GoCoyote!

I'm afraid I would describe Roslyn Sulcasi's review more as a 'pathologically rave review' rather than mere 'rave review' ... or even 'good review' ... certainly it is not an 'accurate and well observed review'. Review link: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/29/arts/dan....html?ref=dance If this is true then it is in my opinion a very, very depressing thought, not least because what 'ballet' the choreography does contain tends to be of the all too familiar subverted, deconstructed kind we see so often in modern dance/ modern ballet works. Much of the sense and look of 'ballet' in both works (Chroma and now Infra) comes from the fact it is being danced by a (world class) classical ballet company such as the RB, rather than a modern dance company with ballet training ... one is seeing to a large extent modern dance worn (and oh so flatteringly worn!) by some of the most highly trained classical ballet dancers, and exiting balletic bodies on the, er ... planet. Having seen the piece myself I could just as easily describe it as 'a never ending one dimensional choreographic circus display of subverted ballet, pedestrian angst, sexy/ athletic posing coupled with constant and meaningless show of extreme extension and flexibility all of which remains uniformly vague and noncommittal throughout, with additional bizarre moments of 'emoting' as simplistic and shallow as any nursery school drama class awkwardly tacked on with all the choreographic subtly and sophistication of cartoon strip speech bubbles'. However if, for any reason, I wanted to write a rave review I could just as easily go with her quote ... I guess that's the beauty of abstract, intellectual, modern dance .... don't pin your work down to specific meanings and you can never be 'wrong' or make a 'bad' work... 'great'! The above quote illustrates the poor observation/accuracy of Roslyn Sulcasi's piece. After Ms Cuthbertson is left (essentially) alone on stage she is joined by Nunez and Watson. Nunez stands directly behind Cuthbertson for maybe half a minute before Cuthbertson gets up and walks offstage leaving Nunez and Watson alone on stage to dance the final PDD. To make such a glaring mistake perhaps hints at the inconsequential, meaningless nature of the choreography as well as the dramatic non-sense of the piece. Both the previous work 'Chroma' and 'Infra' received mixed reviews from both reviewers and audience alike. Interestingly many of the reactions have been at either end of the scale - either similar to this reviewer (perhaps not quite so extreme) or at the other end: really quite scathing, often speaking of 'The Emperor's New Clothes'..... I do not mean to appear too scathing myself, but felt compelled to offer and alternative view and take apart what I feel is more of an 'enthusiastic rant' rather than thoughtful or perceptive review. As modern dance and of its type, it is certainly refined and has its moments despite the dreadful music and the laboured and misguided LED display concept which will probably feel like an 'aesthetic burden' by the next time this work is considered again for the stage (if it ever is). But is it right for a resident choreographer to be making such works on a company like the RB? No. Is it revolutionary? Absolutely not!

She's recently been made a principal.

