CriticalDance Forum

<I>with karen kain at a 1997 reception</I><P> <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Trudeau's favourite art form<BR>was dance, said Victor Melnikoff - - -<P>He was one of the first politicians to<BR>run the country who actually enjoyed the arts." - - -<P>"He had the courage of his opinions. But he was gentle in his arguments. He was one of the best, if not the best, intellectuals Canada ever produced." - - -<P> - - -<P>Trudeau: "There is a difference between the craftsman on his trapeze and an artist who expresses life as he sees it. An artist must always be wary of trying to please, and, in that, he is like some politicians. He must never seek to please. <P>"The bad artist, like the bad politician, seeks to please. The artist who sees for himself opens up the treasure of innerness, the pleasure of wonderment. Such a man is basically a loner, but although he is a loner, if he has genius,he creates something universal; out of his aloneness, he can reach out and become and remain universal." <P> - Pierre Elliott Trudeau, 1984 <HR></BLOCKQUOTE><BR> <A HREF="http://www.montrealgazette.com:80/news/pages/001007/4649991.html" TARGET=_blank>http://www.montrealgazette.com:80/news/pages/001007/4649991.html</A> <p>[This message has been edited by grace (edited October 07, 2000).]

Lovely, astute quote.

this canadian thread reminds me - we haven't heard from dirk recently...

actually, dirk, having stuck my neck very much out in dance australia reviews of NDT1 a few months back, i was pleasantly surprised to read a FAR ruder dismissal of kylian - by none other than clement crisp, today.<P>gavin roebuck sent me some english dance magazines, and i quote here an extract from crisp's review of the 'Fantasia, Falling Angels, Shangri-La, & Symphony of Psalms' program, at Sadler's Wells Theatre. The review appears in 'Ballet 2000' magazine, Issue 48, page 32.:<P> <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>I have very little sympathy for the work of NDT, in any of it's incarnations....<P>I dislike the idea of dance as a form of Week's Good Cause Appeal, I dislike the musical insensitivities which seem to guide most of it's choreography... <P>I dislike all the clichés of the Kylian style - the cast trailing towards the back of the stage; the feeling that dispossessed peasantry are forever on the move; the sadly limited dance-language and the unrelenting earnestness of what we see; the entire absence of humour......<P>I loathe the sexial attitudinising; both men and women are forever signalling sexual banalities at each other with little evidence of real sexual interest. I loathe the clogged texture and the fearful heaviness, the sheer provincialism.... I am not a fan!.......<P>The Kylian cuisine offers a turgid, unnourishing cuisine which brings indigestion and remorse.<P>The company's London season did little to convince me I am wrong.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>disclaimer: views presented here are those of the quoted author, and do not represent the opinions of criticaldance.com!

No one could ever accuse Mr Crisp of being boring. However, it's worth noting that 'Symphony of Psalms' won one of the major London dance awards as best new (to London) work of 1999. I thought it one of the most beautiful works of the year and 'Falling Angels' was one of the more exciting pieces I saw in 1999. <P>On another tack, Mr Crisp's '...week's good causes...' comment is consistent with his intense dislike of Bruce's 'Swansong' and 'Ghost Dances'. It's a genre (another is that typified by Momix etc) which he just can't abide. <P>He's always worth reading, but his intense likes and dislikes for genres as well as particular pieces are worth bearing in mind.<P>For my money, Judith Mackrell, Donald Hutera and Allen Robertson are the most reliable critics on the London scene. I might not always agree with them, but there are few genres that they automatically rule out from critical approval.<BR> <P><p>[This message has been edited by Stuart Sweeney (edited October 11, 2000).]

Stuart, I do agree with you regarding Crisp. With his long time reputation as a respected critic, he can be as wordily scathing as he pleases, which probably contributes to the fact that he isn't boring. <BR>I wonder how many people actually find Kylian cliched. And agree with his view of "clogged textures," et al.