News from America

[Katharine Kanter]

News from America

The Dance Theatre of Harlem School re-opened last week, with a new business manager, and large private donations, including apparently, half a million dollars in personal funds from Mr. Bloomberg, New York’s current Mayor.

In the context of the debate over private versus public funding (in this writer’s humble view, Dance Theatre of Harlem should be a STATE-funded, permanent Academy, being an institution of national public interest), the Chairman of the Canada Arts Council, the former ballerina Karen Kain, has given a speech to Harvard University where she takes a somewhat jaundiced view of the need to curry favour with private enterprise to survive in the American art world. The full text of her speech can be obtained from the Arts Council.

Finally, Ballet Pacifica, at Orange County in Southern California, is being referred to in the American press as potentially “American Ballet Theatre of the West Coast”. This year, its operating budget will be increased from $US 1.7 to $US 6.5 million (yes, luvvies !), with the appointment of the not-unknown Ethan Stiefel as its new Artistic Director. Amanda McKerrow and John Gardner, also of ABT, have been appointed Assistant ADs, and the troupe will now expand from nine to twenty dancers. Auditions will shortly be held throughout the USA (Notice to unemployed classical dancers in Europe ? Travel plans ?)

[haydn]

Merci Katharine, vous avez fait beaucoup d'efforts pour nous livrer vos impressions en Français - qui n'est pas votre langue maternelle - alors pour ces nouvelles d'Amérique, l'anglais s'imposait un peu!