Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 October 2002

Revealing Macmillan brings together professional and scholarly knowledge to cast fresh light on the man and his work. Programme includes:presentations of academic papers; screenings of rare footage; masterclasses; demonstrations; workshops; interviews and discussions. Contributors include renowned interpreters of MacMillan's work, his artistic collaborators and notators, dance writers and academics and some of today's leading performers.

Conference programme and practical sessions

Conference costs £70 for one day (£35 conc.) and £130 for two days (conc. £65)
and workshops cost extra.

For full programme details and booking form contact RAD Development Department
020 7326 8051(tel)
020 7924 3129(fax)
lrich@rad.org.uk

<small>[ 10-28-2002, 05:22: Message edited by: Stuart Sweeney ]</small>

<B>Revealing MacMillan</B><BR>Conference Programme content outline<BR>As at May 02, subject to change<P>Saturday 12th October<P>Introduction and overview: <BR>Luke Rittner introduces “Revealing MacMillan”<BR>Jann Parry – Kenneth MacMillan - the Man and the Works<P>Classical and Expressionist: <BR>Robert Penman – MacMillan Matters – Matter and Anti-Matter in Kenneth MacMillan’s choreography<BR>Ann Nugent – Kenneth MacMillan and the Conflict of Expressionism<P>MacMillan and partnering: <BR>Carol Martin – Angst and Agility, MacMillan’s Bedroom Scenes<BR>Masterclass on Manon – Anthony Dowell and dancers from the Royal Ballet<P>Form and content: <BR>Jennifer Jackson – Problems of Perception A Sea of Troubles – looking at MacMillan’s work from the inside out and the outside in Demonstration/paper to be confirmed<P>MacMillan’s musicality: Paul Jackson – Kenneth MacMillan and his use of music with particular reference to his ballets using specially commissioned music<BR>Barry Wordsworth in conversation with Stephanie Jordan<BR>Masterclass on The Song of the Earth - Monica Mason and Donald MacLeary with dancers from the Royal Ballet<P>Sunday 13th October<P>MacMillan and The Royal Ballet: <BR>Beth Genne – MacMillan and Madam – the Relationship between Kenneth MacMillan and Ninette de Valois<BR>Alastair Macaulay – Ashton and MacMillan<BR>Peter Wright in conversation with Beth Genne and Alastair Macaulay<P>MacMillan and dancers: <BR>Geraldine Morris – Collaborative Strands – A Discussion of the Contribution of Certain Dancers to Kenneth MacMillan’s Dance Movement Style<BR>Panel Discussion chaired by Edward Thorpe – Wayne Eagling, Alessandra Ferri, Birgit Keil, Irek Mukhamedov and David Wall <P>Preservation: <BR>Liz Cunliffe – Kenneth MacMillan and The Benesh Institute<BR>Sarah Woodcock –MacMillan and his designers<BR>Viewing of Royal Ballet archive footage of MacMillan works<P>Looking ahead: <BR>Masterclass on Romeo and Juliet - Lynn Seymour with notator and dancers to be confirmed<BR>The Future of the Work - Panel Discussion chaired by Susan Crow – Deborah MacMillan, Jacquie Hollander, Ross MacGibbon, Jacqueline Smith-Autard, Lynn Seymour, Sarah Woodcock.<P><BR><p>[This message has been edited by Stuart Sweeney (edited June 11, 2002).]

<BR> <BR><small>Kenneth MacMillan rehearsing Jonathan Cope (The Royal Ballet).<BR>Photo © Leslie Spatt</small><P>The website for the Revealing MacMillan Conference is now up. Here's a section from the Introduction:<P><BR> <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>A central part of the year-long International Celebration of Kenneth MacMillan, Revealing MacMillan is the first ever conference on the life and work of this extraordinary choreographer. The Conference brings together professional and scholarly knowledge to cast fresh light on the works. Contributors include renowned interpreters of MacMillan's work, notators and repetiteurs, his artistic collaborators and colleagues, dance writers and academics and some of today's leading performers.<P>Over the two days, there will be presentations of academic papers and screenings of rare archive footage, as well as workshops, masterclasses, interviews and discussions, and a full programme of workshops for dancers from GCSE level to graduating professional.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>You'll already find a wealth of material there including a piece about Macmillan by Mary Clarke and a useful guide to Other Events covering performances of MacMillan's work worldwide, exhibitions and the National Film Theatre season in London. <P>I suspect that this is one conference that could be booked up soon. So if you want to go, I'd get your application (available on the website) in asap.<P><A HREF="http://www.revealingmacmillan.org/index.html" TARGET=_blank><B>Revealing MacMillan Conference website</B></A><P>

<B>A message from Susie Crow of the conference team:</B><P>Just to let you know that a booking form is now available on the Revealing MacMillan website at:<P> <A HREF="http://www.revealingmacmillan.org/booking.html" TARGET=_blank>http://www.revealingmacmillan.org/booking.html</A><BR> <BR>Booking is now open and there is considerable demand for limited places, if you are interested in attending please get your booking in as soon as possible.<BR>We look forward to hearing from you.<P>To download the pdf file you will need to have Adobe Acrobat 5, but there is an easy download menu with the booking form. <P><p>[This message has been edited by Stuart Sweeney (edited July 17, 2002).]

