceTabs Review – Bolshoi Ballet, Flames of Paris: Natasha Rogai, DanceTabs Interview – Lilian Hochhauser/Bolshoi London Visit: Alice Lagnado, Voice of Russia Tamara Rojo – Beyond the headlines a serious point: Judith Mackrell, Guardian SPAC Reviews – National Ballet of Canada: Four Seasons, Emergence: Jay Rogoff, Saratogian Giselle (Wright): Jay Rogoff, Saratogian Susan Mehalick, Albany Times Union London Reviews– Les Saisons Russes du XXIe Siècle, Spectre de la Rose, Firebird, Scheherazade: Mark Monahan, Telegraph Neil Norman, Express Laura Dodge, Londonist Margaret Willis, One Stop Arts MoveTube – Ballets Russes, original and re-imagined: Judith Mackrell, Guardian Book – Stravinsky: Discoveries and Memories, Robert Craft: Rick Schultz, LA Times London Review – New Movement Collective, NEST: Judith Mackrell, Guardian Melbourne Review – Ballet Revolución: Jordan Beth Vincent, The Age RNZB Feature – The enduring magic of Swan Lake: Amy Jackman, Dominion Post Roundhouse Season – Wayne McGregor, Siobhan Davies, Conrad Shawcross: DanceTabs Interview – Prof Christopher Bannerman/ArtsCross Project: Carmel Smith, Londondance Broadway Review – Forever Tango: Robert Johnson, NJ Star-Ledger

Well I take it that this is the 'imminent' announcement prefaced by Ms Rojo on Twitter much earlier today, the waiting for which occasioned a few not-entirely-serious suggestions from various quarters as the day progressed. So, congratulations to all concerned. Whilst enjoying the jokes, the very fact that people's attention was engaged to such a degree suggests to me that Ms Rojo is an able manipulator of willing media and that the London ballet weather is not all going to be made at Covent Garden in the years ahead.

Links – Thursday, July 18, 2013 London Reviews – Les Saisons Russes du XXIe Siècle, Spectre de la Rose, Firebird, Scheherazade: Clement Crisp, Financial Times Judith Mackrell, Guardian Zoë Anderson, Independent Graham Watts, Londondance Sarah Frater, The Stage Keith Watson, Metro LA Review – American Ballet Theatre, Chamber Symphony, Apollo, Symphony in C: Carla Escoda, Huffington Post Tamara Rojo: how ballet is like pornography: Hannah Furness, Telegraph ** (and elsewhere) Tutu wars – London’s battle of the ballerinas hots up: Jasmine Gardner, Evening Standard London Reviews – New Movement Collective, NEST: Jann Parry, DanceTabs Josephine Leask, Londondance - Gallery: Dave Morgan, DanceTabs Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater announces new season: Allan Kozinn, NY Times Jenny Dalzell, Dance Magazine Joburg Review – St Petersburg Ballet Theatre, Swan Lake: Katy Chance, Business Day The making of pointe shoes: - by Freeds in Hackney: Patricia Niven & Sarah Winman, Spitalfields Life - by Repetto in the Dordogne: Reuters Gallery, Dawn.com The Bolshoi’s woes continue, here unrelated to the Filin affair: BBC News and elsewhere. ** Apologies, but no sign of the primary Time Out source yet found online.

Interesting to see Clemmie Sveeas once again in a staging reminiscent of Witch Hunt. (I said I wouldn't forget it, and I haven't!)

Of interest here, perhaps, a gallery of photos from the Repetto factory: http://dawn.com/news/1029727/stitch-and-return-making-ballet-shoes-with-repetto

ENB's social media folk, no doubt with their Boss's approval, are doing nothing to damp down the publicity effect of Cojocaru's move, particularly vis-a-vis the RB. In the last hour they have just tweeted "Tutu wars, the battle of the ballerinas hots up" - the title of a an op-ed piece in today's Evening Standard: http://www.standard.co.uk/goingout/theatre/tutu-wars-londons-battle-of-the-ballerinas-hots-up-8713584.html

