20 years from now, what do you think ballet will be like?
Will there be more ballet companies around or less?
Will companies be run differently or will they be pretty much the same?

Hi Balletmastera and welcome to CriticalDance.

Picking up your questions:

>20 years from now, what do you think ballet will be like?

Not so different from today regarding the 19th and 20th Century classics. The main concern is the lack of top quality recent rep. So I think we will have the two categories already mentioned plus Forsythe and Wheeldon and not a lot else from 1985 onwards plus new choreographers who come to the scene in the next 20 years - hope that they begin to match the Greats.

>Will there be more ballet companies around or less?

In Europe I think we will see more of the smaller ballet companies converting to modern ballet/modern dance. As the German, Swiss and Austrian Opera houses are no longer forced to have dance companies the overall numbers will probably fall.

In the US a lot will depend on the economic situation between now and then. The major US companies will continue to trade on their social cache to win private funds and keep going no matter what.

>Will companies be run differently or will they be pretty much the same?

I think and hope we will begin to see a breaking down of the hierarchical system where dancers are seen but not heard and there is layer after layer of classes of dancers.

<small>[ 23 April 2004, 02:36 PM: Message edited by: Stuart Sweeney ]</small>

Unless there is a major shakeup in U.S. and European politics, I can imagine a scenario where all ballet companies in the U.S. are running on Chevron grants that they have to reapply for each year, with CFOs from major companies serving as artistic directors, with censorship boards that report to the Office of Homeland Security. In Europe, there might be the developmentof Ballet Noir, performed on moving railroad flatbed stages to protest the putrefaction of traditional left parties that have capitulated to pressure from the U.S. government and the reemergence of fascism.

I'm counting on the big shakeup to nip the above scenario in the bud!

<small>[ 24 April 2004, 08:30 PM: Message edited by: Toba Singer ]</small>