Our ref.: WE 04 D 5030

Dear Mr Marriott,

I am writing to you regarding the following message on your noticeboard:
http://www.ballet.co.uk/dcforum/news/2217.html

Although we appreciate that this is an April's Fool joke, we cannot allow
unauthorised use of the Agency's logo or any other details that may give
visitors to your site the impression that we are in any way connected to
that message.

We therefore officially request you to remove all references to the Agency,
and its logo, from your website as soon as possible.

Yours sincerely,

--
Eusebio RIAL-GONZALEZ
Project Manager
European Agency for Safety and Health at Work
Gran Via 33
E-48009 Bilbao, Spain
Tel: + 34 94 479 3538
Fax: + 34 94 479 4383
Email: rial@osha.eu.int
Web: http://agency.osha.eu.int

Press Release
01.04.2004

EU Introduces Health and Safety Regulations for Dancers

As part of its commitment to a healthy workforce, the EU Commission today unveils several proposals aimed at protecting vulnerable workers. The DanceRite initiative is aimed at dancers and allied workers: it starts by putting right a clear injustice concerning specialist dance footwear, but through its continuing working parties will rapidly spawn other legislation aimed at liberating today's dancers from the harmful and exploitative practices of the past.

"For over 150 years those involved in ballet have accepted the crippling brutality of the pointe shoe - an aberrant 19th century practice as outmoded as foot binding and bodily mutilation - and which we will legislate to ban within the next 3 years", says Dikk van Knutz, EU Commissioner for Dance Health and Safety.

Passing the necessary legislation will take time but with more immediate effect, from September 2004, all pointe shoes will be required to have a health and safety warning ('Pointe Shoes Seriously Damage Your Feet') prominently displayed on them. Ballet audiences are also to be made very aware of the changes by a similar message on the front of all programmes and beneath any pictures in which pointe shoes are worn. Resource packs, for choreographers and others in the profession, will be released to show how they can easily comply with the new legislation.

"It is not our intention to take anything away from the spectacle of great ballet," says van Knutz, "merely to make it safe and not to see dancers' bodies needlessly abused for public pleasure."

Key DanceRite Working Parties are to be established in the following areas:

• dance partnering and lifts, where there is a proposal for the lifted dancer either to be secured by a safety harness or to wear appropriate head and body protection.
  
• fouettes and turns. Research shows that these are currently dangerously fast and it is likely that more than 6 turns in any 5-minute period will be banned.
  
• jumps remain a huge hazard for dancers and tables of maximum jump height vs jump length for various weights/heights of dancer will be introduced as soon as practicable. Dancers will also be limited to 3 jumps in any one 24 hour period.

Dikk van Knutz again, "There can be no exceptions where Health and Safety is concerned in the EU and the exploitative bad old days of ballet and dance will soon be at an end I'm pleased to say."

ENDS

DanceRite Web Links:
Details of the DanceRite proposals
DanceWEB Europe initiative
European Agency for health and safety at work
EU website dealing with labour law and work organisation

Contact:
{sadly removed - see note at top of page}

Notes to editors:
{sadly removed - see note at top of page}

Madge.

Or the orange tiger! what a misrepresentation of all tigers struggling hard for their rights around the world!!!

I think that was the suject of an ealier news posting:
http://www.ballet.co.uk/dcforum/news/768.html

I trust that all female dancers who have been subjected to this indignity in the past will be able to sue their teachers, ballet companies and, of course, the makers of their shoes, for lavish compensation for the harm done.

I believe female corps members in some US ballet companies have already begun a class-action suit against Freeds.

*winks at Bruce*

And, I simply can't be expected to give up my everyday tutu - without all that boning - well, "things" may flop about. Next, I will be expected to give up my everyday tiara and expose that my center part is not quite straight. How vulgar to have to appear without my tiara. (Really!)

Now, if we truly want to help over stressed dancers, we could insist that the classroom mirror be removed. Being forced to examine every defective jot and tittle (especially of others) is simply too much to expect. It harms one's self image. And all those teachers' corrections.....that's a real damage to one's assurance and ego.

But I do think that we should microscopically examine those stories of the ballets - seems to me that various groups are not fairly represented. Think of the damage to young boys when they see that that fool of a Siegfried can't tell the difference between Odette and Odile! And, Rothbart gives evil magicians a bad name.

(Thanks, Bruce, for the fun!)

I also think Albrecht should be allowed to take an appropriately timed break while he's being danced to death, to prevent him from being, well, danced to death.

Ah, the brave new world of safe ballet.

I will try and add all the April fools togther at some time. Trouble is everybody is now wise to us on the 1st April. That said it's still best NOT to point out that such postings are an April Fool on the day - that just spoils it for others.

God knows what we do next year!

Obvoiusly NOT 'everyone is now wise'. I proved to be grossly unwise as much as a friend of mine who phoned me yesterday to share her jenuine concern with regard to this 'release'.
I apologise for not knowing the rules, Bruce. Please remove my previous posting. And I would better shut up for a while until become wiser.

Lor' lumme!

We'll not be allowed to breathe next!!

Sorry that's a bit of a rant, I just can't believe the pettiness of it!