Anthony Dowell’s tenure as director of Lonond’s Royal Ballet has been a mixed affair. “What makes a good director? The question has never been more of a poser than during Dowell’s captaincy of the ballet, in the most turbulent years of the Royal Opera House’s history. The organisation has struggled with vast debts, the closure and rebuilding of the theatre, and a serious loss of public affection.” The Telegraph (UK) 07/29/01
Tag: 07.29.01
OUT OF GAS
Is Anthony Dowell leaving just in time as director of London’s Royal Ballet? “The ideal director, if he or she is not a creator, should be a curator, ensuring that the Royal Ballet presents the classics in the purest form. By emphasising design over direction, Dowell has taken the company out of the premier league of classical troupes. It still dances well but its productions have become secondary ones, not the definitive statements Ninette de Valois required of the Royal Ballet.” The Observer (UK) 07/29/0
BYPASSING THE BAY AREA
Why don’t major ballet companies come to San Francisco? “There is an impressive roster of companies that routinely bypass the Bay Area during United States tours that are anchored in appearances at Lincoln Center, the Orange County Performing Arts Center or the Kennedy Center.” San Francisco Chronicle 07/29/01