The Royal Ballet School will open the UK’s first permanent museum dedicated to classical ballet in February. The White Lodge Museum and Ballet Resource Centre will offer visitors an insight into the development of ballet through films, artefacts and interactive resources. The Museum will be at White Lodge in Richmond Park, home to The Royal Ballet Lower School since 1955.
w: http://www.royal-ballet-school.org.uk
The Wales Council for Voluntary Action has published guidelines outlining the duty of care that organisations have towards volunteers, particularly those who work from home. The information covers insurance, risk assessment and training, and offers advice on how to minimise risk.
w: http://www.wcva.org.uk/volunteering
The Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA) is inviting contributions to research into the place of the MLA and cultural sector in the 2008 Local Area Agreements (LAAs). The contribution of the sector to the outcomes of LAAs will also be assessed. The study will inform a programme that the MLA will be putting in place to improve and support museums, libraries and archives. The deadline for responses is 28 January.
w: http://www.dcresearch.co.uk/mla_survey
What’s On Stage has launched a theatre ticket resale service, to provide theatregoers with a secure environment where they can buy and sell tickets. Tight controls are being put in place for tickets for non-profit, publicly funded institutions, and the resale of tickets for subsidised theatre productions will be capped at 25% above face value.
w: http://www.whatsonstage.viagogo.co.uk
The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) will help the Government to develop its new Humanities Diploma. Michael Boyd, RSC Artistic Director, said he was “delighted to play a part in the development of this exciting new qualification”. The Diploma is part of a national programme to widen the choice of courses available to young people, and it is hoped that 17 Diplomas in different subjects will be available to all 14–19 year olds in England by 2011.
e: info@dcsf.gsi.gov.uk
The Broadcasting Entertainment Cinematograph and Theatre Union (BECTU) is launching a new website. BECTU, which organises 26,500 staff and freelances across the media and entertainment industries, hopes that the new website will encourage members to develop more regular contact with the union. The site will also host a new Student Register, designed to develop relationships between BECTU and those studying for careers across the cultural sector.
w: http://www.bectu.org.uk
The Australia Council has produced a discussion paper to provoke discussion in the performing arts sector about the opportunities and threats posed by digital technology. ‘Don’t Panic: The Impact of Digital Technology on the Major Performing Arts’ aims to encourage major performing arts companies to begin scenario planning for the future, and to assist companies to develop a future strategy for themselves and for the sector, taking advantage of the potential gains from cross-sector collaboration.
w: http://www.australiacouncil.gov.au/research
There will be an opportunity for the public to showcase their communities as part of the new ‘Live Sites’ programme organised by the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games. Each screen will operate between 7am and 11pm and reflect life in its host community. The BBC will manage and provide content. There are already screens in Birmingham, Liverpool, Hull, Leeds, Rotherham, Bradford, Swindon and Derby, with plans for screens in Bristol, Plymouth, Portsmouth, Norwich, Waltham Forest, Cardiff, Swansea and Middlesbrough.
w: http://www.bbc.co.uk/bigscreens