New book of Clement Crisp's reviews

[Odyssey]

8 minutes ago, capybara said:

 I agree but this gorgeous-looking book was clearly sponsored by people close to Clement - which is great but does demonstrate how difficult it must be to bring writing about dance and dancers to publication nowadays.

Yes, of course, you are right. Performing arts sections in bookshops are rare, and books on dance never number more than a few.  There are very few independent, small publishing houses that have managed to survive, and it must be a real labour of love to be able to produce a quality volume such as this. I wonder what the print run is - really  hope it sells well and who knows, it may go for a reprint.

[Rina]

On 17/09/2021 at 13:49, Two Pigeons said:

I think it is a universally acknowledged opinion that Clem is pre-eminent amongst ballet critics and his opinion is to be held in the highest esteem.

 

I hope so, I really do, but there seem to be significant differences between his approach and those of today's critics, with a few exceptions. The first is that he is fearless in slating bad choreography. The 5-star rating in common use is rather crude but if he were to use it, I've no doubt that he'd give "nul points" when the work merited it. Just as he does describe a ballet as a masterpiece - very occasionally. This opens up a wide scale of values.

 

Ballet is a very difficult art form to master as a choreographer. I can't think of any works made for the Royal companies since the days of Ashton and Macmillan which merit the word "masterpiece", even "flawed masterpiece". If today's critics adopted Clement's scale of values, three stars would reflect a very good piece of work, whereas often they are used for a work which even the reviewer says is not particularly good. To borrow an analogy from education, reviewers are suffering from "grade inflation". I'd guess that most new works are really in the one to two star range. Gerald (GJ) Dowler's review of Marston's The Cellist (one star) was one of the few recent reviews that present the scale of values Clement exemplifies.

 

Some random thoughts:

1. Clement's reviews are concise and keep to the essentials. He has the knowledge and the experience to discern what matters in a ballet. He won't waste time on dredging up a few small good points in an otherwise shipwrecked endeavour. Yes, he'd praise a dancer for doing the best he or she could, but not so as to justify a turkey.

2. He is not writing as a friend of the company or a supporter or a kind person always prepared to look for the good in something but as a critic, i.e. a lover of the art form. A bad review isn't intended to wound the artists but to preserve the scale of values. He is keen to see the art form renew itself but will call out work which is really erasing its traditions (e.g. Mats Ek).

3. He is something of a lone voice in protesting at the prevalence of "euro-gloom" - an aesthetic practised in France and Germany which for some reason has become a fixture at the RB. He isn't persuaded I suspect by the argument that the dancers like performing it. I'd love to have read a review by Clement of Schechter's recent Double Murder programme - the title alone an own goal I suspect.

4. Clement praises good design and music [see his account of Ondine in the book], and as far as I can see still maintains the virtues of the Diaghilev aesthetic. If either the sound or the lighting or both dominate the movement element, the ballet will suffer and even fail. Many critics today seem to take a different view.

 

I'm sorry if I've misrepresented Clement's views - he's very sophisticated and nuanced so I probably have. When I started going to the ballet in the mid-1980s I'd often see him around, with Mary Clarke and Alastair Macaulay - two other great critics. I used the book he wrote with Mary Clarke - The Ballet Goer's Guide - as my primer, and tested my reactions to a ballet against his reviews. Apart from a few cases of Macmillan works where I couldn't follow him, he played a big part in my ballet education. Here's to you Clement! Thank you!

 

 

 

 

[Two Pigeons]

Well said Rina!

[FLOSS]

I thought the image on the cover was extremely inventive as it manages to refer simultaneously to both dance and writing in a single image as the shadow of the two pens is capable of being interpreted as a pair of dancer's legs.

