company auditions, why so few places...?

[taxi4ballet]

My dd went to local dance schools from the age of 3 to 16, and in all that time I don't recall one single occasion when any of her dance teachers ever mentioned that x ballet company was performing in one of the theatres within a reasonable travelling distance.  DD and I saw Nothern, ENB, BTUK, Ballet Central, New Adventures, EYB, Ballet Cymru and a couple of other 'Russian Something or other' companies, all at theatres within 45 minutes' drive of where we live. The tickets were not extortionate by any means, and probably comparable with what you would pay for panto.

 

It is all out there, so maybe ballet teachers could be a bit more proactive here, even if it is only putting up a poster in their changing room or mentioning it to their older students in class. 

 

There's also the cinema live screenings - forgot those!

 

Edited May 19 by taxi4ballet

[Ruby Foo]

2 hours ago, Ballet Saga said:

Why does something have to become a spectacle before we’re willing to engage with it? 

This is exactly what we DONT want, a big spectacle, a big expensive production. A big daunting theatre that costs a fortune.

We need smaller, quieter, intimate productions where the audience feel connected and where they can have time and space to engage with the performers either by being closer to them ( smaller audiences in  more creative seating arrangements) or having a chance to connect with them before or after the performance. The productions I saw in NY were not spectacles in any way, but they were magnificent.

[Dancing unicorn]

Not ballet, but tap! Off to see 42nd Street on the cinema this afternoon with dd! Wouldn’t think of going to see it in London but don’t mind paying for cinema! Purely research purposes of course 🫣🥰😜

Edited May 19 by Dancing unicorn

[Ballet Saga]

1 hour ago, Ruby Foo said:

This is exactly what we DONT want, a big spectacle, a big expensive production. A big daunting theatre that costs a fortune.

We need smaller, quieter, intimate productions where the audience feel connected and where they can have time and space to engage with the performers either by being closer to them ( smaller audiences in  more creative seating arrangements) or having a chance to connect with them before or after the performance. The productions I saw in NY were not spectacles in any way, but they were magnificent.

Just like the link I put above. There is a Q&A after the performance. That’s not unusual. 
 

Spectacle doesn’t have to mean big, expensive etc. I meant it in terms of something unusual. 
 

A big theatre ticket doesn’t have to cost a fortune and nor does a small theatre ticket. It’s been established there are many ways to see a dance performance on a smaller budget. 
 

If you want a company to have many dancers (hopefully one of our own children), then we can’t expect to pay pittance all the time to see a ballet. It feels to me that this is what it all boils down to. What do you actually want? Small intimate performances, more company contracts, cheap tickets? You really can’t have it all! Something will give. 
 

Personally I enjoy all sorts of performances. I like to sit away from the stage sometimes so that I can’t hear the thud of feet landing, or see the sweat pouring down the dancers faces. It’s more enjoyable for me to be a spectator rather than being ‘amongst’ the performance. I have seen big displays of stage sets and not enjoyed them. Sometimes I have enjoyed what they add to a performance. 
 

The more performances I see (an eclectic mix) the more I enjoy the ballet, and the more I feel in touch with what my child is training to do. Which leaves me in awe of his hard work and determination! I wouldn’t want to miss out on that! 
 

Again this is all deflection anyway. 

[Ruby Foo]

59 minutes ago, Ballet Saga said:

Just like the link I put above. There is a Q&A after the performance. That’s not unusual. 
 

Spectacle doesn’t have to mean big, expensive etc. I meant it in terms of something unusual. 
 

A big theatre ticket doesn’t have to cost a fortune and nor does a small theatre ticket. It’s been established there are many ways to see a dance performance on a smaller budget. 
 

If you want a company to have many dancers (hopefully one of our own children), then we can’t expect to pay pittance all the time to see a ballet. It feels to me that this is what it all boils down to. What do you actually want? Small intimate performances, more company contracts, cheap tickets? You really can’t have it all! Something will give. 
 

Personally I enjoy all sorts of performances. I like to sit away from the stage sometimes so that I can’t hear the thud of feet landing, or see the sweat pouring down the dancers faces. It’s more enjoyable for me to be a spectator rather than being ‘amongst’ the performance. I have seen big displays of stage sets and not enjoyed them. Sometimes I have enjoyed what they add to a performance. 
 

The more performances I see (an eclectic mix) the more I enjoy the ballet, and the more I feel in touch with what my child is training to do. Which leaves me in awe of his hard work and determination! I wouldn’t want to miss out on that! 
 

