Ballet and street dance are due for a showdown next week when denizens of the dance world have it out over men-in-tights and bust-a-grove street moves.

At a debate in East London’s trendy Vibe Live bar on Tuesday 21st October dancers and critics will fight it out over the question ‘Who needs ballet when we’ve got street dance?’

Flying in from the US to do battle for ballet is the male comedy ballerina, Ian Archer-Watters. Armed with pointe shoes and a tutu, Ian will tower above even the most athletic of street dancers standing 6ft 5in on pointe. After exchanging blows on whether or not traditional ballets like the Nutcracker and Swan Lake are giving way to the breakbeat thrills of hip-hop extravaganzas like the recent London musical Into the Hoods, Ian plans to have the last dance if not the last word.

The debate will finish with the European premiere of Ian’s The Swan to music from Camille Saint-Saëns’ Carnival of the Animals.

Ahead of the premiere Ian said ‘I’ve seen break dancers in New York spinning on their hands, doing the ‘turtle’. And yes, it’s impressive. But the hip-hop’s Turtle is nothing to a six foot Swan balancing on one point’.

Joining Ian for the debate will be the Hakeem Onibudo, artistic director and founder of Impact Dance, one of the UK’s top Hip-Hop theatre company; Veronica Lewis MBE, director of the London Contemporary Dance School and Time Out dance critic, Lyndsey Winship. For more details and tickets: click here.

Are you a higher education student?

The Research Councils UK (RCUK) are offering a limited number of 50%-off weekend tickets for students. Click here to buy.

Are you a secondary school student?

If so, with the purchase of a one-day ticket (Saturday or Sunday), you get the second day free, courtesy of the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). Email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or phone 020 7269 9220 for information.

Times Online launched its Battle of Ideas blog on Tuesday, with articles relating to the themes of the Battle for Biomedicine strand. Featured writers are Magnus Linklater, Michael Fitzpatrick, John Naish and Tracey Brown.

For the Battle of Ideas 2008, the Times Online team bring you past and present intellectual, political and social battles that shaped and are shaping our world. Throughout October watch out for the Times Online blog featuring Battle of Ideas speakers and Times journalists tackling debates and issues determining society right here and now. In addition, a variety of other Times Online blogs, such as School Gate, Alpha Mummy, and Faith Central, will link up to relevant Battle of Ideas 2008 debates. And find out how debates at the 2008 festival have been argued over and taken shape throughout the years with special Times archive readings, stretching from 1785 – 1985, available on the Battle of Ideas website.

Next week’s theme will relate to the Battle for Prosperity.

In the build up to the festival, the IoI Education Forum, in association with SCETT, will be surveying hundreds of people about their attitudes to teachers.  Are teachers members of a profession or just ordinary workers? Professionalism implies respect and trust. Can we no longer trust teachers to get on with their job, without excessive regulation and inspection?  There is no simple answer to these questions so we want your views.  To complete our short survey, simply visit the survey website or contact Professor Dennis Hayes for a ‘hard copy’ at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

This survey will complement the session: Trust me - I’m a professional.

09 August 2008

The results of the online survey that accompanied the Battle for China conference received wide media coverage.

Survey says Beijing Olympics set to improve West’s view of China, Xinhua News Agency. Syndicated to:

China:
Life of Guangzhou
China.org.cn
People’s Daily
China Economic
Sina
China Human Rights

Asian News International: ‘Beijing Olympics set to improve Wests view of China: Survey’
Syndicated to:

India:
Andhra News
Yahoo News India
News Track India
Chennai Vision
The Indian
Khabar Express
New Kerala
Fresh News
Andhravilas

Japan:
Japan Herald

Ireland:
Irish Sun

For the Battle of Ideas survey summary, see here.

The Beijing Olympics will have a positive impact on the way the West sees China, according to a survey from a landmark conference on China.

