7 replies to this topic

[Pamela Moberg]

I hope that you have all celebrated World Dance Day 29 April. It is the commemoration of the birth of Jean-Georges Noverre, born in Paris 29 April 1727.
Swedish TV did their bit by broadcasting a couple of Jiri Kylian works. IMO, not much of an effort.
I have no idea who started this World Dance Day, possibly Unesco?

[carbro]

Pamela Moberg, on 29 April 2012 - 03:19 PM, said:

I have no idea who started this World Dance Day, possibly Unesco?

  Wow, Pamela!  I am impressed!

http://en.wikipedia....World_Dance_Day

The goal of the “International Dance Day Message” is to celebrate Dance, to revel in the universality of this art form, to cross all political, cultural and ethnic barriers and bring people together through the common language of Dance^[3]. Together with the World Dance Alliance, ITI and its Dance Committee celebrate International Dance Day at UNESCO in Paris and all over the world.

Promotion of Dance Day by the International Dance Council

The International Dance Council (CID), an umbrella organization within UNESCO is also active in the support of Dance and promotes Dance Day ...

[sandik]

I've always found it interesting that UNESCO chose Noverre's birthday -- he was notorious for being hard to work with, in a field that depends on personal relationships.

[Pamela Moberg]

Thanks for your interest, folks!
Well, I must say I am rather fond of this Unesco thing. They do a lot of interesting things and spend money on upkeep. From ballet to telecommunications. My husband. who is an OAP (this is English, dont know if you know what it means in American). Well, he is a pensioner and works parttime at maintenance at a Unesco site called Grimeton. It is now obsolete but was used for communications between the US and the immigrants from Europe who sent cables to their families. Grimeton is now a World Heritage, I have been there and it is quite interesting. I find this absolutely wonderful. Unesco keep tabs on everything from old ballet masters to old radio stations.

[LiLing]

Sandik,
That's funny, I think a great many of the most influential choreographers and dancers have been notorious for being hard to work with on some level. I would start the list with Robbins and Graham, Nureyev and Kirkland, and work backwards in history to Noverre.:^ )
But that should be a different thread, so thanks to UNESCO for World Dance Day!

[Pamela Moberg]

LiLing,
Thanks for your suggestions, they are OK, except for Kirkland. She is still with us and there is a requirement that you must be dead to be honored! But I can think of others who would be equally worthy. Pavlova really spred ballet to the masses, but what about Beauchamp who is credited with the five positions. without which there would be no classical ballet at all? Or for that matter Taglioni, who was not really the first dancer on pointe, masses of dancers tried it in those days, but she was the one who popularized it. Oh well, I think I could sit here for the rest of the day thinking of people who have contributed to the art form.

[LiLing]

Pamela,
I don't know if Taglioni qualifies for the hard to work with list, but Pavlova had a well known temper. I knew Molly Lake, one of Pavlova's "little English girls" when she was in her 80s. She told some funny stories about touring with Madame. Once while throwing a tantrum in Venice she flung the ring of wardrobe trunk keys out the window. They landed at the bottom of the canal!

[Pamela Moberg]

LiLing, How interesting that you knew Molly Lake - if mem. serves she established a ballet school in Ankara, Turkey, in the fifties. I myself danced for Cleo Nordi, who was also one of Pavlova's dancers. Pavlova was rather like Elvis Presley, she surrounded herself with nonentities as dancers, but many of those dancers became formidable teachers.
Anyway, now we have strayed from the topic - a World Heritage can be anything, a person, a building, a natural scenery etc. But it must be unique and of great interest and value to mankind. If that person in particular was a nasty type is probably not taken into consideration, as long as the person has done something really substantial in his/her field. And anyway, IMO it is great that ballet gets a distinction, after all there are a lot of people out there who think that ballet is nothing but: silly/awful/laughable/idiotic/nothing for serious people etc.etc.

Look up the World Heritage website, it is quite illuminating!