Very short piece about the Duke of York and his love of dance. Apart from ballet, he is also a supporter of contemporary dance and made a speech in favour of dance at the re-opening of The Place dance centre in London:

Duke gives hard-hit ballet a lift
By Alan Hamilton for The Times


...the Duke of York is a committed and knowledgeable patron of three English companies. He visited the studios in Kensington, West London, to lift the company’s spirits after a difficult year that saw building work force them out of their home at the Coliseum at a cost of £500,000.

He watched preparations for their touring production of Romeo and Juliet, first choreographed for them in 1977 by Rudolf Nureyev and yesterday supervised by Nureyev’s original dancing partner, Patricia Ruanne.

click for more

Hello every one, I'm new on this forum. I'm danish but I leave in London.
I go to see a lot of ballet perfomances and I went to see ENB' Nutcracker and I need to express my fellings about the Cie.
WHAT HAPPENED TO English National Ballet !!!
The Cie looked dreadful. The production his terrible and the choreography is a shame for the arts of ballet... I was schoked and sad for the Cie that I always appreciated before.
Some dancers seems out of shape and the costumes make them look ridiculous.
I saw 2 different cast.
Agnes Oaks and Thomas Edur were Ok dispate a very old fashion style of dancing.
Erina Takahashi was amazing but her patner that I never saw dance before Arionel Vargas was dreadful and seems realy out of shape. It's the first time that I see a principal dancer of ENB dance so dirty and without any style. He does not have lines for dancing and did'not matched Takahashi beautiful lines. Not like Oaks and Edur they looked realy strange dancing together.
Some people told me that I schould come back and see other cast with new dancers but I was so effraid by what I saw I'm not sure I will go back. If I do I will try to wright about the others cast.

I've shifted a couple of posts from another topic.

erina posted 02 April 2005 11:51 AM
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THey said Matz Skoog will leave ENB...Anyone know about this information?
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Stuart Sweeney posted 02 April 2005 12:08 PM
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Yes, erina, he resigned a couple of days ago and it is official, not a rumour.

I'll post more in the next day or so.

erina posted 02 April 2005 02:24 PM
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Thank you for the confirmation...and u know who will be next director?
By the way,I`d like to know if there is a programme of workshop by ENB`s dancers this year?

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Stuart Sweeney posted 02 April 2005 08:06 PM
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"...who will be next director?"

Matz Skoog will be staying on for a period and I wouldn't expect them to appoint a new Artistic Director for 3-6 months. It's a complicated business these day, erina, and a company rushes the process at its peril.

<small>[ 03 April 2005, 01:55 AM: Message edited by: Stuart Sweeney ]</small>

PRESS RELEASE

MATZ SKOOG RESIGNS FROM ENGLISH NATIONAL BALLET
AND WILL LEAVE IN OCTOBER 2005

Today the Artistic Director of English National Ballet, Matz Skoog, announced his resignation. Matz has been Artistic Director of the Company since September 2001, having previously been a Principal Dancer with the Company between 1979 and 1991. Prior to his current position, Matz was Artistic Director of Royal New Zealand Ballet between 1996 and 2001.

Matz has been responsible for developing and implementing the Company’s artistic and strategic policies through a period of great change for English National Ballet. With a vast knowledge of the art form and its history, Matz has developed the artistic direction whilst acknowledging the Company’s heritage and retaining its integrity. Matz will now build on this experience of programming to diversify into art forms beyond the world of dance.

Since Matz began with the Company, English National Ballet has been nominated for and received a number of Awards. His commitment to encouraging the use of British choreographers in developing work to showcase the Company was acknowledged when he was personally nominated for the Outstanding Achievement in Dance category of the 2003 TMA Theatre Awards for his “enterprise and daring in commissioning new British work”.

Matz is part of a senior management team that maintains close and effective relationships with funding bodies and theatres in London and around the UK. He has developed two critically acclaimed programmes for the Company’s return to Sadler’s Wells after a 15 year absence and for its first ever appearance at the Royal Opera House. Matz also commissioned Christopher Hampson’s Double Concerto, Michael Corder’s Melody on the Move as well as Wayne McGregor’s 2 Human.

Today Matz said:

It is with deep regret that I announce my departure from the Company with which I have been associated for over twenty-five years. 

It has been enormously rewarding to work with ENB. There have been turbulent times and yet we have achieved a great deal. One area that has been particularly stimulating was seeing the creation of new work by some of Britain’s most talented choreographers.

I leave behind a great artistic team and a sense of stability that will serve the Company long into the future. Most of all I take away the joy of working with the dancers of English National Ballet, the heart and soul of the Company, who I believe are happy and dancing better than ever.
 
Following discussions with the Chairman of English National Ballet, I will remain in post until the opening of Kenneth Macmillan's production of Sleeping Beauty later this year.

John Talbot, Chairman of English National Ballet, said:

Matz has made an important contribution to English National Ballet, both as a performer and as Artistic Director. Matz has built a dynamic artistic team and a strong, talented company of dancers during his time with the Company. The Board and I know that Matz’s commitment and love for dance will ensure his continuing contribution to the arts world and we wish him every success in the future.

I'm sorry that Matz Skoog is leaving ENB after a relatively brief tenure of 3 1/2 years. He is right to say that he has stabilised the Company after a torrid period and the best of his commissioning has been excellent with some duds as well, but that's new work for you.

I'm sure he will continue to make a strong contribution to the art form, wherever he ends up. Some of you may have seen him on video as the younger of the two guards in Christopher Bruce's "Swansong".

What next for ENB? Financial problems seem ever-present, primarily due to the huge costs of a touring company mounting the classics. These are unlikely to go away, as ENB's grant for the next three years is pegged to inflation. Here is the entry for ENB from the latest Arts Council England budget:

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English National Ballet
www.ballet.org.uk
Local authority: Westminster


2005/06 £6,029,838

2006/07 £6,195,688

2007/08 £6,366,066

English National Ballet is England’s leading touring classical ballet company. Our funding supports core costs.

*******************************

So, now begins the inevitable speculation about the next AD. From candidates in the UK, those who come to mind are David Nixon from Northern Ballet Theatre and Ashley Page at Scottish Ballet, but the latter has only just got going and may well prefer to stay put to see his vision more fully realised. However, both have shown themselves to be very successful in their very different companies.

Watch this space!

hello stuart, do you know why he has to leave the company? Is it his own choice?

I'm afraid I just don't know, bipp. I note that the the press release is warm from both sides and that Skoog will remain in post until later in the year, rather than leaving immediately.

<small>[ 04 April 2005, 06:27 AM: Message edited by: Stuart Sweeney ]</small>

thanks, we'll see...

ENB`s programme workshops will be in London Kensington (the local of ENB) 26th and 27th April,39 Jay Mews SW7 2ES .
I just get 2 free tickets,you also can get them for free ,so come and enjoy !

<small>[ 07 April 2005, 01:06 PM: Message edited by: erina ]</small>

They are talking about S.Guillem one of candidates.... for the new AD

I suspect that Ms Guillem enjoys dancing too much to take on such a role for a few years yet, but what do I know - "Not a lot," rings out from the hills and valleys.