I wrote a comment with some general thoughts a few days ago and then decided not to post, now changing my mind again (wish I'd saved the draft!). I have not seen 'Infra' and haven't booked to see it, I've only seen a clip of rehearsal footage and interview. I have seen Chroma several times as well as most, if not all, of the RB's new works on the Main Stage over the last 8 years or so and many of the smaller space works (Linbury, Clore) including the 'First Drafts' evenings etc. So I can't comment on 'Infra' directly. But generally I agree with much of what Leonid says. The RB is first and foremost a large, world class ballet company based in a large high tech theatre (stage, lighting, sets, costumes, wigs...) and with live orchestra. Each of these aspects is rare on its own and therefore one might think 'precious' ie of great value as audience pulling components. When all combined they are even more so. They are the reason people go and see 'worn out old classics' often with, let's face it 'questionable or slightly absurd narrative content' and yet are utterly transported, genuinely moved, and in many cases utterly hooked. Therefore it seems more than a little 'odd' that a resident choreographer was chosen for the RB who likes nothing better than to either subvert, substitute or simply disregard altogether these various 'audience attracting' component parts - not least the style and technique of ballet itself! As one reviewer in a piece about 'Infra' put it (not an exact quote): Wayne McGregor benefits from the RB more than the RB benefits from Wayne McGregor. To me that sums up his position perfectly. World class dancers with such ballet technique, artistry, line and not forgetting 'ten past six' extension of course can make changing a car tire, shopping in the supermarket, jumping around the kitchen with the radio on a truly breathtaking spectacle for any ordinary, mortal person watching. They can certainly make all kinds of modern choreography into something we can all appreciate as unique, 'a sight to behold' or whatever. But is that enough? Is that their (main) job description? If the RB had two resident choreographers - one modern based and one ballet based - then it might seem less odd. Also true if the RB was having 1, 2 or 3 act narrative or abstract classical ballets made for it it... ever. With all the sugary buzz about ballets like 'Chroma' and now 'Infra' I tend to feel that no matter how good they may or may not be they will always be under achievements compared to what the RB and ultimately ROH as a whole are capable of delivering. And the moment we as an audience or they as directors and choreographers and (let's not even go there) the dancers lose sight of that potential it will no longer exist. And it doesn't matter how frenetic, frenzied or futuristic the choreography is or how many walls you cover with video screens (being flippant here I know! but serious point coming up>>> ) it won't ever make up for the loss of a full sized ballet company - because that is what it will amount to. I mean can you imagine a decent new ballet with proper, 'daringly specific' story lines (gasp!) and human drama (gasp again!) maybe stories about real humans or real or lifelike events (room spinning!) with an original orchestral score (weak at the knees!) real sets and costumes and no gimmicky video screens/ projections (spots in front of my eyes!) with as much inventive, modern choreography as you like but not leaving out real classical or not-too-far-from-classical ballet, proper use of corps, and real acting (on the floor, out cold!)...... Aren't these the sort of things that a resident choreographer at the RB of all companies should at least have some interest in? Wasn't one of the goals of the whole refurbishment with its new smaller, safer, performance spaces supposed to be that it would allow for the development of such choreographers and works, all conveniently bubbling up within the ROH building itself (where dancer's rehearsal time and energy is so precious) and then being able to be presented in various forms in smaller spaces with the best transferring to the Main Stage? No disrespect to WM but how does he, and what has been happening dance wise at the ROH since his arrival, fit into this? His appointment is clearly evidence of some kind of strategy. Just as long as the strategy isn't 'turning a world class ballet company and theatre space into a kind of corporate sponsored vehicle for trendy multimedia/ technology fairs posing as modern art events designed to flatter, impress and overload the senses of impressionable young and slightly out of touch older audiences alike, with modern dance 'acroballet' taking centre stage backed up by a dwindling back catalogue of quaint historic ballets thrown in for good measure' ... because that, I'm sure everyone would agree, would be a tragedy. Another observation I have made is that ballet goers tend to be, of all 'typical' theatre audiences, perhaps the most forgiving. They tend to want a production to work, to be a success. They want to find meaning and emotion. And by making generally vague, even if visually striking, choreography and then giving, sometimes almost in list form, a number of themes and meanings in the programs it is inevitable the audience is able to consciously or subconsciously look for and find connections. One feels sometimes the audience's earnest nature is being rather exploited. In fact sometimes it is as if the sets and choreography on stage are doing little but merely referring to the meanings and ideas present in the text in the programs - not the other way around as it should be!!!! But hey, if the dancers looked fantastic who really notices these things or even cares if we are being tricked!? ..... I think audiences do notice and care ultimately .... and will not return more than once to see these kind of edgy, buzzy, fizzy, sugary but nutritionally lacking works, that is if they are even put on again more than once.

So I'll just go ahead and post this comment. (That was actually two. 'So' at the start of every sentence counts as one all on its own).

This is what I thought watching it, but I wasn't quite sure! Thanks for clarifying that and the other info.

