Happy New Year From The Mods

[Sim]

Dear Members (and, as always, lurkers!),

 

Well…what a strange, unprecedented and very sad year it has been.  I don’t, however, want to dwell on the bad things.  What I DO want to do is look at the positives. So…here are some reasons to be cheerful:

 

Although there has been almost no live ballet anywhere in the world since March, thanks to the initiatives of companies worldwide we have been able to see performances that we probably would never have seen in normal times.

 

We have been able to share everyday life with our favourite dancers thanks to various social media outlets.  In a time where they have essentially been denied a year of their already-short careers, we have gone some way to helping them know how appreciated their hard work, dedication and artistry are to all of us.  I for one will appreciate all of that much more now that I have been deprived of it for so long.

 

Many companies are managing to stay afloat thus far, due to grants and private donations.  Let’s hope this continues until they are able to fill their houses once again. 

 

There are now two vaccines that are approved in the UK and elsewhere;  programmes are being rolled out around the world and hopefully by Easter there will be some semblance of normality back for all of us.

 

And then there is you, our members.  Back in April I wrote a note to you all thanking you for your efforts in keeping this forum going.  Little did I know back then that we would be extending these thanks again, all these months later.  However, extend them we will.  We can’t thank you enough for your support, your unstinting efforts to keep the information, thoughts and opinions coming, your good humour in a frustrating and difficult time, and your sense of solidarity and community. Without you, there is no forum.  Once again we thank you from the bottom of our hearts for all your writings, thoughts, opinions, videos, photos, links, etc.  It’s amazing and appreciated how you have kept the forum busy, lively and informative in the near-absence of live performances.

 

As always special thanks go to the Doing Dance thread for being such a wonderfully supportive group.  We are always amazed at how you help each other out with all kinds of problems and questions, and how you guide each other through the maze of doing dance, in whatever form it takes.  Long may this continue.

 

Speaking of special thanks, a massive thank you to those of you who contributed so generously to our fundraising effort a couple of months back.  It is the first time in five years that we have had to do a fundraiser, and thanks to your generosity we shouldn’t have to ask again for two to three years.  Your generosity is always deeply appreciated, but in this very difficult year we are especially grateful to each and every one of you.

 

Finally, with my Chair’s hat on, I would like to say a huge and special thank you to all of my fellow moderators, all volunteers, who do such a sterling job of keeping the forum going, especially in this most challenging year.  Most of our work is done behind the scenes, unseen and unnoticed (which is how it should be).  As the forum enters its 10th year, the hard work clearly pays off as we are still here!  So I think you, the members, and we, the moderators, can have the luxury of being pleased with ourselves!  I would also like to remember John Mallinson, still much missed and whose initial ideas and technical contributions in setting up this forum will ensure its survival for a long time.

 

Here’s to the coming year, and I know that we are all together in the hope that it won’t be too long before we can go to see live performances once again, then discuss and debate them here on the forum.

 

Until such time, please keep your contributions coming.  We appreciate it more than we can say.

 

From all of us to all of you…a very happy, healthy and peaceful New Year.

 

Very best wishes,

 

Simonetta Dixon (Sim)

Chair, BalletcoForum Committee

[jmhopton]

Hear, hear, Sim. You expressed my thoughts and feelings far better than I could have done, myself. Many thanks to you and to all the moderators. We wouldn't have a website without all your hard work and dedication. Lets hope 2021 will see us all keep happy and healthy and return to the theatre at some point. Like you say, we'll appreciate it all the more and will never take it for granted again.

[ninamargaret]

Very grateful to the Forum for helping to keep me reasonably sane!  And thanks to contributors who have amused, enfuriated, agreed with me, educated me! In one sense it's been a good year, with the chance to see so much ballet and other arts that I wouldn't have seen under normal circumstances. Let's hope for some semblance of normality next year.

[Janite]

Very grateful thanks to the Mods and all contributors, this forum has helped me get through this challenging time and you all do it kindly which is much appreciated.

[Odyssey]

Thank you for enabling us to share our love and enthusiasm for this wonderful art form, particularly through such a difficult time.