Ballet Critics Circle

Ballet Critics Circle
Name	Ballet Critics Circle
Type	Professional association
Founded	20th century
Headquarters	New York City
Region served	United States, Europe
Membership	Critics, journalists, scholars

Contents

Ballet Critics Circle is an association of professional reviewers, journalists, and scholars devoted to the critical evaluation of ballet and related dance forms. Founded in the 20th century in New York City, the organization has functioned as a forum linking critics from outlets such as the New York Times, The Guardian, The Washington Post, Le Monde, and The Times with choreographers, companies, and institutions including the American Ballet Theatre, Royal Ballet, Paris Opera Ballet, Mariinsky Ballet, and Bolshoi Ballet. The Circle has been instrumental in shaping public reception of premieres by creators such as George Balanchine, Marius Petipa, Martha Graham, Jerome Robbins, and Pina Bausch.

History

The Circle emerged amid postwar cultural institutions that included the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, the Sadler's Wells Theatre, and the Guggenheim Museum complex, responding to increased international touring by ensembles like the Kirov Ballet and institutions such as Birmingham Royal Ballet. Early membership featured critics from outlets like The New Yorker, The Atlantic, Le Figaro, Der Tagesspiegel, and Corriere della Sera, who debated premieres by companies including New York City Ballet and festivals like the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. During the Cold War era, the Circle negotiated coverage challenges related to tours by the Royal Danish Ballet and the Bolshoi Ballet, engaging with cultural diplomacy issues alongside organizations such as the US Information Agency and ministries in the Soviet Union and France. In later decades, the Circle adapted to the rise of television broadcasts from institutions like PBS and streaming initiatives by the Metropolitan Opera and major companies.

The Circle’s stated mission connects professional standards practiced at publications such as Vanity Fair, Newsweek, The Spectator, and Die Zeit with support for dance scholarship associated with universities like Columbia University, University of Oxford, Sorbonne University, and Juilliard School. Membership criteria mirror hiring practices at media outlets including BBC, ITV, NPR, The Sunday Times, and El País: demonstrable experience, published criticism, and editorial sponsorship. The Circle comprises critics, editors, and scholar-critics from institutions such as Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Juilliard, Curtis Institute of Music, and museums like the Victoria and Albert Museum and the National Gallery of Art. It maintains liaison relationships with companies including San Francisco Ballet, Houston Ballet, Sydney Dance Company, and festivals such as Jacob's Pillow and the Ballet Festival of La Scala.

The Circle administers peer-based honors awarded at ceremonies akin to those held by the Kennedy Center and the Prix Benois de la Danse. Recipients have included choreographers and dancers associated with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Batsheva Dance Company, Nederlands Dans Theater, and individuals such as Sylvie Guillem, Margot Fonteyn, Rudolf Nureyev, Nina Ananiashvili, and Carlos Acosta. Awards recognize choreography, performance, debut seasons, and lifetime achievement, drawing parallels with prizes like the MacArthur Fellowship and institutional awards from the National Endowment for the Arts. The Circle’s citation has influenced institutional recognition from the Royal Opera House and funding decisions by foundations such as the Ford Foundation and Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

The Circle convenes panels, roundtables, and symposiums at venues including the Brooklyn Academy of Music, the Royal Albert Hall, the Opéra Bastille, and universities like Harvard University and Yale University. It publishes collective statements and annual reports disseminated to periodicals like Dance Magazine, Ballet Review, Sight & Sound, and academic journals produced at institutions such as Oxford University Press and Cambridge University Press. Collaborations have involved archives and libraries like the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, exhibition programs at the Victoria and Albert Museum, and catalog essays for companies such as Staatsballett Berlin.

Through its members and pronouncements, the Circle has shaped critical standards comparable to those set by critics at The New York Times, The Guardian, The Telegraph, and Le Monde. Its influence extends to programming choices at houses including Teatro alla Scala, Vienna State Opera, and regional companies such as Boston Ballet and National Ballet of Canada. The Circle’s discourse has intersected with scholarship by figures connected to Conservatoire de Paris, Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and researchers publishing with Routledge and Taylor & Francis, thereby affecting pedagogy and historiography related to creators like Anton Bruckner (in music-dance collaborations), Igor Stravinsky, and Sergei Diaghilev.

Alumni of the Circle have gone on to prominent posts at The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Observer, Los Angeles Times, The Independent, Die Welt, and broadcast platforms such as BBC Radio 3 and NPR. Individual members have included critics who covered premieres by Maurice Béjart, Twyla Tharp, William Forsythe, Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker, and Ohad Naharin, and scholars who taught at institutions like Brown University and New York University. Many alumni have authored monographs published by Yale University Press and Cambridge University Press.

The Circle has faced disputes over perceived biases favoring companies such as New York City Ballet or Paris Opera Ballet, leading to debates similar to controversies involving the Tony Awards and programming controversies at the Venice Biennale. Critics allege conflicts when members maintain relationships with foundations like the Rockefeller Foundation or when reviews influence funding decisions by entities like the National Endowment for the Arts. Other disputes involve coverage of repertory by choreographers such as George Balanchine versus contemporary auteurs like Pina Bausch, and debates on diversity that reference institutions including Dance Theatre of Harlem and movements linked to Black Lives Matter.

Category:Arts organizations Category:Dance criticism