Wasn't sure where to post this and if it's OK to link to youtube ... please move, delete or advise if necessary! Anyway I found this old video on youtube of The Cure (80's goth pop band from the UK) the video uses a couple of RB dancers performing in front of the band. One is Sharon McGorian (?) and the other dancer's name I couldn't make out (nor the name of the choreographer). I'd be interested to know more about these dancers or this video. And did they make any other videos like this!? Is she any relation to Elizabeth McGorian? As for the video itself - I was never really a fan of The Cure but I think they were (are?) a great band. They look so young here! The choreography is ...er ...well .... um .... hmmmm ...gosh........ but I have to say just I love it anyway.... if only for the reason it is so unlike the cynically soft porn or ego, material wealth and violence glorifying pop videos of today. It's just looks so refreshingly innocent, uncontrived and down to earth compared to today's sleek but soulless videos. (see also: Kate Bush videos of the same era! Clearly a huge balletomane/ ballerina-in-her-dreams!). This Cure video, it's just fascinating to watch in so many ways! (Maybe more so if you grew up in the 80's like me). Just search youtube for 'The Cure Live With The Royal Ballet' In fact what about other pop videos featuring ballet? - please don't mention Alessandra Ferri and Sting though! I can't take Sting seriously in that video (or in fact generally...) it's just ridiculous! (no offense Mr Sting )

I agree 100% Yes it is very scary. And I do not think you are exaggerating. As for Ms. Barton, I think people are maybe reading too much into this feature and its writer. I just mean I don't think she/ her feature can be taken seriously enough to deserve much analysis, as it is clearly just trashy, stupid journalism... like reading "opera is boring and for toffs - rock rules!" written on the toilet wall, only in this case the toilet wall is The Guardian. Insert quip here: ............................ But just how this can get published in a national newspaper can be analyzed and taken seriously though. Especially as, like others have pointed out already, it looks like a completely set up article, who's only purpose is to grab the reader's attention rather than 'earn it', with the use of a silly 'provocative' title, which also turns out to contain the entire moronic 'plot' of the feature, which turns out to be no more than a continuous flow of inane drivel as if attempting to put the reader in such a state of stupification they can hardly appreciate, or remember, what decent article might look like. It is basically spicy writing to cover up rotting ingredients and a terrible cook - just a cheap trick! And in that sense not worth bothering with ...... except that this approach gets doubly offensive when used to write about something of genuine substance and value (regardless of taste) such as well established, high quality art ...... hence the number of responses here, I guess. If you are going to write inanely best to stick to writing about inanities. As for the subject of rock/ pop/ classical (I can't quite remember exactly what I am responding to here but nevermind!) I think it is difficult to make comparisons. In all genres musicians can be trained to play/ compose 'by numbers'. Likewise each genre also allows skill, or even genius to be expressed - albeit in different ways. And as for levels of audience sophistication/ inteligence/ intellectual prowess - I think in at least in rock, jazz and classical genres this probably varies pretty much equally, although they may all express themselves slightly differently depending on social group and/or class (and so be open to much misinterpretation). The unifying/ leveling ability of great art on any audience made up of diverse and rarely interacting people could have been explored by Ms. Barton .... had she actually wanted to write a grown up feature and not just talk about wanting to spit on someone's hair. Certainly the skills needed to (for example) bring someone to tears/ euphoria or tell a story or whatever with a three minute pop song vs. a three hour opera may be very different, but the level of genius to achieve both might be exactly the same. And that is of course is another interesting area Ms. Barton could have explored ..... had she actually wanted to write a grown up feature etc etc I also wrote an enormous amount about the most crucial aspect of this - the dumbing down of our society, ridiculing/ disregarding of all things remotely intellectual/ thoughtful and a whole thing about how 'human orientated art' is being abandoned in exchange for 'technology based stimulus' ...... about how art and technology is undergoing a role reversal (especially in the case of pop music) such that art is quickly becoming essentially a medium through which new consumer technology is being expressed. However it all seemed to stray rather off topic! Another time/ thread perhaps ........ fascinating stuff though - even if I do say so myself!

