JUNE/JULY 2003 Newsletter
We are delighted to announce that our guest on Wednesday 18th June will be Jay Jolley. Former principal with the Royal Ballet, Jay is currently Assistant Director with the Royal Ballet School. It is eight years since Jay last talked to us. The evening will give us the opportunity to reminisce on his career in the Company, learn what he has been doing since and talk about developments in the School.

On Wednesday 9th July, we welcome First Soloist, Mara Galeazzi, as our guest. Amazingly it is over six years since Mara last spoke to us. Since then she has performed many roles. Highlights have included Tatiana in Onegin, Mary Vetsera and Countess Larisch in Mayerling, Juliet, Firebird, Thais and numerous created roles in Ashley Pageís ballets. Mara will be speaking to us just after the Company returns from Moscow, where they will be performing Mayerling. So this will give us a great opportunity to hear first news of the tour, as well as discussing Mara's career.

The first meeting of next season will be on Thursday 11th September. (Please note that this is a change of date from that previously announced). Our guest will be choreographer Cathy Marston. As already announced, our guest on Wednesday 15th October after our AGM will be our Patron, Monica Mason.

For your diary, we can now give provisional dates of meetings for the rest of next season. Please note, these may change as a result of changes and additions to performance schedules. These are: Thursday 20th November, Wednesday 10th December, Wednesday 14th January, Wednesday 18th February, Thursday 11th March, Wednesday 14th April, Wednesday 12th May, Wednesday 9th June, Thursday 1st July.

For members unable to attend meetings, a summary is made available on both our own website, www.balletassociation.co.uk and on www.ballet.co.uk, once the report has been checked by the guest speaker. Reports are also posted, one month after they have appeared on our own site, on www.criticaldance.com. If you do not have access to the internet, and would like a copy of a report on any meeting, please send a stamped addressed envelope to Joan Seaman, our membership secretary, at 56 Turney Road, London SE21 8LU.

Meetings begin at 7.30 p.m. and are held at the Swedenborg Hall, off Bloomsbury Way (nearest tube Holborn). Doors open at 6.45 p.m. Admission: Members £3, Concessionary members £2, Guests £5.

Annual Dinner 2003
This year's dinner was held on 15th May at the Rubens Hotel. The dinner marked the retirement from the Company of our President, David Drew. It proved to be a very enjoyable evening. With 165 members and guests attending, this was the largest dinner we have ever held. Unfortunately, Darcey Bussell and June Drew were unable to attend. Darcey is recovering from an operation on her foot.

The final guest list was: David Drew, Monica Mason, Anthony Russell-Roberts, Jeanetta Laurence, Christopher and Tracy (Brown) Saunders, Gail Taphouse, Marianela Nunez, Jonathan and Maria (Almeida) Cope, Ivan Putrov, Ricardo Cervera, Laura Morera, Edward Watson, Jonathan Howells, Alistair Marriott, Isabel McMeekan, Tom Whitehead, Christina Arestis, Victoria Hewitt, Ernst Meisner, Sian Murphy, Samantha Raine, Joshua Tuifua, Natalie Decorte, Vanessa Fenton, Laura McCulloch, Kristen McNally, Gemma Sykes, Johannes Stepanek, David Pickering, Cathy Marston and Tom Sapsford.

As always, we are extremely grateful that so many Company members are willing to give up a rare free evening to be with us. We were particularly grateful to Christina Arestis, Sian Murphy, Kristen McNally and Ernst Meisner who rushed to joined us having performed in Outside In that evening in the Clore Studio. Also to Marianela Nunez, David Pickering and Johannes Stepanek for attending at short notice. (Marianela was stepping into Darcey's shoes for a second time this season!)

During the evening we were delighted to announce that David Drew has agreed to continue his involvement with the Association as Founder President. On behalf of the Association, our Patron, Monica Mason, presented a signed picture of Anthony Dowell and Antoinette Sibley to our former Chairman, Michael Foreman. She then talked warmly about David, before asking Joan Seaman to make the presentation of the Association's gift to mark his 29 and a half years as Honorary President. David then replied in his usual inimitable style.

David has since written to the Association's Chairman:
I should like to thank the Association for the very special Annual Dinner on May 15th. The evening as a whole was a huge success, but for me personally it was a defining moment. To have so many members attend, and create such a warm atmosphere, meant more to me than any performance. My only regret was that family illness meant June was unable to be there. However, she deeply appreciated the glorious flowers which you sent her, and has asked me to thank you on her behalf.

My own appreciation is for the honour of being invited to become the Founder President of the Ballet Association. We can all feel proud of those first 29 years and what has been achieved in that time. However, as Madam constantly reminded us, it is the future which is important, and we are extremely fortunate in having as our new President, Christopher Saunders. Conscientious, diplomatic and unfailingly good-natured, I know he will be invaluable to the Association.

Monica Mason, also, will be as wonderful in her role as our new Patron, as she already is as our Artistic Director. Her kind words, echoed as they were by Joan, Michael, and yourself have helped me to make a difficult decision. The warm response to them by members and dancers alike made me realise that I would be genuinely welcome back as a guest artist next year. So really you have only yourselves to blame if at some point in the next twelve months I once again hurl myself towards the pit.

Finally, I thank you for the extraordinary generosity of the £500 with which I have been entrusted. Given the long history of the Association's support for our Company I think it appropriate that you so kindly provided me with both the first donation and the opportunity to launch the concept of a Choreographic Music Library. The Association is thereby in at the very beginning of this exciting project. An added bonus is that one member has already offered to assist the venture further. Hopefully in years to come you will all be enjoying new ballets inspired by music discovered in the facility which you have so generously instigated.

My sincere gratitude to all the members for their generosity and many kindnesses,
And I wish the Association a prosperous and ever-growing future
Yours gratefully
David

During the evening photographs were taken, both in the drinks reception and at dinner. These will be available for members to view and order at the next couple of meetings and eventually some will be placed on our website.

Comings, goings, etc.
In addition to changes announced in the last newsletter, Jamie Bond is leaving the Royal Ballet to join Birmingham Royal Ballet. Elisha Willis, previously with Australian Ballet, has joined BRB as a Soloist.

We send our congratulations to Leanne Benjamin on the birth of a son, Thomas Evan, on 2nd June and to Chloe Davies, who had a daughter, Belle, in April.

Congratulations also to Jamie Tapper and Johan Persson and to Helen Crawford and Giacomo Ciriaci, who are getting married this summer. From BRB we have heard that Molly Smolen and Tiit Helimets also 'tie the knot' this summer, as do Monica Zamora, Leticia Muller and Jonathan Payn, but not to each other.

Since our last newsletter, both the Royal Ballet and Birmingham Royal Ballet have been delighted to announce that HRH The Prince of Wales has accepted their invitations to become President of both Companies.

The Association has made a donation towards the cost of making the costumes for the new Cathy Marston ballet for the Royal Ballet School. The costumes have been designed by Johannes Stepanek, first artist in the Company. Some individual members of the Association have also made individual donations towards this project.

We changed the date of the September meeting of the Association as we have been told that Johan Kobborg and Friends will be dancing at the Queen Elizabeth Hall from the 17th-20th September.

The Society for Dance Research has asked us to announce that they will be presenting the much loved Tivoli Pantomine Theatre from the Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen in a costumed lecture demonstration on November 15th 2003. This important company can trace their performing style back to Grimaldi and Sadlerís Wells in the 18th century. The full day event will be held at the impressive new theatre at Laban in Greenwich. More details with the next newsletter, but for further information contact Peter Bassett, Administrative Secretary, SDR, Appletrees, Brown's Lane, Storrington, West Sussex, RH20 4LQ

Those of you receiving this newsletter by post will have enclosed a flier for London Studio Centre's Images of Dance summer performance at the Peacock Theatre on Saturday 5 July at 7.30 pm. The programme is Paquita, choreography by Galina Samsova after Petipa/Minkus, Salon by Oliver Hindle, Glass for 12 by Laurant Cavanna and dances from Elite Syncopations by Kenneth MacMillan.

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