Although it is not official, it appears certain that there will be an announcement to-morrow that Ross Stretton, Artistic Director of the Australian Ballet will be appointed to be the successor to Anthony Dowell at the Royal Ballet. <P>Here is a photo of him<P>

<P>The most detailed article so far has been in the Guardian newspaper and here is the URL:<BR> <A HREF="http://www.newsunlimited.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,3604,146151,00.html" TARGET=_blank>http://www.newsunlimited.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,3604,146151,00.html</A> <P>Australian Ballet is a company of 57 dancers, who performa variety of work. This season they will perform a 'Nutcracker' set in Melbourne, 'Don Q' by Nureyev after Petipa, and MacMillan's 'Manon'. For more radical work they will perform , 'In the Middle...','X' by Stanton Welch, a young Australian choreographer, 'Dark Lullaby' by Natalie Weir, 'Rites' by Stephen Page and performed with Bengarra Dance theatre featuring Aborigine dancers and a new work by James Kudelka of National Ballet of Canada.<P>Here is the Company's Vision and Mission statements, which give some clues about Stretton's approach. The company motto is 'Creativity, Energy, Passion'<P><BR> <BR>Vision Statement: <P>Caring for tradition. Daring to be different.<P><BR>Mission Statement: <P>The Australian Ballet, the nation's flagship ballet company, performs throughout Australia and regularly tours overseas. Its diverse repertoire is built on the tradition of classical ballet and the best of contemporary dance.<P>It seeks to enrich and stimulate the widest audiences, through performances which convey the tradition of classical ballet and the vitality, creativity and beauty of our country and its culture.<P>The company is responsible for shaping the future of dance through the discovery and nurturing of new choreographic, design, music and dance talent.<P>Here is the URL for Australian Ballet:<BR> <A HREF="http://www.austballet.telstra.com.au/" TARGET=_blank>http://www.austballet.telstra.com.au/</A> <P>and here is the page devoted to Ross Stretton:<BR> <A HREF="http://www.austballet.telstra.com.au/artistic_director/artistic_director.htm" TARGET=_blank>http://www.austballet.telstra.com.au/artistic_director/artistic_director.htm</A> <P><BR>It is fair to say that everyone in the UK is gob-smacked as he is a an unknown quantity here, although he is well known to Michael Kaiser as he worked as the Assistant Director at ABT. Can anyone in the US or Australia tells us more please?<P>[This message has been edited by Stuart Sweeney (edited 03-13-2000).]<p>[This message has been edited by Stuart Sweeney (edited 03-13-2000).]