 

As far as the contents are concerned I too have dipped into it. Somehow I had managed to forget just how bad Stretton's ballet programmes were. Crisp's reviews of some of the programmes staged during his directorship brought that dismal disheartening time back all too vividly. Sadly I think that what Crisp said about the neglect of the company's back catalogue during that thankfully short directorship is uncomfortably close to the programming decisions made by the current incumbent. While it is true that we are not being exposed to other company's cast offs as we were during the Stretton regime Kevin seems equally capable of ignoring the company's twentieth century repertory in favour of works of dubious artistic value. His reasons for neglecting that repertory may be different from Stretton's but neglect has the same corrosive effect on all but the most robust of ballets .

 

Crisp's great strength as a critic is that he has seen a vast range of repertory over decades of ballet going with the result he knows the difference between dross and choreographic gold and does not mistake one for the other. His reviews are worth reading whether or not you have seen the work he is writing about or the dancers performing it and he makes you think about what you have seen. I don't think that there is anyone of Crisp's calibre working as a critic in this country today. Gerald Dowler probably comes closest to Crisp in his approach to writing dance criticism at the present time. He does not hedge his bets with new works for fear that the choreographer may later be acclaimed as a genius; he does not ride obvious hobby horses when giving his opinion; he does not seek to ingratiate himself with companies or dance makers and he does not want to achieve a  choreographic revolution in Bow Street as some of the current crop of critics make clear they do when they write about the Royal Ballet's activities and its repertory.

[Ian Macmillan]

Whilst not wishing to halt the stream of encomia on the work of Messrs Crips and (now) Dowler, are alternative opinions and aesthetics to be denigrated as a consequence?  I like what I like and don't what I don't, regardless of a critic's view - and I'd imagine I'm not entirely alone in that.  At a guess, the history of theatre and music is full of first-night views that many would laugh at now, indeed I have a book full of them.  But all of that said, I did often enjoy Mr Crisp's de haut en bas style - and am slightly surprised that nobody has picked up on how he greatly enjoyed street dance and the like in his last years of writing.

[Jan McNulty]

2 minutes ago, Ian Macmillan said:

Whilst not wishing to halt the stream of encomia on the work of Messrs Crips and (now) Dowler, are alternative opinions and aesthetics to be denigrated as a consequence? 

 

Our bosses used to get the FT in work (not sure if any of them read it) and I used to sneak into the outer office and read Clement Crisp's reviews on a Thursday.

 

I once read one he had written on Northern Ballet's Romeo & Juliet (Gable/Morricone production) that offended me so much that the next time I saw him in a theatre I was going to kick him in the shin!  (Needless to say I didn't.)

 

In terms of his writing I admired his erudition and beautifully written English and I enjoyed his reviews of works by companies that I had not seen but I didn't always agree with his reviews of performances that I had actually seen.

 

The only favourable review of a Northern Ballet performance that I can ever remember reading was for Christopher Gable/Michael Pink's Dracula.

[Odyssey]

 

 

A very important observation. I’m not being flippant when I say it was ever thus, in that certain versions of events are venerated and hold a higher truth. For me it is  his deployment of the English language that makes such a delight to read. I have frequently disagreed with his view. That he can cite so much passion, whether or not you agree with him, is why I am so pleased to have a compilation of his writing.

 

 

 

edited to say I appear to have attached this to the wrong quote, I was actually referring to Ian’s post and I don’t appear to be able to correct this mistake in edit mode. Perhaps moderators can. 

Edited October 1, 2021 by Jan McNulty
edited to add in Ian McMillan's post as requested by Odyssey. Previous erroneous quote removed.

[Two Pigeons]

I think many of us are expressing much the same view of our delight in Clem's eloquence.  If there was one thing better than a good review from him it was a report in his very idiosyncratic style of work he didn't like!

[Ian Macmillan]

Adding to my last, I seem to recall his advice to a would-be critic as "Kiss or kill."  And he didn't do halfway, I'd say.

[Ian Macmillan]

Ismene Brown has just announced on Twitter that she has organised her reviews etc from years back into a new website.  The Index includes an interview with Clement Crisp from 2001:

 

http://ismeneb.com/new-index/ewExternalFiles/Clement Crisp int for ballet.co.uk%2C 2001.pdf

 

It's quite something - members from the ballet.co era may see their names, for it appears to have been carried out for the site.  And please read the extract of a review for an Ohad Naharin work if you want a taste of Crisp at his crispest.  Oh, and the 'Kiss or kill' remark is there too.

