News – from the Dance World

On the cover :   
John Neumeier and the great composers
Dance on the abyss

Adieu Patrick Dupond

On stage – critics :

Chiasma Company
Rome Opera Ballet
Paris Opéra Ballet
The Royal Ballet, London
Thèâtre Massimo de Palerme
Lyon Opera Ballet
Yvann Alexandre
Batsheva Dance Company
Balletto di Roma
Ballet du Capitole de Toulouse

Steps in History
1931, the birth of the Royal Ballet

Close-Up
Maurice Béjart

Icons
La Camargo and Marie Sallé

MultiMedia : TV, Web, Dvd, Cinema



Editoriale

Castor and Pollux: sons of the same mother, one however was the son of Zeus, the other of a common mortal. Thus, one was destined to immortality and Mount Olympus, the other to the Underworld of the Shades. But the twins didn’t want this, so Zeus granted that they should take it in turns, one living in the light and the other in the shadows, on alternate days.
In these strange times of ours the same is happening to the two Dioscuri of dance, theatre and screen. They alternate according to rules from above: we go to the theatre whenever possible, otherwise we sit at home in front of our monitors and watch streaming instead.
Who knows how long this is going to last, we all wonder; but perhaps the answer is: forever. Because, in the meantime, not only are we getting used to the younger of the two, the screen, but we even find it has its advantages. First of all, for the artists, as they obviously get greater diffusion (a streamed show has a far bigger number of spectators than those who sit in a theatre for a few evenings); secondly for the spectators who are able to see a huge quantity of shows that they would previously have been to go to, unless they had been rich and tireless travellers.
 For the moment, and in theory, the objection that all this reduces the creative work of choreographers, dancers and companies doesn’t hold; in fact, a performance must be created, rehearsed and danced in real life (and how could it be otherwise?) in order for it to be filmed and “streamed” or live-streamed (i.e. broadcast all around the world at the same time as the dancers perform it on stage in an empty theatre, allowing us to experience at home the excitement of a ‘premiere’...). Aesthetic excitement, of course, isn’t like the live excitement of the theatre, and the pleasure is even less; but the possibility to observe and assess artistically are there alright, for those who ‘know how to watch’ a performance or a choreography work onscreen as if it were onstage.
BALLET2000’s task is to observe what is happening in the world of dance and report on it with a critical eye. What can’t be cured must be endured; therefore, albeit with a heavy heart, we have to admit that it is entirely legitimate for us to observe and review a streamed choreographic work. As we have always done with videos, DVDs and TV productions.
So what does this change for our magazine and its readers? From the point of view of content, texts and photos, little or nothing; as always, we are looking at the world of dance and ballet, as it really is at a given moment. With the advantage – let us console ourselves thus – of having it all at our fingertips, you but also us as we travel the world via our computer. Until, of course, we are able to go to the theatre as well. But watch out for that “as well”. There are those who will stay at home.
Alfio Agostini