The survey, launched at the Battle for China conference held in London in July, released its results today. When asked ‘What effect do you think the Beijing Olympics will have on perceptions of China?’, a clear majority – 66%  –  of respondents say that there will be an improvement in Western perceptions. In general, attitudes to China and its growth are positive: 62% think that China will become a democracy and 71% do not think that China’s rapid rise is a threat to world peace. An overwhelming 86% conclude that China should have been awarded the Olympic Games. 75% are concerned that Western media has been too negative about China’s rise.

The survey is split about whether or not the Beijing Olympics should be used to pressurise China over its human rights record. However, over half disagreed that this is the right thing to do.

Other results include:

• 42% of respondents think China has already become a superpower, with only 11% believing that it will not become one.

• 66% of respondents think it’s possible for 1.3 billion Chinese to have the standard of living currently experienced in the Western world.

• Only 33% of respondents think it is the responsibility of the West to ensure China develops sustainably, with 67% arguing against.

The online survey accompanied the Battle for China conference that examined Western perceptions of China, organised by the IoI, in association with CHINA NOW, the UK’s largest ever festival of Chinese culture, and international legal practice Norton Rose LLP held in London on 12 July 2008.

The full survey is available here. The survey report was picked up by several news agencies.

The Who gives a folk? Battle Satellite held this Tuesday was a great success. If you happened to miss it or were there and want a reminder of the discussion, we have three videos captured by friction.tv available on the site now. They are short pieces by Chris Wood, Abdul-Rehman Malik and Eddy Lawrence and can be found here.

The Battle for China was a resounding success and received wide media coverage, in the UK and China.

China’s rise - threat or opportunity?, Frank Furedi
spiked, 15 July 2008

Is China the economic saviour of the 21st century?

Experts at the Battle for China debate the economic relationship between China and the West
Battle of Ideas podcast, Times Online, 16 July 2008
The poison infecting China, Yiyi Lu
Battle of Ideas blog, Times Online, 14 July 2008

Eco-imperialism is alive and well in the West, James Woudhuysen
Battle of Ideas blog, Times Online, 14 July 2008

China is losing the human rights race, Minky Worden
Battle of Ideas blog, Times Online, 14 July 2008

How experts replaced intellectuals, Alan Hudson
Battle of Ideas blog, Times Online, 14 July 2008

Why China matters to us all, Kerry Brown
Battle of Ideas blog, Times Online, 14 July 2008

The farce of bashing China’s human rights record, Brendan O’Neill
Battle of Ideas blog, Times Online, 14 July 2008

The above article was reprinted in:
People’s Daily
China Daily
China Radio International

British experts call for balanced views on China
Xinhua News Agency 13 July 2008

The above article was syndicated to:
China Radio International
People’s Daily
China Daily
China.org.cn
CQ News
China Internet Information Centre (China.cn)
China Human Rights
European News Monitor
Sina
Jongo News

British scholar: China’s trade, investment in Africa benefit all
Xinhua News Agency 15 July 2007

The above article was syndicated to:
China Daily
China Commodity Net
China Internet Information Centre (China.cn)
People’s Daily
China Military Online
Jongo News
China Daily
China Radio International
CCTV
China Ministry of Commerce
China.com

A series of blogs reflecting on the Battle for China in the Times Online.

A new generation is giving folk new meaning and an unexpected lease of life. Has folk left behind its parochial, twee image? Can it help create a more ‘radical’ English identity and heritage, an alternative to the flag-waving jingoism of Rule Britannia or is it just another brand?

Speakers: Barb Jungr, Ivan Hewett, Chris Wood, Eddy Lawrence, Neil Davenport, Cara Bleiman, Don Eales, Abdul Rehman-Malik; chair - Shirley Dent.

Plus, performing that night at the Vibe Bar downstairs, fresh from Glastonbury, folk artists Joe Driscoll and Sean Taylor!

Tickets: £7.50 (£5 concessions) from IoI

Full details here