Ballet.co has set up a splendid page with all the information to date on the MacMillan Conference and associated events. There is also an article by Susie Crow. More coverage is promised as the evnts unfold.<P>Here is the link to the <A HREF="http://www.ballet.co.uk/macmillan/index.htm" TARGET=_blank><B>Index Page</B></A><BR>

News of what is happening to commemorate MacMillan elsewhere in the world:

For lust and money: preserving Manon
Choreologist Parker steeped in tradition of MacMillan ballet
By MOLLY GLENTZER for The Houston Chronicle

Monica Parker has taught Sir Kenneth MacMillan's ballet Manon so many times that she rarely needs to refer to the two red binders of Benesh notation she lugs with her from England.

They contain a shorthand description of every step -- circles, dashes and numbers on lines that mimic a musical score but go beyond it, also representing the planes of the human body.

Ballets are even more difficult to preserve than operas, symphonies and plays, because the choreographer's intention involves so many elements -- the steps, nuances of line and style, as well as sets, costumes and lighting.

click for more

TUK, a UK dance teacher, reports on some of the workshops in the first part of our coverage of the conference.

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REVEALING MACMILLAN CONFERENCE

ROYAL ACADEMY OF DANCE SUNDAY 13TH OCTOBER 2002

WINTER DREAMS WORKSHOP (10.00 - 11.30) JACQUELINE SMITH-AUTARD

This session had been advertised as a "…multi-media approach to studying MacMillan's Winter Dreams at GCSE and GCE A Level using CD ROM technology for creative analysis." As a result a large number of teachers and students attended the workshop, principally because the ballet is presently amongst the set works on the AQA A Level syllabus. Also the use of information technology for study purposes is on the rise in schools and colleges, so the presentation of CD ROM technology as a tool for dance analysis was potentially of great interest.

The substantive content of the workshop turned out to be somewhat less satisfying than the original prospectus had indicated it would be. The principle analytical tool turned out to be the Wild Child CD ROM Resource Pack, which was presented as a generic tool for the analysis of other works. The CD ROM, which uses an analytical framework derived from Laban's to examine Wild Child, a work performed by Ludus Dance Company, came across as having a rather cumbersome interface. It was also concerning as to how directly relevant Wild Child was as a comparison piece to MacMillan's Winter Dreams. The effort to make this link seemed rather forced and the time spent on a work that had little relevance to the expectations of the workshops participants somewhat dubious.

One insight on the final pas de deux in Winter Dreams, that this was the first part choreographed by MacMillan, was the most enlightening aspect of the workshop. With this knowledge in mind the occurrence throughout the ballet of motifs derived from the duet could be seen as fundamental to how the MacMillan structured both the choreography and the narrative. Such information is of great value and really does give a starting point from which analysis can begin.

ARCHIVE FOOTAGE VIEWING (11.45 - 13.00) BENNET GARTSIDE

One of the problems with raw archive footage, particularly as presented in this instance, is that it requires considerable contextualisation if it is to be seen as more than a series of historical images. Unfortunately this session, dominated by early MacMillan works from the 1960s, was in the somewhat indigestible form of a series of extracts from dress rehearsal tapes linked purely by the fact that they were works form one choreographer.

That is not to say there was not some insight to be gained, but it required a high degree of prior knowledge of MacMillan's work tied with careful observation to ascertain whether trends that occur throughout his later woks were evident in these earlier ballets. Had the material been structured to highlight issues of particular interest in studying the choreographer it would have been a much stronger session.

REQUIEM FEMALE SOLO WORKSHOP (14.00 - 16.00AM) LESLEY COLLIER

Observing Lesley Collier teaching this beautiful masterwork was sheer joy. A review from one of the dancers who took part in the workshop itself should appear shortly.

<small>[ 10-28-2002, 05:20: Message edited by: Stuart Sweeney ]</small>

Thanks Tuk for your insights.

There is an interesting article on Macmillan by Clement Crisp in the FT today. Unfortunately it will only be available for a few days to non-subscribers.

MORE

Nice article in The Telegraph where dancers share their memories of working with Macmillan.

MORE

Interview in the Independent with Lady MacMillan

MORE

The following review of the Pie Jesu workshops at the conference has been written by Maria Tabony, who participated in the class on behalf of Criticaldance.

REVEALING MACMILLAN TO ME.

The weekend of the 12th and 13th of October will remain special to all those who attended the Revealing Macmillan Conference held at the Royal Academy of Dance. This was the first conference about the life and works of the great choreographer, Kenneth Macmillan. Born in 1929, Macmillan grew up in Great Yarmouth before being accepted on a scholarship to Sadler’s Wells (now the Royal Ballet School). Whilst having a fabulous career in performing, Macmillan was commissioned on experimental workshop ballets. He excelled into a vocation of choreography and was noted time and again for his remarkable creativity.

