Quick links
Useful resources
Sign up to our newsletter
Be the first to hear about news, special offers and more...
Posted on October 24, 2019
Editorial and contents October 2019
As this summer drew to an end, the subject of the masculinity and sexuality of male ballet dancers reared its head following some ill-chosen words uttered by a foolish television presenter on ABC’s Good Morning America. Said in relation to a story about how much six-year-old Prince George loved his ballet lessons at school, her comments caused outrage around the world. The dance community demanded an apology and went on to highlight strenuously that it’s OK for men and boys to do ballet if they want to. Reassuring as all this was, I was saddened a stronger case wasn’t made that it’s irrelevant whether a male ballet dancer is gay or not; the dance world, once again, played cautiously with the fact there have always been gay men working in ballet by overly insisting that – with all their strength and physicality – male ballet dancers are real men, as if the two were incompatible. Matthew Paluch bravely tackles the subject of ballet’s internalised homophobia this month in his “There’s a elephant in the room, and it’s gay”.
Elsewhere in Dancing Times, as we move into our 110th volume, we look at how dance can best be preserved for the future with the help of choreographer Chistopher Wheeldon, répétiteur Julie Lincoln, and the Swiss Archive of the Performing Arts, and hear from the parents dedicating their lives to supporting their child’s dream of becoming a dancer.
JONATHAN GRAY
Cover Stories
17 – A new light shines on Spanish ballet. Graham Watts talks to Joaquín De Luz
29 – There’s an elephant in the room, and it’s gay. Matthew Paluch thinks ballet should stop being in denial over gay men
45 – Dance Scene. Reviews include the Edinburgh International Festival
20 – Speaking of the Bolshoi. Margaret Willis meets Katerina Novikova, head of press for the Bolshoi Ballet
24 – Old-school style. Nicola Rayner interviews choreographer Stephen Mear
33 – Past Present Future. Paul Arrowsmith explores the Swiss Archive of Performing Arts
37 – It’s all about the storytelling. Gail Monahan talks to répétiteur Julie Lincoln
41 – Ballet tradition and new ventures. Fátima Nollén discovers the old and the new in Cuba
74 – Following in their footsteps. Alison Gallagher-Hughes talks to the parents dedicated to their aspiring children
78 – Strictly between us. Vikki Jane Vile gets the inside track from Strictly Come Dancing’s celebrities
80 – Tips on technique. By James Whitehead
81 – Technique clinic. By Phil Meacham
82 – Simon’s Guide to Swing. By Simon Selmon
83 – Stepping Out. By Marianka Swain
84 – Notes from the Dance Floor. British Dance Council at 90
86 – Somewhere in time. By Jack Reavely
6 – News. English National Ballet’s new headquarters, win copies of The Royal Ballet’s Swan Lake book
13 – Letters
15 – Talking Point. By Christopher Wheeldon
67 – FRANCE/dance. By Laura Cappelle
68 – Letter from St Petersburg. By Igor Stupnikov
71 – Notes from New York. By Jack Anderson
89 – Dancer of the Month. Margaret Willis catches up with Birmingham Royal Ballet’s Yaoqian Shang
93 – People. Frederick Ashton
95 – Obituaries. Teneisha Bonner, Frederika Davis
97 – Media. Romeo and Juliet on screen
99 – Dancing Times, Volume 109
101 – Products
102 – Education. RAD Genée International Ballet Competition
106 – Health. Debbie Malina concludes her look into bodywork
109 – Classified
111 – Calendar. Our guide to what’s on stage this month in the UK and abroad
118 – Listings. Where to learn to dance in the UK
122 – Last dance. We look back to the Edinburgh Festival in September 1979