dirac

An interview with Kathryn Morgan.

An examination of the accuracy of Netflix's ballet-themed shows.

A review of Barre Project: Blake Works II by Jann Parry for DanceTabs.

A story on Gavin Larsen's new book by Grant Butler in The Oregonian.

Jacob's Pillow announces its summer schedule. Related.

A story on dancers who started families during lockdown conditions.

New York City Ballet will present a scaled down performance series at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center this summer.

Hi, AnthonyNYC. Thank you for posting your thoughts. In his piece for "Slipped Disc" Macaulay cautions against attributing Scarlett's death, which is tacitly acknowledged to be suicide without using the word, to "cancel culture" as the "determining factor," which does seem wise. (However, I also don't think that the dismissal followed by decease is necessarily entirely a post hoc ergo propter hoc fallacy, at least not at this time.) You are quite right that we don't know the specifics of Scarlett's dismissal from the Royal Ballet. I think the consensus here is that it was likely justified at the time, but no, we don't have the information.

More on the fallout from the death of Liam Scarlett. Alastair Macaulay for Slipped Disc. The Times Debra Craine for The Times. Obituary by David Jays in The Guardian.

Graham Watts writes on the death of Liam Scarlett in The Spectator.

Quite so, aurora. I would expect the company to look into such charges and I am willing to assume they did their due diligence. I also understand that Scarlett would have to pay for his transgressions for at least an extended period away from work. I would also think, or hope, that, as I wrote earlier and based on the knowledge I have, that someone of his age would be capable of learning from experience and getting canned very publicly at a highly privileged job from one of the world's great companies might well serve as a (deserved) shock to the system. He had lived much if not most of his brief life as part of the Royal Ballet. No, indeed. They certainly wouldn't drop a rising star over trivia or dubious accusations. I would also assume that there was hard evidence such as texts and photos and they must have looked pretty bad for Scarlett. As for his "Swan Lake" -- yes, there are morals and then there's money.

The ballets are sufficiently recent that I would think there are people who were involved performing and coaching them who still remember them well enough to stage and rehearse them. Tapes are from hunger, but if they are there they can be used. If the will is there I imagine there would be a way.

Thank you, volcanohunter. Good question......

An item on Miriam Allen, one of the four singers at the service.

Sarasota Ballet presents an all-Ashton virtual program.

A review of San Francisco Ballet in "Jewels" by Rita Felciano for danceviewtimes.

An obituary for Mary Ellen Moylan in The Daily Telegraph

An obituary for Mary Ellen Moylan, who died last year at age 94, by Roslyn Sulcas in The New York Times.

A note on Scarlett's death by Norman Lebrecht in Slipped Disc.

I am willing to believe that the Royal cut its ties with Scarlett for good reason - he couldn't be charged with anything, but his conduct still didn't meet the standards of the organization, I presume. What Ratmansky, I think, was saying that he should not have been blackballed - and that, for all intents and purposes, was what happened - he was not only dismissed from the Royal, a pretty big consequence and very possibly deserved, but he and his works were dropped everywhere, even places where he had no history of misconduct, as I understand it. It's reasonable to ask if it had to happen this way. As you wrote, there's a lot we don't know.

It's easy to forget how small the ballet world is and how much power can be exerted over dancers.

Many of yesterday's dancers refused to work with Robbins or rebelled against it, and had to be talked into working with him. Others had different experiences with him. I agree that Ratmansky's premise is faulty (AR has sometimes been a bit tone deaf when it comes to the nuances of movements like #MeToo) but I also take what I think is his larger point. In Scarlett's case this was someone who was still young in terms of his profession and, I assume, capable of learning and changing. Like pherank, I appreciate AR's candor. Absolutely.

I missed this, pherank. Thank you very much for posting. I would hope that at some point New York City Ballet will make an announcement or an acknowledgment of some kind, even though she was never a City Ballet dancer. She deserves it. Moylan may well have been the last survivor from Balanchine's companies of the forties. I really enjoyed her contributions to "Six Balanchine Ballerinas." So sorry to hear she had dementia. RIP. However, it seems to me that Marie-Jeanne was really "the first," at least in this country.

I'm perfectly sober, thanks. The line is from Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? where everyone is swozzled. But I thank you for the concern.

I agree. The camerawork was tactful (I was watching the BBC mostly) and didn't cut to her too often. I missed a full-bodied choir, but the singing was still impressive and filled the chapel beautifully, at least as far as one could tell from home. I liked the setting of Psalm 104 by William Lovelady, which I understand the Duke commissioned, and Britten's Jubilate. The Russian Kontakion of the Departed was, I assume, a nice nod to the Duke's Greek heritage. I was confused a bit by the liturgy, which seems to have been tweaked and not so much for the better. Of course my copy of the Book of Common Prayer is quite old. On a frivolous note, those pearls Kate was wearing were stunning while being appropriate to the occasion.