September 2011

Posted on September 26, 2011

September is the month that sees the start of the academic school year and the beginning of the 2011–12 season for dance companies. In this issue of Dancing Times we offer sound advice for parents of talented young dancers from Rachel Rist, director of dance at Tring Park School for the Performing Arts, as to how best to fund vocational dance training. We also continue our round-up of vocational school end-of-year shows in Dance Education (pages 74–77) – and there are lots to include over the coming months (I saw no fewer than 14 of them this summer!). Also in this issue, on pages 36–39, Paul Arrowsmith investigates how UK dance companies set about planning their advance seasons, and we invite you to take part in our questionnaire on performance attendance.

If you do, you could win a free joint subscription for Dancingtimes and sister magazine Dance Today. In a packed issue, Richard Glasstone celebrates John Cranko’s Pineapple Poll on pages 27–29; Zoë Anderson reports on the 2011 “Ballet Days” in Hamburg on pages 22–25; and we include reviews of English National Ballet, The Maryinsky Ballet and Merce Cunningham Dance Company in Dance Scene.

Jonathan Gray, Editor

Features

14 Funding the talented dancer. Rachel Rist offers guidance on how to fund vocational dance training

19 The accidental life of a theatre designer. Paul Arrowsmith talks to set and costume designer Jean-Marc Puissant

22 Ballet days: dance in Hamburg. Zoë Anderson travelled to Germany to see Hamburg Ballet

27 Bring back Poll! Richard Glasstone celebrates John Cranko’s Pineapple Poll 

36 Winning the ticket. The intricacies of programming dance, explored by Paul Arrowsmith

43 Threads and rays. Matthew Hawkins recalls working with Michael Clark in the 1980s

6 Dance Matters. Dancers’ Career Development bursaries, Pineapple Poll DVD competition, BRB’s Nutcracker at The O2

11 Letters

12 Talking Point. Graham Watts asks if critics need a professional code of conduct

30 Dance Health. Debbie Malina concludes our health directory for dancers

33 Variety Lights. Sarah Woodcock on Rattigan’s Nijinsky and Laura Dodge on Napoletango

49 Dance Scene. Reviews this month include : English National Ballet, Rosie Kay Dance Company, and The Maryinsky Ballet

67 Letter from St Petersburg. Igor Stupnikov sees a Diana Vishneva gala

68 Dance Media. New books and DVDs reviewed by Barbara Newman, Mary Clarke and Laura Dodge

71 Dance People. International Ballet reunion

73 Obituaries. Sergei Berezhnoi, The Earl of Harewood, Petr Pestov

74 Dance Education. The Royal Ballet School, ISTD

79 Classifieds

80 Where to Learn

82 Calendar

93 Dancer of the Month. Northern Ballet’s Tobias Batley interviewed by Margaret Willis

96 Stage Picture. Jewels by Zoë Anderson

98 Your Page

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.