Again this is all deflection anyway. 

 I never said I wanted cheaper tickets. 
I reflected that many families would be hard pushed to do several trips to the theatre ( including travel expenses) when family life with several children is very expensive. This was in response to your sweeping criticism of dance parents not taking their children to dance performances.

I also never mentioned taking away the productions in theatres that already exist. I was talking about diversity when appropriate.

[Ballet Saga]

29 minutes ago, Ruby Foo said:

 I never said I wanted cheaper tickets. 
I reflected that many families would be hard pushed to do several trips to the theatre ( including travel expenses) when family life with several children is very expensive. This was in response to your sweeping criticism of dance parents not taking their children to dance performances.

I also never mentioned taking away the productions in theatres that already exist. I was talking about diversity when appropriate.

What I said was taken as a ‘sweeping criticism’ and caused some parents to become defensive, sadly. I’m completely aware that family life is expensive (especially as a single parent on a low income). So, I maybe have an extra understanding of that and I haven’t let that mean my child doesn’t see a performance of what they’re aspiring to be in the future. There are plenty of ways round it (as explained by a few in this thread). I can imagine standing in line in Central Park must have cost a lot of money and I won’t be doing anything like that in the foreseeable (or ever due to cost!) I haven’t been on holiday for 6 years, but I’ve managed to see dance performances. 
 

It always comes back to the fact that we want our children to have jobs. It is still extraordinary to me that parents of children who are training don’t take them to the ballet. And if the child shows no interest then why are the parents spending so much on training? (And I don’t mean weekly classes at the local dance school, we all know it’s more than that). 
 

I really don’t understand why parents get defensive when you suggest they should see a dance performance with their child, and that’s it’s important for their child. I can only imagine its guilt? 

[Ruby Foo]

I wish your son all the best in his career and think he's been very lucky to have such strong support from yourself. I'm sure that will stand him in good stead in the future.

 

I don't believe I feel guilty or defensive. Just like you, I tried to do my very best, always. I'm just putting forward another perspective.

We were lucky to live in New York for 3 years and fortunate to soak up all the culture it had to offer, much of which is free, (especially during summer) plus the wonderful Steps on Broadway studios.

 
I don't teach now and my Dd is off to University in September. I still care very much about students training and welfare and employment.

 

 

[Chira]

We have always dipped in and out of Marquee TV ‘streaming the arts’ (£8pm can cancel anytime) and iPlayer  has a very good dance section. My dancing teen and I saw Akram Khans Giselle on iPlayer and what a treat that was!

 

When my child was young and not in full-time vocational training until Y9 they were fortunate to be able to perform in many full length classical ballets with wonderful companies and we availed ourselves of relatively cheap local theatre tickets to watch full length ballets by unknown touring companies each year. Then my child very much wanted to watch classical ballet. Not so much now.

 

Now immersed in full-time ballet training and all that this entails, (which is ALOT), any mention of going to see a ballet is met with ‘no Thankyou’ , they want a complete break for all things classical ballet.  Exceptions are contemporary choreographers like Forsythe (which we saw at Sadlers Wells as a birthday present) or any other dance genre.

 

I believe when children are in full-time vocational training the school also has a responsibility to ensure that their students see at least one performance a year in a theatre. Also let’s not forget that all training schools put on an annual show for the public and students get to watch these as well as perform in them. 
 

For me families with a dancing child/children do what’s right for their whole family.  I suspect there are probably no children in full-time ballet training that have never seen at least one full length classical ballet. At a guess the Nutcracker will be up there as No 1 😅 oh maybe Swan Lake 😊

 

I only have one child. If I had 3, but only one that was interested in dancing and 2 not at all this might mean that a family outing looks like a Christmas Panto, or the Barbie movie, or a trip to a theme park, or a day out in London to see the lights. Or going away on a family holiday.
 

Hopefully if our children gain that elusive contract in their futures they can then immerse themselves in dancing in full length ballets all the time. ☺️

NB I just costed a family of 4 going to see MB’s Romeo and Juliet at the Mayflower in October, my local theatre. £70 for tickets (back of circle cheapest), train £25 and maybe interval ice cream/drink £20.
£115 is a lot of money. If you are already paying for school fees, intensives, uniform and travel for your children; additional spending like this just might not ever be possible. 

 

 

[Out-the-other-side]

There are definitely initiatives out there to bring ballet to a wider audience I’m just not sure how effectively they are marketed. For example, all of the key stage 2 classes in the primary school where I teach took part today in a free, live ‘create and dance’ lesson from the Royal Opera House  (and will be doing the opera focussed one on Wednesday) However, we only know about this because I follow the ROH social media accounts. So word gets out only via people already invested in some way in the ballet world. 
 

Ballet Cymru are also performing locally to us at a well-attended, rather eclectic arts festival (predominantly music) in a few weeks time  (performing Romeo and Juliet in the beautiful surroundings of Lichfield Cathedral). I don’t recall ballet being part of this in event previous years. If it was, it certainly hasn’t been as widely advertised!  So potentially more endeavours to make ballet seen in less traditional environments and at a more affordable cost than many theatre performances (from £14 per ticket in this case) 

[Peanut68]

Well I think one school is following this thread…. Offering discounted tickets to ‘dance groups’ with natty write up that they want to encourage dancers to watch dance! Bravo Central for ‘reading the room’ (& clearly this Forum I think!) 

https://www.balletcentral.co.uk/ballet-central-announces-group-discounts-for-upcoming-performances/

 

[Peanut68]

And this another approach to combine Ballet with other cultural venues & engage with potential newcomers to the art form…

 

https://www.brb.org.uk/bmag?utm_source=brb-email&utm_medium=bmag-announce-general&dm_i=60QQ,10WDC,1FECTB,4MVDX,1
 

[Ruby Foo]

56 minutes ago, Peanut68 said:

And this another approach to combine Ballet with other cultural venues & engage with potential newcomers to the art form…

 

https://www.brb.org.uk/bmag?utm_source=brb-email&utm_medium=bmag-announce-general&dm_i=60QQ,10WDC,1FECTB,4MVDX,1
 

Fabulous! This is so encouraging!!!

Thank you Peanut!

Just makes me so happy to see this! 😊

Introducing people to Ballet in informal settings and spaces.

Why are we not seeing some sort of ballet at the Chelsea Flower Show???

I can think of so many links Rose Adagio, Lillies and Myrtle from Giselle, 

Lilac fairy etc etc

 

[Lifeafterballet]

4 minutes ago, Ruby Foo said:

 

Why are we not seeing some sort of ballet at the Chelsea Flower Show???

 

 

They would need wetsuits, not tutus 🤣

[Peanut68]

1 hour ago, Ruby Foo said:

Why are we not seeing some sort of ballet at the Chelsea Flower Show???

I can think of so many links Rose Adagio, Lillies and Myrtle from Giselle, 

Lilac fairy etc etc

Yes, yes YES!! I’m all for ballet in alternative settings! Although the upcoming Ballet Nights at The Ministry of Sound is a step too far for me as think it could slightly jar with my memories of misspent youth there 😂

[Jan McNulty]

It's not exactly a new initiative for ballet to be in some form or other in museums and other spaces.

 

In the late 1980s I can remember dashing over to Tate Liverpool to see Northern Ballet performing in front of a couple of Degas paintings that were being exhibited.

 

There is also the Guggenheim series every year in New York.

 

It is a great initiative by BRB though!

 

(Just to mention that although not ballet Motionhouse often have site-specific works).

[Peanut68]

Our local dance school have been known to perform at such things as street & beach (come rain or shine!) events, in care homes & Churches & flash mobs in restaurants amongst other things & take any & every opportunity to take ballet & other forms of dance out into the local community…as I’m sure very many of our wonderful local dance schools led by amazing teachers who really support their local areas do! 

[alison]

When the documentary "The [Royal Opera] House" was on the BBC in the 1990s, Royal Ballet dancers were shown doing extracts from The Nutcracker (I think) in a shopping centre (Elephant and Castle?).  And I think care homes, too.  None of this is terribly new.

[Ruby Foo]

None of it is new but the examples given are very sporadic. If we were to generalise or guess, what would we say? A company does something novel and interactive perhaps once a year, if that. Some definitely don't do anything at all. It's certainly not enough to provide more employment for dancers. We need something far more dedicated, specific and routine to be effective. 

[Peanut68]

3 hours ago, alison said:

When the documentary "The [Royal Opera] House" was on the BBC in the 1990s, Royal Ballet dancers were shown doing extracts from The Nutcracker (I think) in a shopping centre (Elephant and Castle?).  And I think care homes, too.  None of this is terribly new.

Have to say local dance schools out in the community a far cry from Royal Ballet in a shopping centre!! Actually do think the firmer will garner more chance to create grassroots interest in ballet if it encourages a few kids or adults to trial a class!