The world’s most acerbic dance commentary
As you may or may not know State of the Arts kicks off tomorrow in Manchester with the great and the not so good gathering for a good old wagging of the chin and not much else. Just in-case any of those in attendance grow a conscience and are looking for a talking point then […]
click image to enlarge ‘State of the Arts’, the annual Arts Council England bun fight that seeks to achieve absolutely nothing and does so admirably and with enthusiasm is back. We, here in TheLab™, have not been invited, we might get argumentative juices on the carpet, so we made a poster instead. Welcome, to poster […]
It’s cold outside, it’s raining, the holidays are over and the global economy is sinking into the mud. So it must be time for the National Dance Awards, held annually in London by the Critics Circle, a group of people who have nothing to do with the Magic Circle, which is a shame. (that joke […]
A long time ago, in a piece of writing far far away we, here in TheLab™, made a lot of fun of the Rural Retreats project being run by Dance East, one of the UK’s National Dance Agencies. In defiance of all logical reasoning the project is still running and the latest “retreat” wrapped up […]
For some reason the christmas holidays have become the time for dance programmes that, for reasons past understanding, make it onto television. Apart from the usual classical ballet re-treads, this year brought us a couple of “documentaries” one of which was ‘Ballet Boyz, The Next Generation’ broadcast on More4 (part of Channel4) on christmas day. […]
No, that headline is not a joke, this is serious. You’ve seen the war on drugs, the war on terror, the war on Christmas, well now we are at war with cheese! Apparently somebody called Rob Williamson, who is attending a seminar held by Arts Council England on their doomed Catalyst Arts project, said, out […]
At a recent debate hosted by DanceUK and The Arts Desk an opening question was put to all in attendance. Something along the lines of “if you could have one wish for the dance profession what would it be?” One of the answers came from Caroline Miller, the head of DanceUK, she said that “dancers […]
It’s official folks, Arts Council England in collaboration with the BBC have invented digital technology. We know this because the documentation for their new media content platform entitled ‘The Space’ uses the word “digital” or “digitally” about thirty times or more. It’s not at all clear what this project is aiming to acheive or how […]
Do you remember, back on the 11th of October when there was a “Private Members’ debate on the Education System and Dance” at the House of Commons? No? Well don’t worry about it, you’re not alone. From our point of view, here in TheLab™, it was curious to note the attendance of Lauren Cuthbertson and […]
You know when you attend a performance and your feelings about that particular show range from the deepest pits of rational anger to the heady highs of karmic bliss? No! Well, pay attention next time. Anyways, we, here in TheLab™, have made you two simple business card sized expressions that you can conveniently leave in […]