November 2020

Posted on November 26, 2020

Editorial and contents November 2020

First of all, I would like to thank everyone who sent their best wishes to Dancing Times on reaching its 110th anniversary last month. It was quite a milestone, and although we couldn’t celebrate in the way we had originally intended, your messages meant a huge amount to all of the team, and we are delighted so many of you have been enjoying the contents of the magazine over the past difficult months. 

In this issue, we mark the first “live” indoor performance by a professional ballet company to take place in the UK since the start of the lockdown. At short notice, on October 9 the whole of The Royal Ballet stepped back on to the stage of the Royal Opera House. It was marvellous to see them again, and with further performances by other companies due to take place in theatres across the country this month, we can only hope this is the beginning of a gradual return to some kind of normality. 

In addition, we take a look at the issues surrounding the safeguarding of young students attending dance schools in the UK, discuss the devastating impact COVID-19 has had on many working within the dance profession, and hear how Birmingham Royal Ballet has been preparing to get back on stage, both from the aspect of health and safety, and from the perspective of one of the company’s ballet masters.

JONATHAN GRAY

Dancing Times, November 2020 Volume 111 Issue 1323

Cover Stories

17 – No more snooze button
Graham Watts asks how safe our dance schools are

29 – Jazz roots
Marianka Swain talks to Zak Nemorin about a new film on jazz dance

37 – Dance Scene UK
The Royal Ballet reviewed by Jonathan Gray

Features

21 – Beyond the news
Matthew Paluch considers COVID-19’s impact on dance professionals

25 – Blackpool, but not as we know it…
Nicola Rayner finds out how the world’s oldest and biggest ballroom dance festival has moved online

33 – Returning safely
Dominic Antonucci describes the process of getting the dancers of Birmingham Royal Ballet ready to return to the stage after lockdown. Photographs by Ty Singleton

Dance Today

56 – The King’s Game
Alison Gallagher-Hughes meets Richard Gleave, ballroom dance royalty

58 – Tips on technique
By James Whitehead

59 – Technique clinic
By Phil Meacham

60 – Simon’s Guide to Swing
By Simon Selmon

61 – Stepping Out
By Marianka Swain

62 – Somewhere in time
By Jack Reavely

Regulars

8 – News
Sadler’s Wells to present dance again this month

12 – Dancing Times Volume 110

14 – Talking Point
By Francis Yeoh

41 – Dance Scene International
Reviews from Germany and Sweden

45 – Variety Lights
By Barbara Newman

46 – FRANCE/dance
By Laura Cappelle

48 – Danza in Italia
By Graham Spicer

50 – Letter from St Petersburg
By Igor Stupnikov

52 – Notes from New York
By Jack Anderson

63 – Subscriptions

65 – Dancer of the Month
Margaret Willis interviews English National Ballet’s Victor Prigent

69 – Obituaries
Joanne Nisbet

70 – Media
Graham Watts watches a Flamenco festival online

73 – Products

75 – Education

76 – Health
Debbie Malina talks to Dr Nick Allen, clinical director of Birmingham Royal Ballet’s Jerwood Centre

79 – Classifieds

80 – Calendar
Our guide to what’s on in the UK and abroad

82 – Last Dance
We look back to November 1980

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.