restor

Thank you for the interesting responses.

Thank you for your response & perhaps others will join in later. These questions are not directed at a specific company but general. I am not touting any company foreign or not - I see all companies that are in the UK and many of those who tour in a variety of venues across the UK I also see companies outside the UK. Some decades ago Bolshoi & also the Royal Ballet performed in a big top tent in Battersea Park. If there was a demand for a ballet festival it might be possible to have one ,if there is anyone enterprising enough to do it, though perhaps not in London where there are theatres available.

Questions for discussion if you will: In the early 20th century ballet in Britain could be found in the music hall. Is taking ballet to an audience ( unsubsidised by taxpayers) which has gathered for popular music festivals today, innovative , or a step back? Is this a sign of the decline of ballet and a failure to fill theatres for ballet? If so, will having a bit of ballet at these events halt such a decline or does it devalue the art form by being a secondary element at events where an audience is there for another reason? Are companies which participate in these events desperately trying to building a new audience and devaluing the art or are they pioneering and bringing in a new public which will buy tickets for ballet? Is there perhaps a market for a ballet festival like a music festival?

I am not touting any company- ENB does of course visit fewer venues than many touring companies small and large. The arts grant for ballet is limited and perhaps could be better spent giving more access and enabling more events.

Yes there are often more people backstage than on but perhaps taxpayers money could be better spent on smaller Uk companies who get no funding and on enabling disadvantaged groups to see visiting companies and on dance education in schools. The ENB subsidy which works out at about £25 per ticket could be less and end up doing more for ballet in the UK. If the price of seeing ENB went up by £15 for a top price ticket or £5 for the low price I doubt if that would reduce the audience. Odd that we all think the price of a ticket to certain things should be subsidised yet the price of a ticket to a sports event or cinema for example should not

I agree ENB is accessible yet it usually fails to sell out even with cheap tickets. In general a narrow rep is all the public are willing to pay to go to notwithstanding many efforts over many decades to broaden the appeal of classical ballet. Should private promoters who bring touring companies be given grants to lower their ticket prices rather than give such a large subsidy to ENB?. Some of the companies are smaller and some of a lower quality than ENB but they visit towns ENB does not & some are as good in quality.

I have not expressed disapproval of ENB or any of its employees. I have clearly stated that the dancers and the productions of ENB have a high standard - is there some discussion or question to be had about that? It is the case that the majority ( unlike other companies) of the dancers and artistic management and now ballet style is foreign. It is also true that they do not sell out on tour so the question I suppose is, should it continue to get so much taxpayer support? Could the taxpayer subsidy (about £25 per ticket) be better spent in providing other access to ballet productions for British taxpayers? If I have asked these questions before I only repeat them because there has been no sensible engagement with them though some might accept that a fan site where people care about ballet is the right place to look for such a discussion you seem to suggest that this may not be the case.

I agree the ENB production values and of course the dancers are good - so they should be with the millions they get every year. For decades there have been attempts to get an audience outside London for diverse titles other than the popular ballets mentioned but there is not an audience for them as ENB discovered with Manon for example.

ENB is essentially now a foreign company paid for by British taxpayers. (Foreign dancers and a foreign artistic management and a foreign artistic style) . There is a limited audience for ballet. No venue visited by ENB would not accept a visiting company touring the UK (at no cost to taxpayers). ENB with its subsidy is restraining the trade of promoters who can not put a foreign company in these venues as the audience for ballet has all been taken by ENB. ENB no longer serves its founding purpose and has not created a new market for itself.

Ah the news is out - Lady Liddle just what ENB needs.

Exam results / jobs is another can of worms! Without full time training it isn't really possible to become a professional ballet dancer today. Associate schemes can lead into that training and just be fun in their own right.

The hire fees at the London Coliseum generate a profit for the venue. If ENO were not there there could also be visiting opera companies there. All companies that visit the Uk are not the same some are small touring companies that give a tired Swan Lake to the provinces - who perhaps buy more tickets to view that than perhaps Rambert - but that is public taste. With the possibility of further cuts in taxpayer funding it would be good if companies addressed some of their waste and looked at how some sucessful private promoters cut costs - costs not quality- rather than think they have a right to a certain level of grant. If they don't do this and think ahead they may not manage well if there are more cuts.

