Ondine

I'm choosing my words carefully here. There's an ongoing and long thread in 'Doing Dance' following on from the Panorama documentary last night on BBC TV. Many posters are making claims of appalling abuse at ballet schools. It's not only the two featured, the Royal Ballet School and Elmhurst, there are claims of an all pervasive culture throughout the 'industry' which has allegedly damaged profoundly the lives of numerous young people. Allegedly there is a wall of silence & secrecy surrounding the issue as either so many are too damaged to speak of it or there is the worry that careers will be ruined if they do speak out. If this is the case, then is it right that ballet companies should be supported? Is taking your children to see Nutcracker watching dancers who are the product of alleged abuse supporting abuse? It's quite a conundrum and I'm wondering if this alleged lid lifting will alter how forum members view performances and the art of ballet in general.

Well yes. They cannot comment, clearly, on individual cases out of privacy concerns and apparently a court case is ongoing involving one person at least. There were written statements.

No doubt at all being a dancer is hard, very hard, and it can be brutal. Many are called few are chosen etc. And even the chosen ones don't all have it easy. A young Margot Fonteyn had not one but two 'nose jobs' to achieve the required 'look' demanded. Monica Mason? ...when she steeled herself to ask Frederick Ashton – now director of the company – why he did not use her more, Ashton claimed, evasively and outrageously that he didn't like Mason's nose. He suggested she might have it fixed. Today Mason enjoys the effrontery of that remark – "imagine me having that conversation with my dancers" – although at the time she almost considered having the surgery. https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2011/may/30/monica-mason-ballet-life-interview I wonder how many young people are really prepared for the reality.

Kathryn Morgan's story is worth reading / watching. She's in the US. If anyone thinks this issue is a British one, it isn't. Dancers Say It’s Time to Talk About Ballet Companies That Body-Shame https://observer.com/2020/11/ballet-companies-body-shaming-kathryn-morgan/ After posting the video, hordes of dancers, many from Miami City Ballet, joined her in speaking out against the various types of body-shaming they’ve experienced from artistic staff, and the dark mental health path they were led down as a result. In an Instagram post, dancer Aldeir Monteiro said that while he was at MCB he was told his legs didn’t have the right shape for the stage. Brianna Abruzzo wrote on her Instagram that leadership at MCB didn’t believe she was losing weight, even after she brought charts from her trainer. Chloe Freytag shared her story as well, saying that she was told that her legs were “too large to fit in fifth position.”

I don't often contribute to the Doing Dance' part of this forum, though I drop in and read it, but my goodness that is certainly the impression given by some.

A reminder that in the 'old days' those not selected for 'the grammar' were sent to secondary moderns not comprehensives, and most left with few or no qualifications at all. What qualifications which were taken were not in the main those taken at grammar school. Of course there is the issue of how comprehensive a system it is when grammar schools exist alongside. Leaving age was gradually raised... 14, then 15 then 16. I do appreciate that there are those who have achieved a great deal in life who 'failed' at 11, but the very idea of being an official failure at 11 is surely abhorrent. The terminology current in those days was most certainly you 'passed' or you 'failed'. We won't even begin to go to the dark side where some children passed but parents couldn't afford the uniform so the success of 'passing' still meant going to the secondary mod. Tangential to the ballet school issue but I post this for information as the subject was raised.

Sunday's Observer The Observer view on Birmingham council: it won’t be the last to fail until local government funding is overhauled Observer editorial https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/sep/09/the-observer-view-on-birmingham-council-it-wont-be-the-last-to-fail-until-local-government-funding-is-overhauled

Dame Monica Mason's portrait in the National Portrait Gallery. I love how theatrical it is. https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw225700/Dame-Monica-Margaret-Mason

I'm not quite sure where to put this, 'general discussions' seemed most appropriate though I'm sure it can be moved if not. It dates from 2003 and is a PhD thesis. There are some interesting points raised, not least of which is the term 'ballerina'. Most dancers call themselves just that, though Darcey Bussell I recall often called herself a 'ballerina'. Virginia Christine Taylor BALLERINAS IN THE CHURCH HALL: IDEOLOGIES OF FEMININITY, BALLET, AND DANCING SCHOOLS https://eprints.chi.ac.uk/id/eprint/1612/1/412152.pdf Not a light read and no I've not digested it all! Church halls though, without those there'd be very little ballet in Britain I'm sure.

Thsi is terrific, almost two hours of Alvin Ailey American Dance Company, with introductions and performances. Official video from Lincoln Centre from 2020. http://lincolncenter.org/home Chroma, Grace, Takademe, Revelations (2015) Takademe is the piece Caspar Lench recently danced at the Royal Ballet School 2023 performances.

The London NoMad is the old grade II-listed Bow Street Magistrates’ Court and Police Station. I don't think anything is going to be cheap there. https://www.thenomadhotel.com/london/

New piece in the Guardian Several UK theatres close due to concerns over crumbling concrete Cultural institutions join dozens of schools forced to shut down over use of Raac https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2023/sep/08/uk-theatres-close-concerns-over-crumbling-concrete-raac

The various tier costs of being a Patron of the Sarasota Ballet, and the benefits at each level, are detailed here. https://www.sarasotaballet.org/app/uploads/2022/10/2023-Patron-Brochure-Digital.pdf I doubt those coming to London are terrifically worried about the cost TBH.

