Juliet:
“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet.”
Romeo and Juliet (II, ii, 1-2)

No, I’m not going all Shaskespearian on you for no reason. I’m getting the feeling lately that dance is turned into a matter of names and not so much movement. We see the same names everywhere and very rarely new ones. I could almost have written some shortlists or line ups myself without knowing anything about who applies for things.
I undersand that this happens when you become “famous”. We do say you try to “make yourself a name”. My issue is when you have a name and then use it to become accomodated and to do only half baked works. Or to repeat the same things over and over because they were original at the beginning, and just change the name or the subject (relative, anyway, when subject is only just touched upon and not properly researched).
Don’t missunderstand me, I like some names! I like names like Forsythe that, independent of how much you like or dislike the piece, always mean proper work and big research.
I don’t like names of people that can’t look outside their own little tunnel vision, or those that are yet tiny in artistical achievement but have a godfather/mother that writes their name in golden ink, for the future.
I believe that hard work is what makes tha dance world spin, and that only by working hard will you really make a difference.
Maybe I’m an idealist! But here it is to hoping that we will go back to the movement and what is behind it, and forget about the names and their façades!