Links – Wednesday, July 17, 2013 NY Reviews – Pilobolus: Molly’s Not Dead, Ocellus, Licks, [esc]: Apollinaire Scherr, Financial Times Molly’s Not Dead, Symbiosis, Skyscrapers, Licks, Azimuth: Alastair Macaulay, NY Times London Review – Les Saisons Russes of XXI Century, Spectre de la Rose, Firebird, Scheherazade: Paul Arrowsmith, DanceTabs -- Updated Season Programme: Londondance London Review – Stanislavsky Ballet, Coppelia: Judith Cruickshank, Danceviewtimes NY Review – American Ballet Theatre, Sleeping Beauty : Carol Pardo, Danceviewtimes Preview – Bolshoi Ballet London Season: Louise Jury, Evening Standard HK Preview – Geneva Ballet, Romeo & Juliet (Bouvier): Anna Cummins, Time Out HK Feature – On being Darcey’s Double: Annie Carroll, via Valerie Lawson, Dancelines Interview – Andrej Uspenski, Photographer & RB Dancer: Graham Watts, DanceTabs SPAC Feature – National Ballet of Canada’s Working Moms: Leigh Hornbeck, Albany Times Union Jacob’s Pillow Preview – Ballet BC Season: Staff, BWW Feature – American Dance Festival: Lightsey Darst, Huffington Post A Ballerina’s perk? Kissing attractive men, says Ms Rojo: Tim Walker, Telegraph

Links – Tuesday, July 16, 2013 Alina Cojocaru to join English National Ballet: Judith Mackrell, Guardian Charlotte Higgins, Guardian Roslyn Sulcas, New York Times Louise Jury, Evening Standard Graham Watts, Londondance Press Release – DanceTabs …. and so Has bargaining power moved towards the Stars? Ismene Brown, Arts Desk Review – Stanislavsky Ballet, Coppelia, London: Graham Watts, Londondance Feature – Russell Kerr & RNZB Swan Lake: Tom Cardy, Dominion Post Jacob’s Pillow Reviews – Apollinaire Scherr, Financial Times - Companhia Urbana de Dança, ID: ENTITADES, Chapa Quente - Brian Brooks Moving Company, Big City, Motor Jacob’s Pillow Review – Brian Brooks Moving Company, I’m going to explode, Motor, Big City, Descent: Deborah Jowitt, Arts Journal Feature – Jonah Bokaer & His Father: Nancy Dalva, Brooklyn Rail Royal Winnipeg Ballet’s Moulin Rouge to be filmed: Staff, CBC News Feature – Russian National Ballet, Kostroma: Jen Monaghan, Moscow Times Review – Yoshiko Chuma, π=3.14….Ramallah etc: Brian Seibert, NY Times Cloud Dance Reviews – Brian Gillespie, Julia Pond, Nina von der Werth, Johnny Autin: Howard Loxton, BTG Reviews – Prom 4 - Les Siècles/François-Xavier Roth, Ballet Music: David Nice, Arts Desk Andrew Clements, Guardian Ivan Hewett, Telegraph The Filin Affair: Dimitrichenko loses custody appeal: Izvestia via Ismene Brown Blog

Well, well!! Ms Rojo ratcheting up her challenge to the RB? (Anything on anybody's FB page, at all?)

Lin: Sounds like your Dad would have been what was called a Mid-Upper Gunner, flying in one of these, where the upper turret is clearly seen: Yes, they would have had parachutes and, as you say, he was fortunate not to have to use his - many were less so - and you may rightly think of him as having been brave. Might I ask which squadron(s) he flew with? If No 10 Squadron, we need a conversation offline here.

Looks like my much-delayed (don't ask!) 70th Birthday Tiger Moth trip may well get airborne this afternoon, so only time for a quick word to say that BB's Programme 1 was well-received last night. Plan to B went down particularly well, getting a concluding roar of approval no doubt very similar to that which caused Mr Crisp to write, sportingly: "Oh, Mr Crisp. Wrong again!" And I can add that as the curtain went up on the 17 diagonally-arranged ladies for Serenade, that sight also induced a spontaneous burst of applause. The Corps were just great in that and in Symphony - congrats to all concerned. Faun, I fear, had me largely tuned-out, and listening as Kevin O'Hare, perhaps, Bob Newhart style, to a choreographer on the phone trying to sell him today a scenario about a glade, nymphs, and a weird animal "and at the end, Walt, he does what?!!" Long live the Robbins version.

