Ian Macmillan

Each morning the Forum posts a number of links to ballet/dance-related articles from across the English-speaking world and, in doing so, we carry on a service that began back in the days of ballet.co. It has become increasingly noticeable that the Links section is now consulted much less frequently than in the past. This can readily be seen by scrolling through the Links homepage and looking at the ‘View’ figures. For example, and in rounded figures, the Views for mid-March 2012 were 3300; 2018 saw 2600; and this year just 1100. And this has happened as Forum membership has gradually increased. There are no doubt several reasons for this decline and it would be useful to hear from members what they might be. Some may have found the increasing use of Restricted Access on newspaper sites to be a nuisance and not worth bothering with, but there must be more to it than that. We’d be interested to hear how members feel and, in particular, it would be useful to hear from those who use that section much less than in the past, or who have given up using it at all.

A propos, a snippet from the comment pages of today's Sunday Times:

And on the other hand, whilst doing this morning's Links and negotiating the continuing flood of tabloid views on Darcey's possible replacement, the Mirror is running a piece that says Andrew Lloyd Webber has been talking to her about the possibility of her appearing in a 'new show.'

Others have concerns, it seems:

Links – Sunday 14 April, 2019 Review – Martha Graham Dance Company, New York Season: Robert Gottlieb, NY Observer Review – Royal Ballet, Romeo and Juliet, London: Vikki Jane Vile, BWW UK Reviews – English National Ballet, She Persisted, London: Lisa Allardyce, The Observer David Dougill, Sunday Times (Scroll down) Tour Review – Mark Morris Dance Group, Pepperland, Cardiff: Othniel Smith, BTG Review – Australian Ballet, ‘Verve’ Triple Bill, Sydney: Michelle Potter, .... on dancing Feature – Misty Copeland expands on her archive trawl (see yesterday): Remy Tumin, NY Times Film Reviews – Yuli, the Carlos Acosta Biopic: Simran Hans, The Observer Edward Porter, Sunday Times (Scroll down) Film – Screenwriter David Hare on Nureyev and The White Crow: Tobias Grey, Wall St Journal Book Review – Ray Bolger: More Than a Scarecrow, Holly Van Leuven: Janine Parker, Arts Fuse Review – Leah Verier-Dunn/Moving Ethos, girlwoman, Sarasota: Carrie Seidman, Herald-Tribune Tour Review – Melbourne City Ballet, Alice in Wonderland, Dunedin: Hannah Molloy, Theatreview

Links – Saturday 13 April, 2019 Feature – Perpetual Motion – Misty Copeland looks at the NY Times Dance Photography Archive: NY TImes Feature - Learning to dance Merce Cunningham: Gia Kourlas, NY Times Review – Mariinsky Ballet, Le Corsaire, Washington DC: George Jackson, Danceviewtimes Reviews – American Ballet Theatre, Whipped Cream, Chicago: Kyle MacMillan, Chicago Sun-Times Hedy Weiss, WTTW News Review – Natalia Osipova & Colleagues, ‚Pure Dance’ Mixed Bill, New York: Leigh Witchel, dancelog.nyc Review – Northern Ballet, Victoria, Edinburgh: Kelly Apter, The List Review - Scottish Ballet, Dextra, Elite Syncopations, Aberdeen: Rebecca Buchan, Press and Journal Review – Rosie Kay Dance Company, 5 Soldiers, San Francisco: Leslie Katz, SF Examiner Film Review - Yuli, Carlos Acosta biopic: Charlotte O’Sullivan, Evening Standard News – More on abuse allegations at Vienna Ballet School: Alex Marshall, NY Times Review – Stephen Petronio Company, Tread, Coverage Revisited, American Landscapes, New York: Gia Kourlas, NY Times Review – Australian Ballet, ‘Verve’ Triple Bill, Sydney: Chantal Nguyen, Bachtrack Review – Albert Quesada & Zoltan Vakulya, OneTwoThreeOneTwo, London: Graham Watts, DanceTabs Review – International Draft Works, London: Teresa Guerreiro, Culture Whisper - Gallery: Foteini Christofilopoulou, DanceTabs Review – John Phillip Newell, Shane Shambhu & Colleagues, Hebridean Treasure: Lost & Found, Edinburgh: Siddharthiya Pillay, The List Diaries: - UK, Next Week: Lyndsey Winship, Guardian (Scroll down) - Southern California: Matt Cooper, LA Times Reviews – West Side Story, new choreography by Aletta Collins, Manchester: Mark Fisher, Guardian David Chadderton, BTG