Her opinion might be a legitimate one but I don't think it is enough of an opinion to deserve any column space. It is not an opinion worth paying for. It could be if she had said something - anything - remotely interesting / meaningful/ of substance about the actual experience of seeing a (world class, full production of) an opera live, perhaps with the refreshing insight of an 'ignorant' non opera goer who is supposedly more used to watching rock bands. But instead we get an endless stream of anecdotal wittering and mind numbing mini-dramas to hold our attention, all centered around the only subject she seems qualified/ interested in talking about: herself. Maybe this article is more annoying to those already saturated with this kind of vapid journalistic style which is now so common in the UK. To me it all sounds like it is being written by the same ghastly person- LOL! The truth is anyone can write in this style about just about anything - because all you have to do is disengage the higher functions of your brain and start typing about yourself - look it's easy! (Maybe someone from the UK can score me for authenticity here....) Next week: A self confessed urbanite walks the famous and historic Pennine Way - "'I'm a city gal - get me out of here!' ... usually at this time on a Saturday I am having coffee with my friends and planning our assault on London's trendiest boutiques. Instead I find myself on a windswept muddy track in the North of England with sore feet, dressed in the most unbecoming ensemble of outdoorwear imaginable (bought hastily the day before). It is raining and my legs are tired. I think of my friends back home, sipping cappuccinos..... perhaps eating a warm chicken salad - I wonder how I ever got talked into this. Walking is boring, that's why we invented taxis. I shout at my photographer that I want to go home, he rolls his eyes and says nothing, as if he knows better than to. This is an one of England's most ancient pathways I have been told by our guide Steve, a compact, rugged man of few words, who seems oblivious to the rain and probably walks a hundred miles every day. He is waiting for us up ahead looking somewhat impatient. Suddenly I feel like I'm on a school geography trip .... etc etc etc

Yes that was awful, bland, childish writing. Actually a child would be far more likely to write something interesting, honest, innocently insightful about their brand new and privileged (not in the class sense) experience of seeing world class live opera than this load of self centered blatherings. Her focus, and entire reason for writing (and possibly being) it appears, is to labour the point of just how much she is a 'cheap rosé swigging' culturally free spirited 'one of us' .... (but obviously how much more cool/ cute/ endearing she is than even that because she also gets to go to lots of operas and is bored by it). It is like reading some grotesque Private Eye parody of this very kind of vacuous and giggly 'journalism'. The article is also inverted snobbery from start to finish. Imagine if it was re-written the other way round: I'm an Opera Buff - Get Me Out of Here! ... well-to-do lady goes to rock gigs/ festivals (having been only once ten years before) and finds the music repetitive, boring and not to her taste and the whole scene frightfully lower class and attended by rude, unsavoury people (some of which jostled her at the bar!) all smelling of lager and fags .... All in all it's such a lazy, unimaginative, uninspiring way to present the opera, the ROH and the audience. I like the comment about Patti Smith raving about Madame Butterfly though. Shame the Guardian couldn't pay her to write an article explaining her experiences of Opera and why she might recommend it to others .... and leave Laura Barton to write about herself in her own private bedside journal.

The is also a new documentary in the works due for release in 2009 titled 'Sylvie Guillem, the last ballerina assoluta'.