In 1992, he was awarded the Laurence Olivier Award for the best new dance production. Sadly, it was in the same year that Macmillan suffered a heart attack and died. Macmillan was awarded the prestigious Laurence Olivier Award for lifetime achievement in 1993. His works are still revived today and there are many memories that will remain in dance history forever. It is for this reason that so many joined together at the Revealing Macmillan Conference.

I am a BA Hons Dance Theatre student at London Studio Centre and have an enthusiasm for choreography. I attended the Requiem workshop on Sunday 13th October. This is my report on the workshop from a student’s point of view.

I arrived at the Royal Academy of Dance, Battersea at 9:00am and was directed into the De Valois Studio. Amid the exciting buzz of people waiting for the conferences to start, I was registered by the pleasant and helpful students of the R.A.D.

At 10:30am, the five participants including myself assembled in the Ashton Studio. We were all in vocational training and were representing London Studio Centre, The English National Ballet School, The Central School, and The Royal Ballet School. As there were only a few of us we were able to do a full ballet class with Frank Freeman, who was incredibly helpful with individual notes and was accompanied by the magnificent pianist, Henry Roche.

At 11:30am we were introduced to Lesley Collier, who had come in earlier to watch our warm-up. As well as her wonderful career as soloist and Principal for the Royal Ballet, Lesley Collier is an Award winner, Repetiteur for The Royal Ballet School, and mother of twins!

We began the first session by watching the video of the Requiem female solo. We were all mesmerised by the beautiful movement and expression, which was collaborated to the calming music. After watching the video, the intentions within the movement were revealed to us. We learnt how Macmillan used the images of a playful and inquisitive child, which was based on his daughter Charlotte. Roche then gave us a description on the musical interpretation and the words to Pie Jesu.

With this information to help us, we began to learn the material. Although the movement was quite contemporary and very interpretative, there was a definite sense of Classical Ballet (even diving across the floor entailed a graceful sense of flow!). By 1:00pm we had learnt the solo in terms of movement, direction, and musical and expressive interpretation.

We stopped for a lunch break and decided that when we returned we would put on our pointe shoes. The majority of people had met in the De Valois Studio for lunch. It was a chance for renowned interpreters, notators, repetiteurs, Macmillan’s artistic collaborators and colleagues, dance writers, academics, leading performers, and students and many others not listed above to meet and discuss the presentations and workshops from the two days, and also share their experience of Macmillan.

On our return to the Ashton Studio at 2:00pm, we did a quick warm-up to get used to our pointe shoes. We were all eager to try out the solo on pointe but Collier made us walk along using the barre to find our stability. This was because the solo involves a lot of walking and balancing in a natural state en pointe. As student dancers we needed to know the safest way of maintaining the strength in our ankles. We began to break down the solo determining which steps needed to go on to pointe and where we needed to pitch our weight in order to successfully balance for specific steps.

Whilst going through the solo we were interrupted by the entrance of Charlotte Macmillan, on whom most of the movement was based on. She told us the story of how her father had taken the image of her following a spider down the wall and playing spinning games. It was brilliant to hear first hand the intentions of the choreographer through the initial source of movement.

After completing the breakdown of the solo, we were given the chance to perform the solo one at a time making full use of the studio space. I was the third to perform the solo and although I have performed many times before, I was definitely nervous. After discussing this with the other girls we felt that the musical phrasing meant that your brain had to work as a computer constantly analysing the next phrase which was only slightly varied to the previous phrase. Unfortunately at 4:00pm the workshop had come to an end, and by this point we were becoming more confident with Macmillan’s beautiful solo

On my journey home I thought about the day and what I had learnt from it. The day was not only a chance to learn a piece of Macmillan’s fantastic repertoire, but to become part of the next generation to retain Macmillan, both his works and his ideas. It was for this reason that I felt nervous whilst performing the Requiem solo. I realised that I was performing a solo that was being left to my generation of dancers and choreographers. This day was a great opportunity for reviving, learning, and celebrating Macmillan, and was an experience I felt privileged to be part of.

Revealing Macmillan To Me.
By Maria Tabony, age 19.
November 2002.

<small>[ 11-10-2002, 16:25: Message edited by: Stuart Sweeney ]</small>

We wanted to share these images from the Masterclasses at "Revealing MacMillan" with you straight away. More later!:

<img src="http://www.criticaldance.com/images/macmillan/macmillan1.jpg" alt="" />

<img src="http://www.criticaldance.com/images/macmillan/macmillan2.jpg" alt="" />

<small>Anthony Dowell coaches Alina Cojocaru and Ivan Putrov in "Manon"</small>

<small>[ 11-23-2002, 05:49: Message edited by: Stuart Sweeney ]</small>