The Quest... Gerald Dowler muses on the points to look for in a new AD
Notes for a new Artistic Director... Christopher McKevitt

Hope you have found the pieces stimulating and please feel free to comment on them and/or interact with others thoughts below....

Interesting to have the two views. Basically my response to the two articles in one word each is: Dowling - yes McKevitt - no

I would agree with Gerald's views, which express far more lucidly and effectively many of my own opinions. I did not know the Haskell circle but it seems to describe what we've been missing in the last 10 years. Macmillan was perhaps last product of that environment. I would make two comments, I really think they need someone with significant experience of being at the helm of a company used to dealing with all the different Boards and organisations who have an input on decision-making for a national company. Plus very important, particularly given the past year, someone who has proven "people management" skills to manage the dancers and to inspire them to produce their best.

My heart sank as I read McKevitt's vision/approach - we have tried the "outsider" radically "reeducating" the audience. And it did not work. Sometimes the audience want to be entertained - to come away from the Opera House have enjoyed themselves. There does need to be an element of growth and stretch for the company and the audience - I well remember the first night of Field Figures with some of the amphi audience cheering and some booing - that's OK too - some of the time. In fact I think the idea of one "audience" is misleading - there are many audiences at the ROH - the corporate downstairs crowd, the balletomanes in the cheapest seats, and a range in between plus the matinee audience. I am bemused by the talk of being the job as a "museum caretaker". Madam included "heritage" (who thought up this term sounds like a National Trust gift shop)ballets from Russia as well as generating a host of new work and, as Gerald said, I think the RB must have an AD who values, appreciates and is an advocate for the Royal Ballet's own "heritage", someone passionate about the Royal Ballet. And rather than "re-educating" the existing audience someone who will extend and develop the audience.

I agree with both that there needs to be some ways to nurture new cheorgraphers away from the high-risk/high-cost demands of the main stage. But also there need to be ways for young dancers have a go at bigger roles away from the demands of the main stage. Ballet for All and the "touring company" gave dancers the opportunity to stretch and grow and have a break from just being in the corps.

I think the two articles well illustrate the difficulty of the task. What I do believe is that the Royal Ballet needs someone with some stature and experience - another bold experiment could be disastrous.

With regard to the audience I don’t see how the make up will ever change, as the prohibitively expensive tickets will ensure that corporate philistines will continue to make up the bulk of the audience and the dwindling band of dance enthusiasts that stays faithful will eventually drift away. Ballet as you rightly say is a minority art form and likely to stay that way.

<The bleating calls to respect the heritage reflect, I think, more general British insecurities about crepuscular notions of national identity>

Not too sure I agree with that. Very little that is being produced at present is of much intrinsic value and surely the argument for reviving acknowledged masterpieces from the past is therefore a strong one. Also the erosion of the distinctive “English style” is a cause for concern. It is possible for non-RB trained dancers to adapt to that style just as some British dancers have displayed a flair for Balanchine or Bournonville.

<Oh, and for that reason the new AD will probably have to be an ‘outsider.’ One who is oblivious to the company’s cultural rules that maintain the stasis, and free from the fear that ‘Englishness’ will be lost if things change>

Well, we've just had one of those and look what’s happened! It seems that the RB is so resistant to change it is capable of hounding out anyone who dares to suggest they should be trying harder. In principle though I agree with this assessment, as the company needs to be shaken out of its complacency.