New generation of dancers lack passion and commitment (?)

[Nina G.]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/theatre/dance/10509557/Carlos-Acosta-New-generation-of-ballet-dancers-lack-passion-and-commitment.html

 

Glad to read Mr O'Hare does not agree with Mr Acosta's statement. 

 

Mr Acosta does not do the current generation of hardworking, committed dancers any justice, and this not for the first time!  

 

It is not because dancers have Ipads and Iphones, use Twitter and FB, etc that they are less committed to their Art. They grew up with this technology and they use it to their full advantage. They are also far better informed and physically much stronger compared to past generations of dancers. They take charge of their own career path, they interact with their audience through social networking,.. 

 

Dancers have moved into the 21st century and are not less passionate and committed, they are just different to the previous generation of dancers. Perhaps Mr Acosta should move along too and not judge dancers as lacking in passion & commitment because they use 21st century technology. 

[zxDaveM]

doesn't everyone, in every walk of life, say the same thing about the next generation? And aren't we always wrong?  :-)

[Nina G.]

I would like to add:

amidst all 21st century "distractions" dancers are faced with it is totally admirable they still want to commit to the most demanding and hardest profession. Mr Acosta perhaps referred to the X-factor generation and he seems to be out of touch with the younger generation of Classical dancers.

[Nina G.]

doesn't everyone, in every walk of life, say the same thing about the next generation? And aren't we always wrong?  :-)

indeed, and it makes him sound like a father moaning about his teenager

[MAB]

They may be committed but I see little passion.

[Nina G.]

How do we define "passion"?

 

I see passion in many dancers at the RB, BRB and ENB!

[Jan McNulty]

Well looking at the stage during any BRB or NB performance I would say that there is absolutely no lack of commitment and passion around in the British ballet companies I watch and I am sure it is the same with the ones I see less frequently.

 

Look at the Doing Dance forum to see how committed our members' DCs are!

[aileen]

If you are not someone who is umbilically connected to your mobile phone and, through that, to social media in all its forms then people who are can seem very distractable as they are always looking at and fiddling with their phones (I suspect that Carlos Acosta is not one for social media). Whether this translates into a lack of passion and commitment I can't say. This is a bit of a theme of his, isn't it? Previously he was complaining about the lack of good female dancers; now he has broadened his complaint to include all dancers. Not to denigrate his achievements, but people who make it to the top from very disadvantaged backgrounds tend to assume that everyone else has had it easy and have achieved what they have without drive and hard work.

[Jane S]

The Times also features this story very prominently, explaining that Acosta is a principal guest artist with English National Ballet. And that he and  Bussell are 'often' referred to as the Nureyev and Fonteyn of our day.

[Nina G.]

 The Times should fire that writer 

[2dancersmum]

What saddens me about this type of article is how a leading dancer is adding to the ammunition of those who want to cut funding to the dance world further and further by expressing the belief that dancers are no longer as committed and passionate with the implication therefore that ballet is losing quality.

[Pas de Quatre]

Yes I saw the Times article too.  How can they publish such sloppy journalism.  Unless Acosta is jumping ship too and let it slip by mistake!

[along for the ride mum]

They may be committed but I see little passion.

I hear you. But... Do we need to 'see' passion to know that it is there? How about quite, self-contained hard-work, determination and commitment ? Does somebody have to outwardly show passion in a dramatic fashion to be passionate? ... I guess it depends what you think passion to be defined as, if you get my meaning

Edited December 11, 2013 by along for the ride mum

[Nina G.]

Yes I saw the Times article too.  How can they publish such sloppy journalism.  Unless Acosta is jumping ship too and let it slip by mistake!

Maybe....(and Osipova could follow him... and her partner-in-life Vasiliev joins too  )

[alison]

People should perhaps try reading the article (p. 48 of the Christmas/New Year edition of the Radio Times, which I'm afraid does bring up the "Fonteyn & Nureyev" business) rather than other people's reported and distorted versions of it.  I'm not convinced from what it says in there that Acosta was even targeting dancers directly, more young people in general.

[Nina G.]

People should perhaps try reading the article (p. 48 of the Christmas/New Year edition of the Radio Times, which I'm afraid does bring up the "Fonteyn & Nureyev" business) rather than other people's reported and distorted versions of it.  I'm not convinced from what it says in there that Acosta was even targeting dancers directly, more young people in general.

Alison thank you, and I get what you mean, but this Post is about what he said in the Telegraph article, not the Radio Times article (I haven't read it yet).

[patsomerset]

I haven't read the Radio Times article but I thought the same about the Telegraph article ie that it was more about young people in general, not particularly dancers

[Nina G.]

I haven't read the Radio Times article but I thought the same about the Telegraph article ie that it was more about young people in general, not particularly dancers

 

???  but the Telegraph article & title state "The new generation of Ballet dancers..." so I did not interpret it to be more about young people in general. Even Mr O'Hare refers to "dancers".

[Fonty]

The Times also features this story very prominently, explaining that Acosta is a principal guest artist with English National Ballet. And that he and  Bussell are 'often' referred to as the Nureyev and Fonteyn of our day.