There's an interesting piece on Alvin Ailey, background & history here on the ISTD website https://www.istd.org/discover/news/queering-history-the-revelations-of-alvin-ailey/ The company itself has a very good YouTube channel with many clips to give a flavour of its work.

In a situation where you have legal responsibilities as a council to pay for certain services and barely the money to pay for those, for wider political reasons than your own competence as an authority, then anything which is not mandatory will be in difficulties. Ballet versus care services for elderly and disabled people? Emptying the bins? It's not really a choice is it? We have to hope (and I'm sure those responsible for BRB will have taken this onboard long before now) there has been future funding planning, though (as ENO has found) nothing is secure. Austerity and low taxes are political choices.

Thanks Jan. It seems not reliant on Birmingham council, though presumably it can access public grants / arts funding, as a charity. Birmingham Hippodrome is an independent charity, run by a board of voluntary trustees with no regular revenue funding from public sources. We frequently invest in projects alongside Arts Council England and with Birmingham City Council. Generous support is received from the business community through sponsorship and other partnerships; from individuals through donations and memberships; and from grant-making trusts for special programming and infrastructure projects. As a major employer in the region, we play a leading role in the Southside Business Improvement District. Find out more about our Mission, Vision and Values HERE. https://www.birminghamhippodrome.com/about-us/

As I said above in my addition, this equal pay issue, and the backlog, is ongoing and affects many councils. https://www.itv.com/news/2023-08-10/hundreds-of-women-lodge-fresh-equal-pay-claims-against-councils The Times is entitled to its opinion, but possibly it can also be called propaganda. The Times is owned by Rupert Murdoch. The Commonwealth Games presumably brought in to Birmingham a great deal of money to hotels and other businesses. There will have been costs and I assume Birmingham thought in the end it would be worthwhile for financial and other reasons. Tax will have been paid on income but that doesn't benefit Birmingham does it?

Yes they have as have other councils. Women fought for equal pay, I'm not sure how this can be blamed on 'a classic of Labour Party misogyny'. As a woman who has lived through many equal rights for women struggles I can tell you that we have Barbara Castle to thank for the 1970 Equal Pay Act https://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/transformingsociety/tradeindustry/industrycommunity/collections/equal-pay/barbara-castle/ How that was and wasn't implemented is a wider issue, but Birmingham wasn't alone in its interpretation and then having to pay a massive backlog of cash to those affected. The situation is ongoing. I'm sure councils of all political persuasions are affected. Women still have far to go to attain equality. https://www.itv.com/news/2023-08-10/hundreds-of-women-lodge-fresh-equal-pay-claims-against-councils And this is politics not ballet.

Does the city council also contribute to the costs of the Hippodrome? Will that have to close? There is a non paywalled piece here in the Guardian detailing the financial difficulties. The equal pay issue was not confined to Birmingham. The Commonwealth Games presumably was seen as bringing wider benefits to the city. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/sep/07/councils-sewage-school-buildings-britain-basic-services What a mess all this is, it isn't only Birmingham at risk.

You aren't alone! There's a film of Markova on YouTube ('John Hall') teaching them, talking of her 'Italian training' and where the weight should be. Not many people do them properly, do they? They manage the en dehors with leg 1 but fudge the en dedans second leg. It's most certainly part of the 'Cechetti method' still. 'How to teach gargouillade' https://dance-teacher.com/how-to-teach-gargouillade-gar-goo-yahd/ Claire Calvert giving them a good try here! (rehearsal vid)

This is lovely. Alicia Markova dancing the Sugar Plum Fairy variation, Jacob's Pillow. Weightless! The tutu too, what a period piece! https://danceinteractive.jacobspillow.org/alicia-markova/sugar-plum-fairy-variation-nutcracker/

Recommended to Diaghilev by Maestro Cecchetti, her teacher. This is fascinating, I'm not guaranteeing how much is fact and how much is fiction, but certainly an entertaining read about her mother the glassmaker. The Ballerina, Her Mother And The Genteel Art of Forgery. * This story is perhaps my most obscure yet. But the idea of a genteel daughter of the Anglo-Irish peerage pulling off one of the most brazen art-frauds of the early 20th century appeals to me. Also, the fact that her daughter was the great, ferocious Doyenne of modern English ballet - Dame Ninette De Valois also adds a bit of colour. I really think Ealing Studios, or perhaps P.G. Woodehouse could have had a lot of fun with this one ......... http://josefoshea.blogspot.com/2015/05/the-ballerina-her-mother-and-genteel.html

Yep. The Romans of course used lime for their 'concrete'. A good explanation here. https://www.theb1m.com/video/raac-concrete-60-seconds

BRB has various clips of Facade on its FB page. https://www.facebook.com/bhamroyalballet/videos/façade-popular-song/727467944595588/

Some of it! Popular Song? Tango? Great fun though.