[Guest oncnp]

On sale at the ROH shop    Clement Crisp Reviews: Six decades of dance Book - The Royal Opera House (roh.org.uk)

[Scheherezade]

Plus an additional 10% discount if you're a Friend.

[alison]

On 24/11/2021 at 09:33, oncnp said:

On sale at the ROH shop    Clement Crisp Reviews: Six decades of dance Book - The Royal Opera House (roh.org.uk)

 

At a generous discount, too, although P&P is involved if you don't buy it in person.

 

(Go on, you know you want to )

[jmhopton]

I got my husband to buy it for me for Christmas. I've been very disciplined and not opened it yet! Will let you know what I think after Christmas.

[Blossom]

25% discount for friends ontop of existing discount - see latest newsletter.

[Blossom]

My book just arrived from ROH - beautifully wrapped in their ROH tissue paper. Can't wait to dip into it - a great coffee table book and like the way it's organised. Thrilled to see there are photos too. I do think though that the cover is a little bit bland/dull (esp for a coffee table book) and incongruous with the contents, so much so, I'd initially thought that this was a holding image on Amazon when the book was first listed. It could have been much more interesting even with a cover photo of Clement Crisp himself!

Definitely a great gift if you have someone to buy it for - especially if you can get 25% discount on the current discounted cost on the ROH site.

[alison]

Mine arrived today: it's been hidden away somewhere where I can't find it so I can't take a sneak peak before Christmas  

[alison]

Finally got this yesterday, and it was well worth the wait!  Gorgeous book

 

Thank you to everyone who made it possible.

[Fonty]

Mine was waiting for me under the Christmas tree, and I unwrapped it on Christmas Day.  Well, ok, I did actually order and collect it myself from my independent book shop, but someone else paid for it and wrapped it. 🙂

 

This book is extremely heavy, and  I find the most comfortable way for me to read it is to sit at the dining table and have it laid out in front of me.  It reminds me of the days when I was at school and doing my homework, except the material is so much more entertaining than the majority of stuff I did then!

[Sim]

I got mine yesterday from my daughter and have been reading it today.  A beautiful book that I am so happy and grateful to have.  ❤️

[Mary]

5 hours ago, Fonty said:

This book is extremely heavy, and  I find the most comfortable way for me to read it is to sit at the dining table and have it laid out in front of me.  It reminds me of the days when I was at school and doing my homework,

I'm tempted to set you an essay!

[jmhopton]

Have started reading this and really enjoying it though I'd prefer it to be less heavy!

 

Love the little bon mots scattered about.

 

Scherazade 2000

has all the erotic charge of a Bath bun.

 

Faroukh Ruzimatov 1990

The back bends and the Theda Bara emotings would have won him a contract with D.W. Griffith.

 

Gaite Parisienne 1999

A chap in an actionable red velvet outfit that made him look like a sofa in a bordello. 

 

Coppelia 1995

The Kirov monstrosity combines the worst features of Hellzapoppin and Vampire Lesbians of Sodom.

 

Royal Ballet Mixed Bill 1995 Septext, la Ronde, Firstext, Rhapsody

In order to see "fearful sights", an Elizabethan herbal recommended anointing the temples with lapwing's blood. There is no need for such recherche` treatment this week; a ticket for the Royal ballet's new triple bill will provide all the fearful sights a dance-lover needs for this year, or any other...The need for this arid tosh in the Covent garden repertory escapes me... My sympathies are with the marvellous Darcey Bussell who's unenviable task is to end the ballet (La Ronde) by wriggling on the ground with all the amorous ecstasy of a grass snake on heat.

 

Hope it's OK to give these quotes. Mods please remove if it's not but I just wanted to give a flavour of the book.

