Beginnings. (Kickoff).

SHARING MY THOUGHTS WITH ALL OF YOU OVER THE PAST THIRTEEN YEARS IN A COLUMN CALLED KICKOFF HAS BEEN IMMEASURABLY REWARDING FOR ME AND, I HOPE, OF CONTINUING INTEREST TO YOU, who have been so encouraging and responsive. My original intention; when I first became editor-in-chief in early 1989, was to "kick off" each issue by examining some of the major issues inside. But almost immediately Kickoff, limited to less than 1,000 words each month, turned into a column of commentary about the often rapid changes taking place in dance. And since then there have been 165 monthly columns of opinion--some might say opinionated--that must make a record of sorts in the annals of dance journalism. I did not review in Kickoff to any great extent, nor did I spring breaking news, because authoritative sections devoted to news and reviews already existed as part of the magazine's long and venerable heritage. I set out to create something different: a column that encouraged dance people to explore and value their own thoughts. I like to think that dancers, who as a group have developed greater self-respect, now feel more at ease expressing themselves offstage, and that I may have in various ways encouraged this very positive change.

And what an enormous number of topics we have covered together! Many changes have taken place in the field since I started as managing editor in 1970. Already disappearing were the days when a few favored individuals, relics of a feudal system of patronage, alone bore the financial and management burdens of dance training, concerts, and performing companies. Coming out of the so-called "dance boom" years of the 1960s and '70s, dance had been recast into a not-for-profit model by the late 1980s, which by its very nature demanded the incorporation of ideas, people, and resources that were new to the dance field. And by 1989 some of these changes also meant new problems, new responsibilities, and new power struggles. Critical issues often wound up as topics on this page: health concerns, salaries, unions, fund-raising, pensions, health insurance, AIDS, public relations, talent, quality control, economic and artistic survival, boards of directors, attitudes, retirement, and alternative careers. This is just the short list.

Often I noted that the only constant was change--not an original idea but not a widely accepted one in some of the more traditional strongholds of dance. Small, insular, and sometimes pugnacious, the dance world over the years had been battered, ignored, and underfed. Despite shaky promises of more prosperous days ahead, people clung conservatively to whatever small advances they had made through tireless years dedicated to a rough-and-tumble business based he artlessly on youth, beauty, and limitless stamina. Kevin McKenzie reminded me two years ago that "dance is a cruel mistress indeed."

And yet, dance thrives in large part on the unstinting dedication of its long-term practitioners, whose work too often goes unappreciated. And among those I would include the staffs of this magazine, both present and past.

Another occasional topic on this page has been dance writing, a deep concern to me when I took primary responsibility for the written, as well as the visual, contents of the magazine. As dance gained greater standing in the hierarchy of the performing arts, growing audiences wanted to learn and understand more about the subject. The need for high-quality dance writing blossomed, and many of those writers could be found in these pages. Although I believe, with a few noteworthy exceptions, that too much importance is still given to what dance critics think or say, there is an increasing chance today that their opinions are informed and fair. Although the pay has improved for writers over the years, as it has for the dancers, there are only a few dance writers in the world who actually earn a living at their craft alone. This makes the dedication of dance writers even more astounding. In some situations still, their primary purpose in the dance world seems to be providing press departments with pull quotes. "Spectacular!" "Engaging!" "Profound!") What has happened to real criticism--not just reviewing, but criticism? As the Internet and emails blanket our universe, Web sites devoted to dance have become havens for some dance writers who find their print space in magazines and newspapers dwindling or eliminated altogether (the recent New York Magazine debacle, for example). But there is a dance-hungry audience signing onto dance Web sites every day. Although that is a good thing, I still prefer the printed page with its crisp paper, rich color images, reassuring heft, and that remembered whiff of cool ink.

None of my work would have been possible if it weren't for Dance Magazine's superbly talented, hardworking staffs and contributors through many years; just as none of it could have happened without you, my readers and friends. But there is a time, with apologies to Jose Limon and Ecclesiastes, to pursue a column, and there is a time to retire a column. There is also a time for new beginnings and new directions. The only constant is change. Indeed.

Richard Philp has written a column called Kickoff for fourteen years. He has been an editor with Dance Magazine since 1970.