I'm don't think I can post a link to youtube here, but if anyone wants an good explanation (and in under 2 minutes!) of what 'the loudness wars' are all about and why modern music sounds dreadful because of it just search youtube for 'The Loudness War' and the top video explains it very well. The irony is that CD's are in fact able to playback audio with more dynamic range than vinyl ever could, so on a CD the difference between quiet and loud passages does not need to be completely squashed, as it is in most (non classical) CD's these days, in fact its large dynamic range is probably CD's best feature. Mp3's and other 'convenience' data compression formats sound so bad because they are 'lossy' formats - half the data has literally been chucked away - and done so just so you can download songs more quickly off the internet and then carry around 100000000 thin, hollow, papery, harsh, brittle, fatiguing, lifeless recordings in your backpocket. Hooray! When you combine both the current production trends in fake 'loudness' (it's been getting worse for 15-20 years, but is now completely ridiculous) with lossy formats like mp3 then you end up with combination which makes music sound rubbish, and completely in your face - giving you 'ear fatigue' almost instantly. However, it is not just about record companies wanting their songs to stand out from the rest (on radio airplay for example) by being artificially loud, it is also a general trend in all media - for example TV is getting more (dynamically) compressed these days, too. Switch off the TV now and it's like being released from some kind of sonic headlock! You could say maybe the rising level of 'background noise' that surrounds us all in daily life means everyone has started to raise their voices artificially - TV, radio, magazine covers, advertising, sports sponsorship ..... everything is much more 'in your face now'. And of course this only makes it all worse! So I can sort of see how with these trends everywhere else conductors/ audiences might be, subconsciously or not, encouraging louder orchestral performances, perhaps to the detriment of the music itself as well as people's hearing ... but then again, I've never found any performance in the ROH (out of more than 100) to be excessively loud, ever. And I have good hearing and I am sensitive to loud music (I always go out with earplugs and put them in for all live music using a PA (ie rock bands etc) and even loud pubs/ clubs). That's not to say other orchestras elsewhere might not be playing excessively loud.... I think it has more to do with instruments improving and just a fact of being squashed together on stage or in the pit (a pit is probably far worse due to being more cramped and being a more reflective acoustic environment). In other words I think it is a fact of life for an orchestral player - more so for some than others depending on what you play and where you sit. I really hope they find ways to protect their hearing rather than going to extremes of having to play it so very, very safe (literally) that audiences won't ever again be able to experience the full power and awesomeness a modern orchestra can produce. That would be a bit like banning thunderstorms, sensible maybe, but very dull. Ear protection is very sophisticated these days and specially moulded-to-your-own-ear-canal plugs can be bought which filter sound in a very balanced way (so it won't sound muffled like it does when you use cheap earplugs or stick your fingers in your ears). They do take some getting used to and I can see how many players might object to the idea... an good analogy might be wearing glasses for the first time and not being able to imagine ever being able to wear them without being acutely aware of them. Interesting subject anyway ... I wonder how many times audience applause in ballet performances has exceeded safe decibel levels

In one very stressful job which was based on the telephone we used to sometimes call people up (businesses only, never people at home) and ask them 'Badger or Marmite?' .. that's all you were allowed to say - although you could keep repeating it until they understood they had to give an answer. Surprisingly, many people understood straight away and gave their answer without hesitation (we'd say 'thank you!' or ' good answer!' and hang up). Some would really weigh up the pros and cons of badgers and Marmite before answering. Hardly anyone got properly mad. I remember it seemed to work better on Friday afternoons than Monday mornings at 9:01am.

I think the queston is too big, too vague, or maybe too obvious to answer. Maybe it would be easier and quicker to go through a list of all the things which are not art and ask the question, 'what purpose do they serve?' .... food, shelter, healthcare, education, freedom, community, the arts ... now see how many more you can add before their actual purpose (let alone value) becomes 'vague' ... Ultimately aren't we all works of art ourselves? Part of that greater work of art - the universe as a whole. And by virtue of the rare and wonderful feature we posses - of having awareness - can we not think of ourselves as the very process by which the universe becomes aware of itself, which would make all our artistic achievements in a very real sense one enormous work of art becoming aware of itself, and expressing that awareness through yet more art ... and using this continual process of creation / reflection to become ever more keenly aware, knowledgeable, sophisticated, elegant and in awe ..... ... or to put that description of the entire universe into smily form! = If the Arts' value or purpose is hard to measure, perhaps that is because it is the ruler, the very scale itself. (this is something to worth pointing out if anyone is applying for funding ) Anyway, this thread made me want to give this quote I heard in a documentary about the 'Mandelbrot set' - I think it came originally from Faraday who, having just discovered electricity, was asked after a demonstration 'yes this is all very well, but what is the use of electricity?', to which he replied, "what's the use of a new-born baby?" P.S. If you don't know what the 'Mandelbrot set' is (you'll recognize it when you see it though) it is (I think!) a very, very simple mathematical equation which produces a pattern of infinite complexity (and beauty) with absoloutely no end to its detail no matter how much you zoom in on it - so that it is in effect (again I think) supposed to be 'bigger than the universe'. Just search youtube for 'Fractals - Mandelbrot' or 'Baroque Mandelbrot Zoom' and enjoy .... (I hope it is OK to 'link' in this way - if not please remove)

