Angela, I read in a recent interview re Contact that she and Adam Cooper would not consider returning to the RB at this stage as she finds freelancing more exciting and challenging. I think she said she wouldn't rule it out however - I'll have to look around for that article. I wish so much she would return, especially in time for the Ashton centennary. But given Jamie Tapper's recent promotion to principal, I wonder if there's any room left for her - I think the RB's a little top heavy on the female side at the moment.

Thanx Sylvia.

<B>Stretton's return</B>
By Sharon Verghis
November 26 2002
Sydney Morning Herald

There will be a swan carved from dry ice, a string quartet and perhaps even a bit of added drama if rumours are true that Ross Stretton, the former artistic director of the Australian Ballet and more recently, the Royal Ballet, will attend the Sydney premiere of Graeme Murphy's Swan Lake at the Opera House on Friday.

<A HREF="http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/11/25/1038173691662.html" TARGET=_blank><B>More...</B></A>

Before his untimely death, Ross Stretton recorded an interview concerning his unhappy experiences as director of the Royal Ballet. Originally he asked that the interview shouldn't be made public for fifty years, but at that point he was presumably unaware that he had only a very short time to live.

Part of the contents of that interview have now been made public in Australia:

http://www.smh.com.au/news/arts/ballets ... e=fullpage

I would very much like to read the interview in full eventually. Note that Deborah MacMillan, Stretton's compatriot and one-time supporter, emerges as the villain of the piece.

Wow, interesting piece. I remeber when this was al going down, and feeling quite bad for him. Seemed like he was in over his head and completely unsupported from the start. The Royal staff really came out as looking very ugly at the time. Maybe more so now.

In the Telegraph Deborah MacMillan gives a contradictory version of events, saying on the one hand:


and then:



Link: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/ ... grave.html

I would have thought that no individual should have that much power to meddle in the decisions of an artistic director or a major ballet company, but then Lady MacMillan goes on to criticise Stretton's appointment as director in the first place, when it has been widely reported that she herself was instrumental in championing his appointment in the beginning.

I think this one will run as they say.

Classic "he said/she said" situation. It may be that Mr Stretton was not as easily controlled as Lady MacMillan may have thought he would be. This is pure speculation, people, please don't read anything into it.

I shall have to choose my words carefully here.

Ismene Brown, the Telegraph's critic, has taken it upon herself to defend Deborah MacMillan by attacking on-line posters:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jh ... ton120.xml

The comments seem aimed at another web site rather than this one, but there is a degree of irony in the fact that the "American web head" that she singles out, is actually far more knowledgeable about the art of ballet than is Ms Brown.

It seems the debate of the last few days has touched a nerve.

We are discussing this further over in the Dance Issues forum here.