Links – Friday 12 April, 2019 Review – Mariinsky Ballet, Le Corsaire, Washington DC: Rachael Goldberg, BWW DC Reviews – New York City Ballet, Washington DC: - Easy, In the Night, The Runaway, Something to Dance About: Arielle Ostry, Danceviewtimes - Composer’s Holiday, Kammermusik No 2, Opus 19/The Dreamer, Symphony in C: Oksana Khadarina, DanceTabs Review – English National Ballet, ‘She Persisted’ Triple Bill, London: Ka Bradley, Exeunt Tour Reviews – Northern Ballet, Victoria, Edinburgh: Roisin O’Brien, SeeingDance Edie Ranvier, Reviews Hub Tom King, Southside Advertiser Review – Ivan Putrov & Others, Against the Stream, London: John O’Dwyer, Seen and Heard Alvin Ailey American Dance Company: Review – Lazarus, Revelations, Berkeley: Janice Berman, SF Classical Voice Preview - Various Programs, Boston: Karen Campbell, Boston Globe Feature – Dance Theatre of Harlem at 50: Djassi Dacosta Johnson, Playbill Film Reviews – Yuli, Carlos Acosta Biopic: Cath Clarke, Guardian Kevin Maher, The Times Preview – Hubbard Street Dance, Pite, Cerrudo, Williams Triple Bill, Victoria BC: Mike Devlin, Times-Colonist Review – Russell Maliphant & Others, Silent Lines, Birmingham: Donald Hutera, The Times Diary – New York: Staff, NY Times Review – Supercell: Festival of Contemporary Dance, Brisbane: Denise Richardson, Dance Australia Preview – Festival of Korean Dance, London: Georgina Butler, Culture Whisper Preview – Ellen Sinopoli Dance Company, From the mind ….., Washington DC: Geraldine Freeman, Daily Gazette

Anna: Had the article been taken down by RBS? I only ask as it still carries a date of 7 November 2018. With that in mind, I commend your warning to one and all that there is no need to rehash much of what was previously said on the matter.

Links – Thursday 11 April, 2019 Obituary – Lawrence Rhodes, Dancer and Teacher: Anna Kisselgoff, NY Times Reviews – English National Ballet, ‘She Persisted’ Triple Bill, London: G J Dowler, Classical Source Laura Freeman, Spectator Reviews – Mariinsky Ballet, Le Corsaire, Washington DC: George Jackson, Danceviewtimes Maria Di Mento, DC Theatre Scene Review – Boston Ballet, Pas/Parts, Wings of Wax, Playlist (EP), Paris: Laura Cappelle, Financial Times Review – Natalia Osipova & Colleagues, ‘Pure Dance’ Mixed Bill, New York: Rose Marija, BWW Review – Royal Swedish Ballet, Escapist (Ekman), Stockholm: Maggie Foyer, SeeingDance Review – Australian Ballet, ‘Verve’ Triple Bill, Sydney: Deborah Jones, FollowSpot Feature – Merce Cunningham’s work was magical, intangible, Einsteinian – revival is futile: Ismene Brown, Spectator Feature – Hands! Hips! Hats! The why and how of Fosse/Verdon dance moves: Brian Seibert, NY Times Preview – Pam Tanowitz on choreographing T S Eliot’s Four Quartets: Lyndsey Winship, Guardian Preview – James Kudelka and Evelyn Hart team up for Four Old Legs, Toromto: Michael Crabb, The Star Reviews – Albert Quesada & Zoltan Vakulya, OneTwoThreeOneTwo, London: Rachel Elderkin, The Stage Charlotte Kasner, SeeingDance Review – Matthew Bourne/New Adventures, Swan Lake, Liverpool: John Roberts, Reviews Hub Q&A – Australian Ballet’s Alice Topp: Lucie Clark, Vogue Australia News – Vienna State Opera Ballet Academy hit by abuse scandal: Jon Henley, Guardian And on one hand: Brooklyn Rail for April – 5 items, here Whilst on the other: Darcey is leaving Strictly! BBC News (and, of course, elsewhere)