Links – Sunday, July 7, 2013 Boston Ballet in London: Review - Programme 1 (Serenade etc): Luke Jennings, Observer Gallery – Programme 2 (Polyphonia etc): Dave Morgan, DanceTabs SF Preview – Post:Ballet, field the present shifts etc: Carla Escoda, Huffington Post Gallery – Performers: A Season in Photographs: Laurie Lewis, via Arts Desk Feature – Darcey Bussell on life post-RB: Hannah Furness, Telegraph Feature – Thoughts after a ballet company visit: Mary Kenny, Independent (Ireland)

Links – Saturday, July 6, 2013 Behold the Bolshoi and its current controversies: Clement Crisp, Financial Times … and Evgenia Obraztsova on the politics of Russian dance: Laura Cappelle, Financial Times … with Confirmation that Zakharova cannot dictate Onegin casting: Izvestia, via Ismene Brown Blog All-American Goddesses – whither the US Ballerina? Alastair Macaulay, NY Times Reviews – Boston Ballet in London, Programme 1 (Serenade etc): Jeffrey Gantz, Boston Globe Graham Watts, Londondance Jane Simpson, DanceTabs Cristina de Lucas, One Stop Arts …. And the Company in class – Audio Slideshow: Sarah Lee, Ranjit Dhaliwal, Guardian Interview – Edward Villela, Founding AD of Miami City Ballet: Marina Harss, DanceTabs Previews – NYCB’s Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC) Season: Jay Rogoff, Saratogian Siobhan Burke, NY Times Review – Birmingham Royal Ballet in Dublin, Giselle: Sarah Keating, Irish Times ‘Sampled’ Reviews – Hofesh Shechter, Political Mother: the Choreographer’s Cut: Josephine Leask, Londondance Katja Vaghi, One Stop Arts Jacob’s Pillow Reviews – Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet, Triple Bill: Janine Parker, Boston Globe Tresca Weinstein, Times Union NY Preview – Tap City Festival: Robert Johnson, NJ Star-Ledger DC Preview – Fringe Festival, Brynn Tucker, Emma Jane Jaster: Nelson Pressley, Washington Post Next Week in London & Newcastle: Judith Mackrell, Guardian Further to yesterday’s upbeat link, regrettably …… Cairo Opera House cancels Zorba ballet: AhramOnline And, for the weekend, something(s) different courtesy of The Guardian: Twerking Footwork Charleston Voguing The Dutty Wine

A first review (Irish Times) from Dublin: http://www.irishtimes.com/culture/stage/a-giselle-worth-savouring-1.1454036

Links – Friday, July 5, 2013 Reviews – Boston Ballet in London, Programme 1 (Serenade etc): Clement Crisp, Financial Times Mark Monahan, Telegraph Zoë Anderson, Independent Judith Mackrell, Guardian Ismene Brown, Arts Desk Lyndsey Winship, Evening Standard Laura Dodge, Londonist Katie Columbus, The Stage Keith Watson, Metro …. and a little photo op, City A.M. Preview – Royal Ballet in Tokyo: Kris Kosaka, Japan Times RB Promotions, Joiners, Leavers for 2013-14: Carmel Smith, LondonDance Video Preview – Cairo Opera Ballet Company, Zorba: Staff, AhramOnline Stage or Screen? - Is digital ballet as good as the real thing? Judith Mackrell, Guardian NY Art Exhibition – Swing Time: Reginald Marsh & Thirties New York: Ken Johnson, NY Times Outdoor Review – Silas Reiner & Colleagues, Reveal: Brian Seibert, NY Times London - Dance Umbrella 2013 Programme announced: Carmel Smith, LondonDance London – Cloud Dance Festival 2013 Opens Tonight: Staff, Broadway World Dance in LA this week – LA Ballet, ABT, Flamenco: Ann Haskins, LA Weekly

Katherine: North American Nutcrackers at Christmas!! I had just started with the Links team on the old ballet.co when Alastair Macaulay went on his regal progress from around mid-November 2010 to sometime in January 2011, visiting I can't recall how many of those performances for NY Times reviews - upwards of 30, I'd say, many to small companies that I'm sure he would never normally see. Mind you, I think they were all south of the 49th Parallel and that he left the Canadian ones to other reviewers. Back on-thread, this all sounds and looks very promising for my trip to town for the last show on Saturday night - I'd happily see Serenade once a week for a long time. The rest are bonuses, though I'm a bit iffy about Faun.

