July 2008
This issue of Dancing Times is the last for which Mary Clarke takes responsibility as Editor but, as she insists, it is not “the end of an era”. It sees a happy transition to a younger generation as Jonathan Gray, who has been her close associate for several years, before that, for 16 years, a member of the curatorial staff at the Theatre Museum, and a devoted reader of the magazine for some 30 years (since age 10), takes over. Mary Clarke has been named Emeritus Editor by the magazine’s Trustees and will thus retain an interest and become an occasional contributor. The invaluable Dancing Times team, listed on this page, remains unchanged while the writers and photographers, some long serving, some more recent and younger, stay with us. Echoing a famous remark of Ninette de Valois (her mentor) Mary Clarke says firmly “it takes more than one to produce a magazine”. This issue of Dancing Times, for which she takes only partial credit, characteristically reflects a range of topics: from interviews with dancers and with a distinguished impresario; to a serious study of the state of Black Dance in the UK; to an important warning to dancers about to sign contracts; to extensive reviews of professional performances as well as the equally important news about teachers and training, with a special feature on the New Zealand School of Dance. It is the hope and belief of the present Editor that her successor will cement existing policies and initiate fresh ones, respecting the past but heralding the future. And to everyone who has sustained her for nearly half a century, undying gratitude and love.
| In this month's issue | ||
8 Letters to the Editor |
35 Before You Sign on the Dotted Line. Francis Yeoh unravels the mysteries of contracts for dancers |
Into Dance! Regulars |