I should probably say, the other depressing point I forgot to mention is that we all (certainly I did) take for granted, the fact that we will always at least be able to find reviews, forums, blogs and other dance (or arts or anything at all remotely specialized ie not mainstream media) on the internet. But in reality free and 'neutral' access to the web in our near future is now already being threatened in a very real way! If that sounds too unbelievable just do some searches for 'net neutrality' and 'save the internet'. As soon as the big companies who service the internet are able to dictate who gets to use the connection (this is exactly what they are fighting for at the moment) the majority if not all of the bandwidth will be sold to highest bidders, perhaps leaving websites like this one running painfully slowly, unreliably or not at all. If the net looses its current 'neutrality' (ie ballet talk has as good/fast a connection as, say, yahoo) it could soon become just like mainstream TV, cable, radio, newspapers ..... a one way broadcast / advertising service (with elements of interaction) with all content provided by a few - instead of the current level playing field where anyone can put up a website and be equally accessible / have equal access to every one else. For sites like this one to stay viable the net needs to be kept neutral ... at the moment this is looking pretty unlikely.

As mentioned in some recent articles, it doesn't matter so much whether you agree with the views of a resident (dance) critic or not, but that you get to know their views, biases, background and so become able to judge for yourself bearing in mind what you know about the critic. This is so true of any well established dance critic (and applies equally to friends and frequent internet forum reviewers too!) But I don't think the issue is so much about being able to find (good quality) dance review, discussion, forums, blogs etc though - I'm guessing there is probably more out there on the internet now than ever, if you look for it, but I think it is more about how people will view dance/ dance will view itself if this is the trend, which it seems to be. Many dance (and arts) reviews are getting squeezed and sidelined and many more may inevitably by dropped in time. And all at a time when the amount of 'background noise' of celeb this and dumbed down that is increasing all around... You can argue that 'supply and demand' dictates all this and is the cause of Seigel being squeezed out, but that does not work because it is not that there is 'so much' mainstream trivia to report that art critics must make way for it - because that is not true. Rather like, I shall use the word, 'trash' there is an endless supply if you go looking for it and much of what now has become 'news' actually needs to be reported endlessly for people to get drawn in and for it to become remotely 'newsworthy' at all. A good little article by David Horsey about Sam Zell, the new owner of the LA Times and the cartoon mentioned in the article: http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/davidho...from=blog_last3 http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/horsey/viewbydate.asp?id=1719

rg, There is a free app called 'Audacity' (works on both mac and pc) http://audacity.sourceforge.net/ I have not really used it myself (music is what I do so I use more 'spensive software!) but I've heard good things about it from people who should know what they're talking about. Looking at the 'featues' page... http://audacity.sourceforge.net/about/features ... it seems to offer some basic 'hiss removal' features which I'm sure will be all you will ever need. There is (for sale) software out there with more sophisticated/ dedicated hiss/ hum etc removal (which analyses the 'fingerprint' of the present background noise in a 'silent' section of your tape/ vinyl recording and then removes it from the whole file) and other techniques, but for 'home use' that's a bit overkill! To do it this way all you need to remember is: (warning - some of this may insult your intelligence, but I figured I'd say it anyway ) 1- Try and use the best tape recorder you can, one with line outs (try to avoid using the headphone outs!). Old tapes can sometimes make the heads very dirty very quickly - a quick wipe with head cleaner and cotton buds if it starts to sound unusually muffled can do wonders. 2- If your mac / pc does not have a sound card with line in capability then you will need to find a way to get the signal in - USB audio interfaces start at about £40. 3- When recording try and get the recording levels in Audacity as high as possible but WITHOUT CLIPPING. Audacity will have a level meter. 4- The rest depends on how much time you have/ how much you can be bothered! You can, if you feel the urge, add fade ins/ fade outs, compression, normalize the levels of different recordings destined for the same CD (so they all sound the same volume). etc etc 5- Export the tracks to your CD burning app assuming you have one - if not there is probably a free one out there. I use 'Toast' which is very good for CD/DVD burning etc and it's quite cheap. I've been doing quite a bit of cassette archiving myself - it does take time! - but once you have it set up you can have it recording in the background while you write emails, cook dinner, can't sleep etc and just do a bit each day.... There may be other apps more dedicated to this very task that make it even easier ... for me it's easy to do it this way because I work with music software all the time. Hope that helps.