Links – Thursday, July 4, 2013 Review – American Ballet Theatre, Sleeping Beauty (Seo/Muntagirov): Leigh Witchel, NY Post Gallery – Boston Ballet in London, Programme 1 (Serenade etc): Dave Morgan, DanceTabs Review – Venice Dance Biennale: Judith Mackrell, Guardian Review – Pavel Zuštiak & Palissimo, The Painted Bird: Deborah Jowitt, Arts Journal Feature – St Petersburg Open Look Festival & Ballet Days: Allison Geller, St Petersburg Times News- Director to leave Saarbrucken company two years early: Derek Scally, Irish Times Feature – San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival, 2013: Rita Felciano, SF Bay Guardian Feature – Shantala Shivalingappa, Akasha: Marina Harss, Blog Review – Afua Hall, Red: Jordan Levin, Miami Herald NY Preview – Savion Glover, STePz: Valerie Gladstone, CityArts

Further to all of the above, the member to be contacted appears to have been 'active' on the Forum within the last half-hour. It now looks increasingly that, although no error message has come to me, she is unaware that she is being contacted. Why this should be, I simply don't know, and I fear I'll have to consult colleagues about how to resolve matters.

I was contacted late yesterday via PM by Gingerbread, asking if I could help her contact the member she had been trying to PM earlier. I admitted to having no answer and, as far as I can tell, neither does the section on the PM system found via the Board software Help button at the borrom of the page. In replying, I added the member concerned to the conversation to see if I got an error message on that address. After 15 minutes I had not, so I sent another to both addressees, and no error message has been returned from that one either. However, it's still not clear where that takes us as I have not heard from the member concerned, possibly because she (I think I can safely presume that much) has not visited the site yet today - ie despite the lack of any error message, there's no proof yet that PMs are being received by her. Perhaps later ......

There must be many cases when dancers blossom on moving to different companies, where presumably different Directors see them differently. By and large, is that not how the RB gained Zenaida Yanowsky, but later lost Natasha Oughtred, for example? (And I know of a case way back in which it took Nureyev to see possibilities previously overlooked.)

Aileen: I take it that this is the interview mentioned: http://www.timeout.com/newyork/dance/american-ballet-theatre-soloist-simone-messmer-talks-about-her-decision-to-leave I've pretty much given up on looking at the various Time Out editions for Links - some concentrate on What's On Diaries rather than editorial stuff, and there was one (Chicago?) that used to drive me nuts in trying to guess which were its new pieces ... and there's a limit to the time available!

The sentencing of his attacker closes one chapter. And whilst he has been back in Bern, and was with the company in London a month ago, he and others have left now amongst the changes taking effect there for next season. The embedded video clip in the Link, above, tells a little of what's to follow - appearing at Glastonbury this weekend, involvement in some courses over the summer, and a job in Germany from August, though he doesn't say where. Given the prognosis of 18 months ago, he has come a long way and does seem to be a remarkable young man.

I got one of the few remaining seats for the showing in Cambridge last night, and I'm delighted that I did. There's quite a bit to be got over in accepting the main action overlaid on a 1953 village pageant, but I found that I settled to it quickly and enjoyed the production. I was 12 then and remember streets decked with bunting - my Mum made a large Saltire (St Andrew's Cross) that adorned part of our house - and going to a Great-Uncle's for a family gathering on Coronation Day. (I'm sure I still have a paper napkin somewhere, signed by all there - oh, and whilst it poured in London, I recall it being quite a bright day around Glasgow.) So I can claim some feel for the spirit of the time and I'd say the staging of the pageant was pretty accurately done with an attention to period detail. Susan Bullock's Elizabeth I was, overall, a tour de force - and particularly in her portrayal of the disintegrating, old Queen in the final Act. No complaints either about the other main characters and a huge Bravo to Brindley Sherratt for his brief bur highly effective Blind ballad-Singer. All in all, at cinema prices, a bargain!

Links – Tuesday, June 25, 2013 Appreciation – David Wall: Mary Brennan, Herald Montpellier Review – Emanuel Gat, The Goldlandbergs: Laura Cappelle, Financial Times NY Review – La MaMa Moves! Festival, Jennifer Monson & others: Alastair Macaulay, NY Times London Exhibition – “Dancer Inside”: Alexandra Kulikova, Russia Beyond The Headlines Melbourne Preview - Myriam Gourfink, Breathing Monster: Philippa Hawker, The Age Review – The Plusies, Friends: Jeffrey Gordon Baker, LondonDance Nikolai Tsiskaridze offered a place in Yakutsk: Izvestia via Ismene Brown's Blog And Svetlana Lunkina outlines complaints against Filin: Izvestia via Ismene Brown's Blog Feature – Nott Ballet, youth project with BRB: Rachel Elderkin, LeftLion ROH to collaborate with new distributor for film streaming: Screen Daily News- Jack Widdowson’s plans now his attacker has been sentenced: BBC News, BBC News (with embedded Video) Guardian