I see as much as I can ( out of what takes my fancy) from both UK and visitors.

One can benefit by having a variety of teachers and also see if perhaps doing more intense training with selected children rather than that able to be given in many local Saturday schools would be the right choice if perhaps considering a vocational school for the future - but yes of course they are designed to make money for the vocational schools that run them and give employment to their teachers..is that wrong? Some offer senior associate programmes but if you are of that age you should really be in the full time vocational course if you are looking at dance for a career so perhaps some courses undermine local dancing schools without offering much more in the way of opportunities.

Is there an ACE grant for the London Coliseum? - There is one for ENO - perhaps you confuse the two - the profit from the rental of the venue by overseas companies helps to support the venue & ENO. In the main the cost of tickets to the public by visiting companies is not more than that of the taxpayer subsidised companies. It is wonderful that our hobby of going to see British ballet companies is subsidised. I do not oppose taxpayer support for the arts , but how it is sometimes spent or rather wasted. Promoters and visiting companies often have lower costs than the subsidised companies some of which also have low audiences. If, as has been suggeted, there is a low audience generally for ballet then perhaps they should look at making the grant more dependant on ticket sales. Tickets are often discounted anyway - and cost less than for many sporting events - which have no subsidy and greater public interest. The lack of willingness to accept that commercial ballet promoters can present high quality ballet at a lower cost and address the waste that does occur in some of the subsidised companies and how they could spend the grant better - within the ballet world - is disappointing.

Who are the photographers - Relatives or friends of someone in the company or professionals? I assume amateur ( i.e. unpaid, not necessarily poor quality) photographers undermine those who are trying to earn a living . With a good digital camera it is not as skilled as it used to be to take a photo. Perhaps they are concerned that the photographers who are not commissioned by press are just making money by selling them without paying the dancers or the venue or indulging their hobby at the expense of the venue. If you are commissioned by a publication to take photos of dancers which promote the show that is one thing but to take photos for the purpose of making money by selling them or for self promotion at exhibitions etc when you have not paid the ballet company or the dancers is another. However it is hard to understand why any company would want to restrict the use of good quality photographs to publicise their event - though as many shows sell out they don't perhaps need so much coverage given to them by non commissioned amateur photographers.

You seem to be suggesting that the audience for ballet in London is very limited - visiting companies of which there seem to be a lot are no charge to the Uk taxpayer so why do taxpayers need to pay out for companies here which are in any case full of foreign artists?

Photographers get paid but do the dancers get paid for their photos?

I agree "A good education is never a waste of time or money" . The cost of education at vocational schools is higher than state schools though.

Indeed- so how sensible is it to fund so many students or the companies that don't provide jobs for them?

Do you want lots of visiting companies or not? If you welcome the range of ballet companies who visit the UK at no cost to UK taxpayers why not give them some support ? - At £20 most who have an interest will not need to save up to see a company that has not been here before. Your observation also seems to suggest that in a great international city like London there is only a small market for ballet .Perhaps it is the case that out of the millions of people in London there are less than 5,000 people who might want a ballet ticket on any one night?

5 subsidised ballet companies in UK - each if you are lucky with 3-5 dance job vacancies each year = lots of disappointed young would be dancers.

Anyone know how much did it cost - how much has it brought in?

There are donors who find a social cachet in going to events attended by royalty and in being photographed with them at events - so it may help bring in some money. The attendance of royalty does help in getting press publicity for an event which might not otherwise get coverage. Against this possible plus one might ask if this patronage also make ballet seem exclusive rather than inclusive?

More in the Telegraph: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/theatre/dance/10054812/Bryony-Brind-foreign-ballet-dancers-risk-loss-of-British-quirks.html Nothing is too good for the British taxpayer we want to see the best! A pity the English style is so diluted now though - perhaps there should be more engagement between companies and British ballet schools.