I have become more and more of a fan of Sarah Lamb since her move to London. I first saw her dance Swan Lake here, which was a little too inpenetrable to my tastes (being I guess more traditional RB style). Then I started to 'get' her approach ....and I really started to fall in love with her dancing during the previous La Sylphide run at the ROH. She is so keenly aware of her body and the space around her, making such clean lines always. However, I still felt she could afford to maybe let go just a little bit more, at times - but then before Christmas I saw her Aurora again and it was just sublime. I decided then that she knew best what she was doing. I can understand why some people find her rather aloof but to me it feels more like she is able to exude, while dancing, a sense of the whole ballet, the essence of a role at all times, rather than being just focused on the particular moment. I don't know if that makes any sense....? Her recent Aurora was so poised and clear on the surface, but with such a strong 'lucid dream-like intensity' underneath. It is really hard to put into words- to me it's like she drives her performance inwardly as much as project outwardly. I find Zenaida Yanowsky can be equally satisfying in this way too - I remember her debut Swan Lake being like that, not so much understated but rather a performance as deep as the marrow of her bones! I wondered the other night while watching Sarah dance if she has learned to breathe differently or something, it's almost as if she is breathing very low into her belly like in meditation, to give her that clear and poised presence- but breathing like that and dancing ballet should not be possible!!! Anyway, while I enjoy many other different approaches by other dancers, Sarah is definitely one of my favourite RB dancers at the moment. Not really knowing much about her background the interview made a lot of sense to me.... that and being lucky enough to see her in an open class a couple of months ago - she does work seriously hard in class! Hats off to her!

Actually, no efficient web searching necessary. The headline/link appeared on Yahoo's home page (UK) along with a handfull of other top stories - I was surprised! And it must have been up there within maybe a hour of the performance's finishing time. From a purely practical point of view the prospect of more protests, especially inside the theatre, at future performances must now be a serious concern to ENB and, you would think, Simone Clarke herself (not to mention the rest of the company!). I predict it will be solved 'in house' one way or another (and soon) and she will either leave the BNP and issue a low key statement to that effect or, more likely, retire early. (I say 'early' but at 36 it wouldn't necessarily be that early - I mean, who knows when she might have been planning to retire or wind down before all this started...?). I'm only guessing though, and I've probably not read all the articles (nor do I really followed ENB as a company) but I just can't see ENB allowing future performances to be disrupted again on a regular basis and I don't think a messy public sacking is on the cards either.

Today was her first performance since the Guardian article. It has already been covered by Yahoo - see link. http://uk.news.yahoo.com/12012007/325/ball...ical-storm.html - includes reference to discussion on this very thread on BT. Did anyone from London attend? - I wonder if there was any disruption or 'atmosphere' during the performance itself?

Actually, there's a link to that interview (if it is the one I'm thinking of) on their own website. In that interview at least, the plumbing career remark was made with humour I think. Although she might now be thinking more seriously about it...... Regarding the publicity, I don't think it can possibly do her ballet career any good and may do it great harm,... but then again maybe it will all blow over and make little difference in the long term. Given that the BNP must already have an interest in her, since bringing both herself and their party to public attention, I wonder to what extent they might be trying to 'manage' the situation with her (and to what extent she might cooperate). For example, supposing the issue forces her to leave ENB (for any of a number of reasons) she might decide try and become 'outspoken' doing interviews, or writing a book justifying her views. If she could be in any way help the BNP cause, especially in the PR department, I'm sure they would be more than willing to encourage/support her! Maybe that's unlikely.... but if she is stupid enough to join them in semi-ignorance then she might be stupid enough to side with their cause even further if she is ostracized by ENB, the dance scene or the general public.

