Interesting Developments at White Lodge?

[primrose]

If it promotes ballet and brings it more to the publics attention and it is done in a dignified way, then I say that The Royal Ballet School have played a blinder.

[Jan McNulty]

Here's a blog about the Range Rover launch: http://all4ballet.com/2012/09/07/royal-ballet-school-venue-for-range-rover-launch/

[taxi4ballet]

With the current recession, and the general public wanting to put funding for the arts at the very bottom of the list of public spending, I think this is absolutely the right thing for the Royal to be doing.

 

When Arts organisations are looking for public funding they really must also be doing all they can to raise as much money as they can themselves.

[Yaffa]

Despite all the upheaval this must have taken, it looks as though RBS made a very savvy marketing move to kick the ball rolling with such a spectactular event. Even apart from any promotion of ballet, the pics and video really show off WL's versatility and set the top-notch tone (and hopefully the top-notch price) for future hirings.

 

Agree strongly with taxi4ballet and the other posters that RBS is going in the right direction (though I do cringe a bit to see cars, rather than dancers, on the WL grounds...).

 

Interesting that there wasn't even a token ballet performance in the evening's entertainment (or was there?). But it's probably best not to 'force' such things....

 

Yaffa

[toursenlair]

With the current recession, and the general public wanting to put funding for the arts at the very bottom of the list of public spending, I think this is absolutely the right thing for the Royal to be doing.

 

When Arts organisations are looking for public funding they really must also be doing all they can to raise as much money as they can themselves.

 

I agree this is a good idea, but there is a danger in it. When arts organizations start raising money from other sources, the government funders do have a tendency, instead of saying, "Bravo, we'll match that", to say "well, you're getting money elsewhere, so now we'll cut back", so the arts organizations don't find themselves any further ahead.

[taxi4ballet]

Yes, but on the other hand, lots of people may think that the arts should be at the very bottom of public spending, and should really be paid for by the well-heeled, rather than the general tax-payer!

[Ian Macmillan]

More still, folks: http://www.harpersbazaar.co.uk/blogs/land-rover-dinner-royal-ballet-school-070912

 

...a new British vodka made from milk??

[Yaffa]

Great to see the last sentence in this piece:

And yes, suddenly everyone in the audience was thinking, “I wish I was a ballet dancer.”

 

Don't know anything about drinks but from a Google search, it's probably this:

http://blackcowvodka.wordpress.com/about/

 

Yaffa

 

More still, folks: http://www.harpersba...t-school-070912

 

...a new British vodka made from milk??

[Jan McNulty]

The Saga continues. WL licensing application withdrawn: http://www.thisislocallondon.co.uk/news/9948449.White_Lodge_withdraws_party_application_at_11th_hour/?ref=twtrec

[Ian Macmillan]

The application is withdrawn, as submitted, for now - but I note that the School's lawyers hope to re-submit 'in the near future.' The financial imperative behind this story is unlikely to have gone away!

[balletla]

Oh dear - classic case of forgetting to engage with stakeholders and get them on side. I wonder if children playing in the grounds disturbs the birds and bats.....I know from summer schools that they can be very noisy as well I feel sorry for the school as they are obviously in need of money and were being really innovative I thought.

[taxi4ballet]

This sounds like there will be committee meetings galore for years to come, with no prospect of anyone agreeing to anything other than having another meeting!

[Yaffa]

Just saw that WL will be hosting an episode of the BBC’s Antiques Roadshow in September. Again there seems to be efforts to tie in the event to the focus of the school, and exposure via TV (2000 people visiting...)

 

From the RBS site:

It has just been announced that BBC One’s ever-popular Sunday evening programme, Antiques Roadshow, will be filming its 36th series from The Royal Ballet Lower School, White Lodge in Richmond Park on Thursday 5 September.

 

This marks presenter Fiona Bruce’s sixth year with the Antiques Roadshow, and she comments: ‘The Antiques Roadshow isn’t just about antiques – it’s history, beauty, and drama all wrapped up in one’.

 

Doors will open at 9.30am and close at 4.30pm and the BBC expects that around 2,000 will visit during the course of the day with a further 9 million people watching the programme which will be broadcast later in September.

 

More information from www.bbc.co.uk/antiquesroadshow..