Links – Wednesday 10 April, 2019 Reviews - Ivan Putrov & Others, Gala – Against the Stream, London: Debra Craine, The Times Louise Levene, Financial Times Vera Liber, BTG Graham Watts, Bachtrack Charlotte Kasner, SeeingDance Interview – The Royal Ballet’s Gary Avis: Mark Monahan, Telegraph Feature – How West Side Story’s dance rumbles got reinvented: Lyndsey Winship, Guardian Review – Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Mixed Bill, Los Angeles: Gillian Ebersole, Bachtrack Review – Australian Ballet, ‘Verve’ Triple Bill, Sydney: Sue Williams, Daily Telegraph Preview – Stephen Petronio Company, Coverage Revisited, Tread, American Landscapes, New York: Siobhan Burke, NY Times Review – Batsheva Dance Company, Venezuela, Boston: Marcia B. Siegel, Arts Fuse Film Preview/Gallery – Yuli, plus Carlos Acosta 25-pic Gallery: Zoe Paskett, Evening Standard Preview – Nora, Where Home Is, London: Teresa Guerreiro, Culture Whisper Feature – Dance as mating ritual: Romeo, Romeo, Romeo: Veronica Posth, SeeingDance

Links – Tuesday 9 April, 2019 Reviews – Ivan Putrov & Others, Gala – Against the Stream, London: Anna Winter, The Stage Emma Byrne, Evening Standard Teresa Guerreiro, Culture Whisper Reviews – English National Ballet, She Persisted, London: Louise Levene, Financial Times Alexandra Gray, SeeingDance Essay – “All Dance is a Discourse on Freedom” – a reflection on the Alvin Ailey Company: Zadie Smith, NY Times Review – American Ballet Theatre, Whipped Cream, Iowa City: Diana Nollen, The Gazette Tour Review – Scottish Ballet, Dextera, Elite Syncopations, Glasgow: David Pollock, The Stage Review – Kyle Abraham & Others, Live! The Realest MC, New York: Gay Morris, Danceviewtimes Review – Russell Maliphant & Others, Silent Lines, Ipswich: Cavelle Leigh, Reviews Hub -- Interview: Anna Winter, The Stage Preview – Damien Jalet, Kohei Nawa & Others, Vessel, London: Chris Wiegand, Guardian Review – Ballet West, Onegin (Cranko), Salt Lake City: Alison Myers, Daily Utah Chronicle Review – Pennsylvania Ballet, All Stravinsky Bill – but what about the music? Margaret Darby, Phindie Tour Review – Mark Morris Dance Group, Pepperland, Edinburgh: Lucy Ribchester, The List Tour Preview – Northern Ballet, Victoria, Edinburgh: Kelly Apter, The List News – Amelia Drummond, Australian Ballet’s Emerging Choreographer: Staff, Dance Australia Review – Miet Warlop & Others, Ghost Writer and the Broken Hand Break, Berlin: Veronica Posth, SeeingDance Review – Su Wei-chia/Fang Yu-ting, Free Steps, Taipei: David Mead, SeeingDance Tour Review – Melbourne City Ballet, Alice in Wonderland (Bradshaw), Wellington: Greer Robertson, Theatreview