Judging by some of her comments it seems to me Simone Clarke has NOT understood what kind of a party the BNP is at all. It appears to me she joined on the basis of a few simplistic 'no-brainer' arguments/policies dangled as bait. I doubt she researched in any way the history of the party, or examined the extreme activities of its more active and long term members. If it is true that they are now focusing on recruiting 'respectable', middle class members to join, if you like, the 'tip-of-the-iceberg-no-mention-of-what-lies-beneath BNP party' (and judging by their PR efforts it seems to be quite obviously the case) then Simone Clarke seems to be a perfect example of just such a drive. Somebody mentioned, I think, that dancers tend to be pretty apolitical (mostly because they haven't the time I expect!). I think being apolitical is fine .... but the danger comes when a partiy like BNP decides to actively target those of us who are perhaps a bit naive ..... It would be a shame, to put it mildly, if her membership prompted yet more, perhaps younger, more impressionable people to follow suit without questioning. Perhaps Simone Clarke has researched the BNP and knows all about their activities, but personally very much doubt it. I would simply urge anyone else thinking of following her into the party to do some very thorough research before making any decisions! A few minutes on Google is all it takes to bring up some very shocking articles about the activities of the BNP. Beyond that it is uof course up to the individual. I hope this post is appropriate for ballet talk.

I think he choeographed a work called Morphoses in 2002. I guess there's a chance wires have been crossed in the article, or maybe he's given his new company (if he has one), that name too. OK, after writing the above I googled 'christopher wheeldon' I came up a minimal website called morphoses.org which closely mirrors a site called christopherwheeldon.com and has a form you can fill in to 'to learn our plans'.... However, strictly steaking neither site has confirmation that they belong to the same CW we are talking about here and there's no biog, pictures or anything to indicate it is him, but I guess we can pretty safely assume these are his sites.

Yes this is what I hoped might happen when I heard about it- I also thought this might be part of his role too: to find other new choreographers. I think everyone is focusing on what his artistic influence will be (naturally) but as I understand it his role will be also as a sort of 'director of new choreography' if you like... able to also find, mentor, manage other potential new choreographers for the company and no doubt due to his prolific and varied work history (in many areas not just choreography but producing etc around the world ) he will also be able to help connect budding choreographers with set and costume/ designers/composers etc. OK, perhaps I am just projecting my own wishes onto him but this is how I see it anyway.... we'll see! Well yes.. but on the other hand, for all its exlcusivity, time and time again ballet is being shown to be totally accessable (in fact even totally seductive) to the non-ballet going public once they are pushed across that threshold and get to see for themselves what ballet is all about, as opposed to the cliches and myths which surround it. I figure Monican Mason might also realise that some of the audience who come for the first time just because of the buzz surrounding a trendy, modern, chique work like Chroma will actually go on to explore the rest of the rep because they simply get hooked on the dance. So many times I hear people say they got hooked on ballet 'by accident'.

So it must be swans right? Wow! - how many? .... the full set? - one top swan, two secondary swans, four signets and a bunch of other swans? I am a dog person without a dog. I had a beautiful 'pet' moth in my last flat. Well it was just there really... very low maintenance, the perfect pet for living in a big city.

Perhaps Londoners (the ones who populate dance forums anyway) feel there's not a huge amount to say that hasn't already been said given that she's been performing with the RB since (guessing) 1989 and especially now that her performances have been getting fewer each season what with family time off and now her guest artist status. It is true she has and still does have the status here, among the general public, as the 'face of the RB' if not 'face of British Ballet' - in fact from comments I've often heard at the ROH on ballet nights (whether or not she's performing that night) it seems that some (I would call them 'occassional ballet goers') regard her as the *only* dancer who really counts at the RB! .... the one they will book to see by default. The truth is the standard of the female dancers at the RB at the moment is absolutely awesome - and with so many new and not-so-new dancers here to get exited about maybe that's why people are not writing about Darcey so much these days. But she is still much loved in the UK and rightly so - I personally love to see her dance here still and I think she has a special and unique quality onstage which is absolutly captivating. Most recently I saw her again in MacMillan's 'Requiem' ... absolutely sublime ...... I generally prefer her to see her in non-dramatic roles but having said that, compared to other dancers, she often seems able to add huge dramatic meaning to some of the more abstract ballets. Does that make any sense?! Well, I know what I mean at least! :rolleyes: