Press coverage of the launch of the Edinburgh Festival. Dance comes near the bottom of the list and at first sight looks interesting rather than Wow!:<P><BR><B>Edinburgh unveils 2002 programme</B><BR>From the BBC website<P> <BR>Organisers of the Edinburgh International Festival have unveiled a diverse programme for this year's event, which runs from 11 August until the end of the month. <BR>The International Festival is the oldest of the Scottish capital's summer festivals, which also include the Fringe and the film festival. <P>Festival organisers are making a special attempt to reach more people with the classical music programme, organising a series of late-night concerts for £5 at the city's Usher Hall. <P>[url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/entertainment/arts/newsid_1885000/1885494.stm<P>***************************<P><B>Festival courts younger audience</B><BR>By Mike Wade in The Scotsman <P><BR>LIKE a Michelin-starred chef seeking the widest range of customers, Brian McMaster yesterday unveiled a rich and diverse bill of fare for the Edinburgh International Festival, but offered at prices a varied audience could afford. <P>Taking pride of place in the extended, 26-day event is Peter Stein’s staging of Richard Wagner’s Parsifal, conducted by Claudio Abbado and billed as a "once-in-a-lifetime" production. <P>Other highlights include Siegfried, the third part of Scottish Opera’s acclaimed production of the Ring cycle, Ro Theatre’s MacBeth, recitals by the pianists Richard Goode, Alfred Brendel and András Schiff, and major dance works by Emio Greco and Boris Chamnatz. <P><A HREF="http://news.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=312712002&rware=NYSYHUFKSYJW&CQ_CUR_DOCUMENT=2" TARGET=_blank><B>click for more</B></A><P>********************************<P><B>People put centre stage for Festival</B><BR>By RORY FORD in The Evening News (Scotland) <P><BR>THE traditionally "highbrow" Edinburgh International Festival today set out its stall to attract the Fringe crowd with a deliberately popular programme for this year’s event. <P>Spectacular opera, Scottish music-hall comedy and a series of late night bargain-priced classical concerts will be among the highlights of this year’s festival, which organisers hope will attract a new audience. <P>Launching the huge annual arts jamboree at The Hub, Festival director Brian McMaster said the 2002 line-up was "unique in the world" and was "aimed at attracting visitors from as far as Los Angles in addition to exciting our local audience". <P>The three-week Festival officially kicks off on Sunday August 11 and includes more than 200 performances, concerts and lectures at venues all over the city.<P><A HREF="http://news.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=311402002&rware=NYSYHUFKSYJW&CQ_CUR_DOCUMENT=3" TARGET=_blank><B>click for more</B></A><P>And here's the link to the <A HREF="http://www.eif.co.uk/2001/frameset.html" TARGET=_blank><B>"2002 Festival What's On and How to Book" website</B></A>

<P><BR><B>Light entertainment</B><BR>By Kelly Apter in The Scotsman <P><BR>In its natural form, it can be one of the most breathtaking sights on earth. Man-made, it plays a pivotal role in everyday life. And yet most of us don’t give it a second thought. From the awesome splendour of the Aurora Borealis to the simple functionality of a 60-watt bulb, light has many guises. Which is why it has been a source of inspiration to artists for centuries, influencing painters, musicians, poets and, as we’ll soon see, choreographers. <P>The opening show of this year’s International Festival dance programme, Luminous, is a celebration of light and movement created by Japanese choreographer Saburo Teshigawara. For a little under two hours, he’ll turn the Edinburgh Playhouse into a phosphorescent world of illuminated bodies, playing with our perceptions. "My starting point for Luminous was to study many different things concerning light, and the structure of the performance came from that analysis," explains Teshigawara. "It’s not a narrative story, but is made up of changing types of light - the shadow, reflection, absorption and radiation of light." <P><A HREF="http://news.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=313852002&rware=PWTAMMXLUDKV&CQ_CUR_DOCUMENT=1" TARGET=_blank><B>click for more</B></A><P><B>Stuart adds</B>: I saw the performance mentioned with Stuart Jackson two years ago and it was something special.<BR>

Two more articles, a more detailed preview and an interview with Brian McMaster: <P><B>Dutch drama, Indian dance, Italian flair ... and a Scottish accent.</B><BR>We take a look at what's on offer as the Edinburgh International Festival programme is unveiled. By Andrew Burnet in The Sunday Herald (Scotland)<P>Lest we forget that this is an international festival in an outward-looking nation, another theme of the programme is India -- and a weekend of Indian Classical Dance draws together the six major forms in one package. Classical dance of a more familiar genre is offered in Swan Lake by the Royal Ballet of Flanders, described as 'a great magic lantern dream'.<P>But the Festival's dance strand is an area where McMaster likes to indulge his enthusiasm for the avant-garde, so we'll also see two bizarre works by the young French artist Boris Charmatz, one of which, hZ‰tre-ZlZvision, is a piece for a television and a lone audience member. There are 15 performances a day for 23 days, which by my reckoning means 345 people can see it.<P>Scroll down for the dance events. Wouldn't be nice to read a prevoew of an arts festival and find the dance events at the top!<P><A HREF="http://www.sundayherald.com/23181" TARGET=_blank><B>click for more</B></A><P>**************************<P><B>Profile: The constant impresario</B><BR>In his 11th year he's secured a £7.4m budget, broken the £100 barrier and ushered in £5 seats. How does Brian McMaster do it? Uncredited form The Sunday Herald<BR> <P>IT'S not easy to picture Brian McMaster in short trousers. These days the director of the Edinburgh International Festival is a dapper figure with three distinguishing features: shiny pate, gnomish beard, sober suit. But equally, McMaster's own account of his boyhood is one that tickles the imagination -- halcyon days spent peering down from the cheap seats of theatres, concert halls and opera houses, rapt in the presence of high culture. In truth, his arts fever did not really take hold until he was 19. In 1962, the Hertfordshire-born law student visited the Edinburgh Festival and discovered an enthusiasm which eventually drew him away from his studies. He has never looked back.<P><A HREF="http://www.sundayherald.com/23190" TARGET=_blank><B>click for more</B></A><BR>