Reader's Forum.

JUDGING IS UNBALANCED

I HAVE BEEN competing in various Queensland eistedfodds [competitions] for a number of years as an acrobatics performer. Sadly, I have come to notice that the majority of adjudicators present at these competitions have never completed exams in acro, so they do not see the differences between acrobatics and gymnastics. Because of this, many performers feel that they should not bother because gymnasts use apparatus [and acrobats do not]. I'm not saying gymnastics should be banned. Everyone has a right to display their talents, but maybe they should have separate categories. That way adjudicators could see the difference.

Adjudicators should have qualifications in the areas of dance they are judging. Otherwise, I do not feel that they are competent to judge fairly, especially [in] acrobatics.

Jane Eastwood Student, Janelle-Louise Academy of Dance, Queensland, Australia

KIROV'S SLEEPING BEAUTY A THING OF JOY FOREVER

AS AN AVID balletomane, I read Clive Barnes's historical review of the Kirov Ballet's new/old Sleeping Beauty with great interest. Although the review was impartial and objective, I think that it was unfair and dismissive. There is no other company in the world that could have convincingly accomplished what the Kirov has done in reconstructing the original. Any other company would have produced a travesty, like Jay Leno playing Hamlet. The choreography is indeed the same as the Royal Ballet's and American Ballet Theatre's, et al., but Barnes forgot that the choreographies he has seen in the last fifty years were adaptations of the original. And regarding the revelatory depth of Petipa's ensembles and combinations, reduced choreography at that.

Apart from Swan Lake and Giselle, there is no other ballet that so unmercifully lays bare the academic technique of a company, from the prima ballerina down to the newest member of the corps de ballet. This is the one ballet that must be danced correctly. The theatrical point of this ballet is more than mere academic clarity. Petipa crystallized the style of this company, and indeed what Russian ballet had become at that point in time, in creating this work. Irina Kolpakova, the most flawless Aurora of this century, understood that each time she took the stage in this ballet.

Regardless of Barnes's and other naysayers' verdicts, the level of technique and artistry remains exponentially higher at the Maryinsky Theatre, certainly more than what we in the West have grown used to seeing. Moreover, the Kirov is a true ensemble, possessing the school, history, tradition, intelligence, coaching, and technical chops to do Beauty justice.

Dame Ninette de Valois said, "I rehearse the corps de ballet the most because the background is the most important part of the ballet." I defy Barnes to find a company that can field a more perfect corps de ballet than the Kirov. This production returns coherence, logic, and sanity to a masterpiece. Furthermore, it is a supreme benediction to that which has been trashed, slashed, and disfigured in recent years--the most lamentable example of the latter being the current Royal Ballet production (1994). If you want the real meat and potatoes, go to St. Petersburg.

Karen Jones Via email

WHERE DID THEY GO?

A THANK YOU to Lili Livingston for her thorough and historically informative article on Tulsa Ballet. However, in my opinion, as a former member of this company as well as others, an important part of a stable, thriving dance company is obviously the dancers. The article doesn't mention the fact that the company has had an extremely high turnover rate. For the past four years that Mr. Angelini has been director, no less than one third to one half of the thirty company members have decided not to return for the following season. This is an aspect that should be questioned, not overlooked.

Melissa Shuttlesworth New York, NY

ALLEY JUST THE BEGINNING

AFTER READING Richard Philp's informative and inclusive article featuring jazz dance in your August issue, I was disappointed in Bob Boross's cover article "All That's Jazz." The article omitted the contributions being made by blacks in concert dance today. Many dance forms merge from one genre to another. For me, the title of the article was misleading and the definition constructed by Boross too narrow. The article was more about Broadway dance and contributions of those who shaped the style based on what was popularized by Bob Fosse. Boross mentions the influence of black music, community, and culture as historical reference only. The influence, in fact, is much greater; black teachers, choreographers, and performers continue to shape jazz dance as in the hip-hop style of Rennie Harris (also in the August issue).

If Boross realizes that in order to talk about jazz dance, he must make historical reference to black people in music and choreography, I don't understand how he can omit contemporary artists of African descent. The contributions did not end with Katherine Dunham and Alvin Ailey. Thank you for including Garth Fagan in your article. Here are a few names of men and women who are also working today to add to your short list: Cornelius Carter, University of Alabama, and Jeff Bullock, University of Texas in Austin, who both teach and choreograph jazz dance; Desmond Richardson, Adrienne Hawkins, Allen Gratrell, Reggie Savage, and Frank Hatchett who perform and choreograph jazz dance.

Sylvia Elliott Tuscaloosa, Alabama

Send your letters to Reader's Forum, Dance Magazine, 111 Myrtle St. #203, Oakland, CA 94607, or email us at [e-mail] Letters must be signed with name, city, state, and include a weekday telephone or fax number for confirmation. Letters become the property of Dance Magazine, which reserves the right to edit them.