Links – Monday 8 April, 2019 Reviews – English National Ballet, She Persisted, London: Jenny Gilbert, Arts Desk Debra Craine, The Times Teresa Guerreiro, Culture Whisper Alexandra Gray, SeeingDance Review – Natalia Osipova, with Others, Pure Dance, New York: Sheila Kogan, TheaterScene Review – Australian Ballet, ‘Verve’ Triple Bill, Sydney: Jill Sykes, Sydney Morning Herald Reviews – Sydney Dance Company, Bonachela/Nankivell/Lane, Sydney: Deborah Jones, FollowSpot Geraldine Higginson, Dance Australia Michelle Potter, ... on dancing Review – Washington Ballet, Wood Work, Shadow Lands, Teeming Waltzes, Washington DC: George Jackson, Danceviewtimes Film Review – Royal New Zealand Ballet, The Heart Dances – on making The Piano: Graeme Tuckett, Dominion Post Feature – Hong Kong Ballet, Ballet in the City: Kylie Knott, SCMP Tour Review – Mark Morris Dance Group, Pepperland, Edinburgh: Dominic Corr, Reviews Hub Review – Batsheva Dance Company, Venezuela, Boston: Jeffrey Gantz, Boston Globe Review – Bare Feet Dance Theatre, An Eternity Before and After, Taipei: David Mead, SeeingDance Preview – Leah Verier-Dunn/Moving Ethos, girlwoman, Sarasota: Thomas Becnel, Herald-Tribune Review – Australian Dance Theatre, ‘Anthology’ Mixed Bill, Adelaide: Maggie Tonkin, Dance Australia

Links – Sunday 7 April, 2019 Review – English National Ballet, She Persisted, London: Graham Watts, DanceTabs Review – Mark Brown, Herald - Scottish Ballet, Dextera, Elite Syncopations, Inverness - Quarantine, Wallflower, Findhorn (It lasted 12 hours!) Review – Scottish Ballet, Dextera, Elite Syncopations, Glasgow: Lorna Irvine, Fjord Review Review – Alleyne Dance, Testimonies, A Night’s Game, London: Sara Veale, The Observer Previews – Rosie Kay Dance Company, 5 Soldiers, San Francisco: Lou Fancher, SF Classical Voice Leslie Katz, SF Examiner Diary – Southern California: Matt Cooper, LA Times Review – Martha Graham Dance Company, The Eve Project, New York: Deborah Jowitt, Arts Journal/DanceBeat Tour Review – BalletBoyz, Them/Us, Richmond: Aliya Al-Hassan, BWW UK Review – Parsons Dance, Mixed Bill, Portland: Martha Ullman West, Oregon Artswatch

If in character, she might not "be amused"?

Richard, Fonty - well and truly hoist on my own whatsit it seems. My 'issue,' if that's the word, stemmed from the Times headline that started all of this, a suspicion that it didn't accurately portray anything said by Dame Darcey, particularly when Billy Elliott et al were prayed in aid, leading to a debate on a non-existent question. (Its appearance on 1 April also raised a question at first glance, to be honest.) However, if others find that it is, as Fonty says, an interesting topic, then so be it. I would, however, hope that it does not descend into an increasingly circular and niggling argument as we have seen happen more than once before, eventually leading to an enforced locking of the thread.

A short-lived truce, I see.

Now that's a fairly perceptive review from TTP. I'll know where to look for the opium smokers next time - and she has served to make the point that Cathy Marston's work often has detail happening in corners that add depth to the main story but, should you miss them, you will not lose the main thread.

Folks, could we just let this drop now?

As Northern Ballet continue touring Cathy Marston's Victoria, just a few words from me after seeing the final London performance on Saturday evening. I am entirely persuaded by it as a piece of narrative dance theatre. There is a good deal to take in, but the basic premises are clear. Victoria's relationship with John Brown and Beatrice's with Liko, her husband, dominate Act 1, as does Victoria's relationship with Prince Albert in Act 2 - and throughout, the Older Beatrice narrates, comments, and participates. There is also a good deal of supporting incident, giving some idea of what was happening during that lengthy reign, most of which I think I have now interpreted. I seem still to have missed Lord M smoking opium, remarked upon by others; and I rather wonder about the pistol shot that appears to end John Brown's life. That, I believe, is factually wrong but does it refer in some way to the attempt on the Queen's life shown in Mrs Brown, when Brown intercepted the attacker? In any event, it's of no great consequence to the main thrust. My impression was that, some 3 weeks after opening in Leeds, the company now has the piece pretty much in its bones, and I was pleased to see that most critical reaction of the London run was favourable. I'll happily see it again when screened in cinemas on 25 June and, I hope, in future runs.