 

Interestingly, he criticizes the RB several times in the 80s and 90s for not making use of past dancers as repetiteurs. Presumably he couldn't do that now with Avis, Saunders and now Ed Watson as permanent ballet masters. Also, Lesley Collier, Darcey, Leanne Benjamin, Dowell and Mason being brought in as coaches.

 

His opinion about the RB Dance Bites programme they inflicted on small regional theatres in the late 90s definitely mirrored my feelings about this extremely ill-judged venture. If the RB couldn't afford touring full length ballets (understandable, although ENB and BRB both with a fraction of the ROH Govt grant managed it) then at least they could tour one act ballets that are recognizably ballet. Instead, they chose to tour a rag bag selection of modern or experimental works that presumably they thought wasn't suitable for London audiences. In this case, why inflict them in areas unfamiliar with modern ballets and to whom the words 'Royal Ballet' are associated with classical ballet? No matter how much you advertised them as modern ballets, non-ballet going audiences will come expecting to see tutus and classical variations. You think the RB could have attracted a new audience if they had done a mixture of more traditional one act ballets and divertissements, instead of the sort of rubbish that Clement entitles 'Bad, bad, ballet'.

 

I'm looking forward to continuing with the book. My only disappointment is whoever did the selections seemed to have ended about 2015 though Clement was writing until at least 2018. So, there seems to be no mention of Muntagirov or any other of the current young RB dancers (at least in the index).

 

 

[capybara]

15 minutes ago, jmhopton said:

 

I'm looking forward to continuing with the book. My only disappointment is whoever did the selections seemed to have ended about 2015 though Clement was writing until at least 2018. So, there seems to be no mention of Muntagirov or any other of the current young RB dancers (at least in the index).

Interestingly, Clement’s last ‘appearance’ at the ROH was at a Muntagirov performance.

IIRC, I think he rather liked Vadim.

[jmhopton]

6 hours ago, capybara said:

Interestingly, Clement’s last ‘appearance’ at the ROH was at a Muntagirov performance.

IIRC, I think he rather liked Vadim.

I'm sure he loved Vadim and many of the new, young cohort at the Royal Ballet. Its just there don't appear to be any reviews to support this in this particular collection.

Perhaps another book is called for (preferably a bit more lightweight!) though I did like the format and the photographs.

[JNC]

On 10/01/2022 at 19:47, jmhopton said:

I'm sure he loved Vadim and many of the new, young cohort at the Royal Ballet. Its just there don't appear to be any reviews to support this in this particular collection.

Perhaps another book is called for (preferably a bit more lightweight!) though I did like the format and the photographs.

Probably not a large market for it but I would also love to see recent reviews for this current cohort of RB dancers. 
 

I know RB used to do a yearbook (which sadly seems to have gone to be replaced by the year in pictures which is not the same thing at all). Bit off topic but just a general lament that ballet related books involving behind the scenes type of content and reviews don’t exist. 

[Fonty]

On 10/01/2022 at 12:31, jmhopton said:

Interestingly, he criticizes the RB several times in the 80s and 90s for not making use of past dancers as repetiteurs. Presumably he couldn't do that now with Avis, Saunders and now Ed Watson as permanent ballet masters. Also, Lesley Collier, Darcey, Leanne Benjamin, Dowell and Mason being brought in as coaches.

 

 

Are dancers such as  Lynn Seymour and Antoinette Sibley also brought in?  The latter especially has made specific comments with regard to the way in which the Ashton rep has been danced.  I am not sure if it was on this forum, but I read a comment by her saying that Titania was supposed to be sexy, and now that characteristic has been lost.  I will see if I can find the original quote.

 

[jmhopton]

12 hours ago, Fonty said:

 

Are dancers such as  Lynn Seymour and Antoinette Sibley also brought in?  The latter especially has made specific comments with regard to the way in which the Ashton rep has been danced.  I am not sure if it was on this forum, but I read a comment by her saying that Titania was supposed to be sexy, and now that characteristic has been lost.  I will see if I can find the original quote.

 

I remember her hearing say that fairly recently. Was it on the Ashton Foundation film?

[alison]

I think today's sad news needs its own thread: