February 2008

Posted on January 30, 2008

On February 1 details will be announced of the 80 arts organisations who will receive regular funding from Arts Council England, following the publication of the McMaster report Supporting Excellence in the Arts. A further 86 institutions will receive grant increases of 50 per cent or more over the next three years while three quarters of the 990 funded by ACE will receive rises that are at least in line with inflation.

The report has been warmly welcomed by Dance UK who have collected responses from many key industry figures including Siobhan Davies CBE, Gill Clarke MBE, Nadia Stern of Rambert Dance Company, Betsy Gregory of Dance Umbrella, Kenneth Tharp chief executive of The Place, Wayne McGregor, artistic director Wayne McGregor/Random Dance, Charlotte Vincent of Vincent Dance Theatre, Shobana Jeyasingh, Julia Carruthers of Southbank Centre, and Farooq Chaudhry, Dance UK Board member and producer Akram Khan Company. Alastair Spalding, chair of Dance UK and chief executive and artistic director of Sadler’s Wells, says “It is fantastic news that there is now a clear focus on excellence, innovation and risk, an attitude that has always been there in the dance sector but not always supported by the infrastructure that surrounds it. I am particularly pleased that the report signals a reconsideration of the value of peer assessment. People will be much more comfortable with decisions that are made if they feel there is some representation by those that have a working knowledge of the sector”. Well said, indeed. For further information see the website danceuk.org. Inevitably there will be protests about the new priorities and already there has been a furious response from Nicholas Hytner, director of the National Theatre, and from such threatened respected bodies as The Bush Theatre in London, the Northcott Theatre in Exeter, and London Mozart Players. By our next issue we should have details of the winners and losers in the dance world but the response by Dance UK suggests there is considerable optimism.

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In this month

8 Letters to the Editor

11 Talking Point. This month David Jays writes on critics and criticism

12 The icewoman cometh. English National Ballet’s Daria Klimentová interviewed by Zoë Anderson

17 Are you ready for MOVE IT?

19 Gala for Maris Liepa. Photographs by Frederika Davis

20 Study Aid. AQA GCSE Performing Arts: Dance Specification Tutoring Choreography Part Two by Dr Lorna Sanders

25 Life and Meaning. Nadine Meisner previews Pina Bausch’s upcoming season at Sadler’s Wells

29 Dance Schools: The Rotterdamse Dans Academie by Jenny Veldhuis

33 Thoroughly modern dancer. Gerald Dowler interviews New York City Ballet’s Wendy Whelan

37 The Making of a Dancer Part 17. This month Mary Goodhew looks at health care for dancers

41 Another Opening Another Show. Barbara Newman reviews La Cage aux Folles

43 DanceScene International – UK: The Royal Ballet; Scottish Ballet; English National Ballet; Viva La Diva; New Adventures; Cirque du Soleil. Overseas: Festival de Danse de Cannes; Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater; Bavarian State Ballet; Paris Opéra Ballet and Paris Opéra Ballet School; Bolshoi Ballet.
On screen: Dance on TV

71 Letter from St Petersburg by Igor Stupnikov

75 Obituaries – Marie-Jeanne, Michael Kidd, Richard Whistler

101 Dance Styles: Indian Dance by Reginald Massey

104 Kialea-Nadine Williams is our Dancer of the Month interviewed by Margaret Willis

106 Your Page with the chance to win a cuddly Milligan Bear!

6 Dancematters

This month: Acrobatic Swan Lake, Shobana Jeyasingh competition, NBT’s new Hamlet

73 Miscellany
This month: Darcey Bussell, Roger Wood

78 Teachers & Training
This month: Prix de Lausanne, IDTA, The Place

83 Classified

84 Where to Learn

86 Calendar

97 Book & DVD

Simon Oliver

Simon Oliver has been production editor of Dancing Times since 2010 and is highly experienced in design across print and online magazine production. Throughout his career, Simon has worked on a diverse range of subjects including music, family history, book collecting and poker.