Interviewed for London’s monthly Dancing Times last March, Lynn Seymour, Royal Ballet star of the 1960s and ’70s, was asked by DT’s Gerald Dowler why there is currently “so much banality in performance.”
“There is no dearth of talent around,” Seymour says. “Perhaps the new corporate mantra ‘art as business’ doesn’t support the messy, uncertain creative process. Maybe it can’t deal with the idea of the occasional failure or handing out the money to buy time. Maybe they can’t support an idea that is contrary to public opinion or considered ‘elitist’ or maybe the institution doesn’t really have good enough knowledge of the subject! Whatever the reasons, ballet as art, is taking a dive. What we are beginning to see is wallpaper of questionable taste.”