Richard: Perhaps this might help? https://giselle.ballet.org.uk/the-story Did Begoña Cao's magnificently imperious Bathilde make no impression? (I will admit there was a clear division of opinion chez nous about the whole thing - but I've never been a Wili or, indeed, Bathilde.)

Who can say?

Links – Sunday 31 March, 2019 Obituary – Genevieve Oswaid, Dance Librarian & Archivist: Marina Harss, NY Times Reviews – Northern Ballet, Victoria, London: Vera Liber, BTG Review – Royal Ballet, Romeo and Juliet, London: Sarah Crompton, The Observer Review – Mark Morris Dance Group, Pepperland; Royal Ballet, Romeo and Juliet, London: David Dougill, Sunday Times Review – Mark Morris Dance Group, Pepperland, Salford: Georgina Wells, BTG Feature – Our one language – why Dance is more popular than ever: Sarah Crompton, The Observer Review - Scottish Ballet, Dextera (Premiere), Elite Syncopations, Inverness: Mark Brown, Telegraph Preview – English National Ballet, She Persisted Triple Bill, London: Georgina Butler, Culture Whisper Review – Dorrance Dance, Lessons in Tradition, Harlequin and Pantalone, Jump Monk, SOUNDspace, New York: Gay Morris, Danceviewtimes Review – CUNY Dance Initiative, Mixed Bill, New York: Carla Escoda, Bachtrack Review – Christine Devaney & Dancers, We Are All Just Little Creatures, Edinburgh: Dominic Corr, Reviews Review – Kate Weare Company & Union Tanguera, Sin Salida, Sarasota: Carrie Seidman, Herald-Tribune

Mention of Battery Park tempts me to say that you must remember that, according to Bernstein, "The people live in a hole in the ground." I went for a ride with some of them one evening many, many years ago for the Staten Island ferry trip - you'll have a good time, I'm sure.

I'd say that Tony was right to keep the Older Beatrice 'always in his eye' - this is her story and, whatever else is happening, she is always in some way part of it. And as that will be Saturday night's cast, when I hope to see it again, I'm delighted to hear that they work well together.

Links – Thursday 28 March, 2019 Reviews – Royal Ballet, Romeo and Juliet, London: Lyndsey Winship, Guardian Zoë Anderson, Independent Debra Craine, The Times Mark Pullinger, Bachtrack Jim Pritchard, Seen and Heard Neil Norman, The Stage Teresa Guerreiro, Culture Whisper Reviews – Northern Ballet, Victoria, London: Mark Monahan, Telegraph Anna Winter, The Stage Maryam Philpott, Reviews Hub Hari Mountford, Londonist Christiana Ferrauti, The Upcoming Stefan Kyriazis, Express Roslyn Sulcas, NY Times Vikki Vile, Culture Whisper - Podcast Interview – BBC Woman's Hour (From 8:38 to 19.38) Review – Birmingham Royal Ballet, Beauty and The Beast, Salford: Aniqah Choudhri, Exeunt News – Edinburgh International Festival, 2019 – Programme: Kelly Apter, Scotsman (Scroll down) and elsewhere Preview – English National Ballet, She Persisted Triple Bill, London: Elena Chabo, Stylist Film Preview – Carlos Acosta Biopic, Yuli: Joanne Shurvell, Forbes Speaking in Dance – Ballet Hispanico’s Women: Gia Kourlas, NY Times - Review – El Viaje, Homebound/Alaala, SombrerÍsimo, New York: Siobhan Burke, NY Times Review – Sydney Dance Company, Neon Aether, Cinco, WOOF, Sydney: Jill Sykes, Sydney Morning Herald