BalletcoForum Moderators

Perhaps never in your life has one of your forums had the same issues as we have to deal with. We are not going to go over it yet again; we have repeated time and again why we hide or lock posts. If people don't understand, there's not much more we can do. You state that all we have to say is 'the opinions aren't our own.' The moderators have access to professional advice and we do know what can be said freely and what cannot. An opinion is very different from speculation, or from making remarks about people or institutions that are potentially libellous, critical, or outing individuals, etc. Of course people can put their opinions up. We also stipulate that highly critical postings should be made under the poster's full name, and this is almost never the case. Should you want to glean opinions, it might be an idea to start your own discussion group away from this forum. We have already suggested that to others. In a closed, private group people can say whatever they like without sanction. We would yet again remind everyone that this is a public forum and can be read by anybody, even if they don't sign up as members. As we always say, we welcome positive and negative comments about performances, music, whatever is under discussion. But when it moves on from constructive criticism or opinion we have to take action. That is about all we can say, and hope that people understand.

Well your ideas of breaching AUP and ours are clearly different. For a start, there were many very potentially libellous and/or highly critical comments that people (including you) wrote under a pseudonym. That is definitely against our AUP. We have been running this forum for almost 12 years so we don't need you to tell us how to follow our own guidelines. Not that it's your, or anyone else's business, but none of us has anything to do with any of the institutions you mention, either via children, teaching, or anything else. You also clearly don't remember, or aren't aware of, discussions about other schools that we had to shut down. So there is no 'stink of partiality and bias'. You have no idea about what we have had to deal with in the past, which is why we keep saying over and over again how careful we have to be. This pertains to all schools, all institutions and all human beings. We are very glad that you are having a public discussion on the matter, under your real names, elsewhere. We are therefore closing this thread and any further discussion.

Hi everyone. Whilst we all have feelings of anger and pain regarding the Russian invasion of Ukraine, may we PLEASE once again remind all members that this is a forum for the discussion of ballet and dance (performance, history, dancers, etc.), not politics or world events. There are plenty of other fora for those discussions. People can, as individuals, do research and then make informed choices as to which companies or artists they go to see. It is not for any of us to judge them, even if we disagree with them. Furthermore, the general public is not in a position to know what every artist (Russian or otherwise) thinks about their government's actions. Supposition and speculation is not fair on them. There are many reasons why people can't/don't speak out. We will leave this thread locked for now, but once again, let's please stick to discussion of ballet and dance. Thank you for your co-operation.

Hi everyone. Whilst we all have feelings of anger and pain regarding the Russian invasion of Ukraine, may we PLEASE once again remind all members that this is a forum for the discussion of ballet and dance (performance, history, dancers, etc.), not politics or world events. There are plenty of other fora for those discussions. People can, as individuals, do research and then make informed choices as to which companies or artists they go to see. It is not for any of us to judge them, even if we disagree with them. Furthermore, the general public is not in a position to know what every artist (Russian or otherwise) thinks about their government's actions. Supposition and speculation is not fair on them. There are many reasons why people can't/don't speak out. We will leave this thread locked as we think it has now run its course, but once again, let's please stick to discussion of ballet and dance. Thank you for your co-operation.

Ask, and ye shall receive! We have just opened a new Audience Behaviour thread, so any further comments on the issue should be directed there, please.

Hello members. As the previous Audience Behaviour thread had run for 10 years and to 96 pages, we have decided to keep it closed and start a new one here. We would request, as per our AUP, for comments and discussion to be respectful. Thanks, and over to you...

It hasn’t been removed. It’s been hidden whilst under discussion.

The moderators try to reach a consensus as soon as they can but most of us work (and we also have social lives) and people are not always able to discuss things as quickly as others might like. As it happens, we have just reached a decision on your request and the post will not be deleted. As has been mentioned previously, we do lot hide or delete posts unless there is a very good reason to do so (e.g. if it inadvertently identifies someone’s child). We do not see any reason for the subject post to be hidden or removed. Thanks.

Hi Fiona. Please note that we don't hide or delete posts unless there is a very good reason to do so. We have discussed yours and can't see any reason for it to be hidden or removed as it doesn't contravene our AUP in any way.

May we please remind people that when they register as a member of this forum, they agree to abide by our AUP as stated in the document pinned to this site. Amongst other things, it is made clear that neither rudeness, nor personal insults, nor overtly political postings are tolerated here. If people persist in posting such content they will be suspended or banned from this site. Thank you.

A post on this thread has been hidden for being overtly political.

This thread has been locked to allow for cooling off. The moderators will determine if and when the thread is unlocked. We would also remind people that unpleasant personal attacks are not tolerated on this forum.

May we please remind everyone to be polite when posting on this forum. It is fine to disagree with someone else, but we would request that you do it in a way that is not personal to whomever it is that you are disagreeing with. Thank you.

A number of posts have been hidden while they are considered by the Mods. Replies have also had to be hidden.

Some posts on this thread have been hidden while they are under discussion by the Moderators.

In line with our position mentioned 11 months ago, we ask that comments placed on this forum are limited to Scarlett’s work and artistic legacy.

A post has been hidden on this thread for possible breach of the Acceptable Use Forum. It is being discussed by the Mods.

A post on this thread has been hidden while it is discussed by the Moderators for possible breach of the Acceptable Use Policy.

A post on this thread has been hidden whilst it is considered by the moderation team.

Hello members. We have recently had reports of people abusing the DM facility. Anyone who abuses this facility by sending rude, nasty or weird messages will be subject to an immediate ban from this forum. Not only does it breach our AUP, but it is an unwanted and unwarranted invasion of someone's private space. Likewise, if we are told that someone has not kept their side of a deal when buying/selling a ticket or any other item (e.g. when an item has been paid for and not sent to the buyer), they too will be subject to an immediate ban. We are sorry to start the New Year with such a message, but we cannot continue to allow these things to go on without sanction.

Hello members. We have recently had reports of people abusing the DM facility. Anyone who abuses this facility by sending rude, nasty or weird messages will be subject to an immediate ban from this forum. Not only does it breach our AUP, but it is an unwanted and unwarranted invasion of someone's private space. Likewise, if we are told that someone has not kept their side of a deal when buying/selling a ticket or any other item (e.g. when an item has been paid for and not sent to the buyer), they too will be subject to an immediate ban. We are sorry to start the New Year with such a message, but we cannot continue to allow these things to go on without sanction.

Hello members. We have recently had reports of people abusing the DM facility. Anyone who abuses this facility by sending rude, nasty or weird messages will be subject to an immediate ban from this forum. Not only does it breach our AUP, but it is an unwanted and unwarranted invasion of someone's private space. Likewise, if we are told that someone has not kept their side of a deal when buying/selling a ticket or any other item (e.g. when an item has been paid for and not sent to the buyer), they too will be subject to an immediate ban. We are sorry to start the New Year with such a message, but we cannot continue to allow these things to go on without sanction.

Hi everyone. We have had to hide a couple of posts because they are unnecessarily rude and some others as they referred back to posts that have now been hidden. It is Christmas Eve, we have all been through a difficult year, so we have a very low tolerance for this kind of thing. Please treat others the way you wish to be treated. Merry Christmas to you all.

Hello everyone. The 10th birthday prize draw took place yesterday, and we are delighted to announce the lucky winners: 1. Brandon Lawrence (Principal, Birmingham Royal Ballet) – a pair of signed shoes - EVWS 2. Brandon Lawrence - a signed photo - Skintdancemum 3. Anna-Rose O’Sullivan (Principal, Royal Ballet) – a pair of signed pointe shoes - Ballet0mane 4. Yasmine Naghdi (Principal, Royal Ballet) – a pair of signed pointe shoes - nycitybird 5. Marianela Nunez (Principal, Royal Ballet) – a pair of signed pointe shoes - Pulcinella 6. Francesca Velicu (First Artist, English National Ballet) – a pair of signed pointe shoes - Tango Dancer 7. Matthew Ball (Principal, Royal Ballet) – a pair of signed shoes and signed postcard photo - jsbjsb25 8. James Hay (First Soloist, Royal Ballet) - signed photo ( photo kindly donated by Rob Salnow) - Odyssey 9. Rachael Gillespie (First Soloist, Northern Ballet) - a pair of signed pointe shoes and Northern Ballet - signed poster - Pups_Mum 10. Dave Morgan – 2022 calendar of some of his finest ballet photos - Bluebird Congratulations to the winners, commiserations if you didn't win anything...but a huge thank you for taking part! Best wishes, The Mods

Hello everyone. The 10th birthday prize draw took place yesterday, and we are delighted to announce the lucky winners: 1. Brandon Lawrence (Principal, Birmingham Royal Ballet) – a pair of signed shoes - EVWS 2. Brandon Lawrence - a signed photo - Skintdancemum 3. Anna-Rose O’Sullivan (Principal, Royal Ballet) – a pair of signed pointe shoes - Ballet0mane 4. Yasmine Naghdi (Principal, Royal Ballet) – a pair of signed pointe shoes - nycitybird 5. Marianela Nunez (Principal, Royal Ballet) – a pair of signed pointe shoes - Pulcinella 6. Francesca Velicu (First Artist, English National Ballet) – a pair of signed pointe shoes - Tango Dancer 7. Matthew Ball (Principal, Royal Ballet) – a pair of signed shoes and signed postcard photo - jsbjsb25 8. James Hay (First Soloist, Royal Ballet) - signed photo ( photo kindly donated by Rob Salnow) - Odyssey 9. Rachael Gillespie (First Soloist, Northern Ballet) - a pair of signed pointe shoes and Northern Ballet - signed poster - Pups_Mum 10. Dave Morgan – 2022 calendar of some of his finest ballet photos - Bluebird Congratulations to the winners, commiserations if you didn't win anything...but a huge thank you for taking part! Best wishes, The Mods