 

Well, Acosta is promoting the ENB production of  R & J in the round at the Royal Albert Hall next year quite a lot at the moment.  He highlighted this on his appearance on Saturday Kitchen.  I've not read the Times article, but maybe that is how they latched on to that!

 

And isn't every Principal dancer referred to as the Fonteyn or Nureyev of the day in the general media? 

 

And

[aileen]

Fonty, apart from Saturday Kitchen where has Acosta promoted ENB's R&J?

 

Am I right in thinking that there have been more articles, interviews, appearances etc in the press involving ballet dancers recently than there used to be?

[Tony Newcombe]

Ther have been a couple of interviews in the last day or so with Osipova and Cuthbertson and they both explain how hard they have worked. It's worth remembering that the person writing the headline is rarely the person who wrote the article. That's certainly the excuse that journalists use quite often.

[alison]

Alison thank you, and I get what you mean, but this Post is about what he said in the Telegraph article, not the Radio Times article (I haven't read it yet).

 

Yes, Nina, but there *is* no Telegraph article as such: it's merely rehashing (and not very well) what Carlos said in the RT, and adding to it what Pappano has said previously about opera and singers.  I'm not sure how they're actually allowed to get away with quoting so much of someone else's interview: surely there are copyright issues involved?  I reckon they've lifted at least 80% of Carlos' quotes directly from the RT.

[Pas de Quatre]

Haven't seen a print copy of the Telegraph today, but the Times article which says much the same is nearly a whole page - huge headline, big photo and then the text.

 

Incidentally in our household the word "passion" generally gives rise to a wry smile as it is such an overworked word. Contestants on t.v. dance/talent shows always seem to say "It's my passion" as though that entitles them to succeed!

[Ian Macmillan]

Alison:  I don't know about others but, particularly through doing Links, I find that newspapers and magazines are increasingly living off each other's work to fill their pages.  Sometimes an original source will be quoted, but I don't recall seeing any source mentioned in the near-whole page spread given to this in today's Times.  

[Nina G.]

Fonty, apart from Saturday Kitchen where has Acosta promoted ENB's R&J?

 

Am I right in thinking that there have been more articles, interviews, appearances etc in the press involving ballet dancers recently than there used to be?

Seems like it  

The current Marie Claire issue (according to Twitter) features an article about RB's Nutcracker. 

[Nina G.]

Yes, Nina, but there *is* no Telegraph article as such: it's merely rehashing (and not very well) what Carlos said in the RT, and adding to it what Pappano has said previously about opera and singers.  I'm not sure how they're actually allowed to get away with quoting so much of someone else's interview: surely there are copyright issues involved?  I reckon they've lifted at least 80% of Carlos' quotes directly from the RT.

Thank you for clarifying Alison. 

[Pas de Quatre]

Yes I've noticed there does seem to be more ballet/contemporary dance in the press the last few weeks.  Even when there isn't a story, there have been good photos on several days!

[Jan McNulty]

Seems like it

The current Marie Claire issue (according to Twitter) features an article about RB's Nutcracker. 

 

Is this the MarieClaire feature?

[Anna C]

I hear you. But... Do we need to 'see' passion to know that it is there? How about quite, self-contained hard-work, determination and commitment ? Does somebody have to outwardly show passion in a dramatic fashion to be passionate? ... I guess it depends what you think passion to be defined as, if you get my meaning

I couldn't agree more. My dd is incredibly quiet about her need to dance and her love for ballet, but she is up at 6 am every Saturday morning for Associates, takes homework to do on the train, and juggles masses of homework and ballet classes almost every day. Her passion is deeply hidden in her introverted character, but it's there. She just doesn't shout about it.

[Fonty]

Fonty, apart from Saturday Kitchen where has Acosta promoted ENB's R&J?

 

 

 

I definitely read it recently, but I can't remember where.  I never buy a newspaper, so it was either a small snippet in one of the freebies, or it was in one of the magazines in my local library.

 

Although having said that, I am now starting to wonder if it was actually Rojo who was being interviewed, and talked about Acosta partnering her next year.

 

[along for the ride mum]

That's precisely the kind of attitude I was referring to S&P. I am personally not overly keen on overt shows of 'passion' (unless it is appropriate to a role! ) However when I read the article My immediate reaction was to think 'well, he hasn't met my daughter' (or many of the dc's whose parents post on the forum) who could not be described as dancing passionately but she is most definitely passionate about her dance, although even her closest friends could not possibly know the depth of her commitment as she works with quiet determination to achieve her goals

[Nina G.]

Is this the MarieClaire feature?

Yes it is Janet.

[Legseleven]

I have noticed that it is often those who shout loudest about their passion for dance who become 'affected' and seem to believe that at all times they must be wrapping their legs round their ears/doing high kicks - even in the most inappropriate settings - and loudly declaiming that their lives would be worthless without dance. It reminds me of Bonnie Langford's portrayal of Violet Elizabeth in the 'Just William' TV series of my youth and does ballet no favours by concentrating the attention of the non-balletic public on a flashy 'showgirl' type image.

 

(And bah humbug to me on re-reading this post!)