this link could fit into any of a number of threads we have going at the moment, as it contains peripheral commentary on Nutcracker, on elitism, on audience development, provincialism, etc<P>see what you find of interest....<BR> <A HREF="http://www.ireland.com:80/newspaper/features/2000/1121/fea6.htm" TARGET=_blank>http://www.ireland.com:80/newspaper/features/2000/1121/fea6.htm</A>

In my humble opinion, the article contradicted itself.

How so, Basheva? And what is a panto?

Priscilla - I am guessing here but I think that a panto - is a pantomime? <P>It seemed to me that the article was stating on the one hand that the story ballets i.e. - Nutcracker and Swan Lake, etc. are tired old war horses, which keep companies from embarking on new and fresher roads of dance. And, are not representative of Irish people. And yet, it is precisely those old ballets that people are going to and paying to see.<P>While it is true that this season of the year is dominated by Nutcrackers, it is apparently what people want to see, take their families and children to, and it makes money for the ballet companies. So, I would say - don't fix what ain't broken. <P>Then it seems to me the article says that some in Ireland feel that all of the parts of the ballet program (the composer, choreographer,etc.) should be derived from Irish culture/art - but then it says that to do this would be stultifying and inhibiting. <P>Perhaps I just misunderstood the whole thing. Maybe it is just talking about the ambivalence we all see that is happening to this art form - as it grapples with perserving its past while exploring new ventures. But that is happening everywhere, not just in Ireland. Denmark, for instance.