What are your views on National Ballet Principal dancer Simone Clarke supporting the BNP?

Question

She has since defended her beliefs, and says the BNP is "the only party to take a stand" on issues like immigration.

Is she right to do this?

Here is the story in full
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6241763.stm

Answer 1

I may not agree with her politics, but I agree she has the right to join whatever party she wants. That's one of the (MANY!!) things wrong with this bloody country...other (foreign) people can come here and have their views respected, but the people who are born and live here cannot!!??

Answer 2

Who has the best to do away with someones best to vote? who has a best to renounce somebody having an opinion? Who has the best to intrude with somebody acquiring employment because of the fact they do no longer proportion a definite view? Who has the best to disclaim a individual their difficulty-unfastened human rights? New Labour is a communist government, in by potential of the back door and is slowly yet particularly eroding our freedom away and yet others in this communicate board are frightened with regards to the BNP. Did the BNP lie approximately WMD, Did the BNP lie approximately immigration Numbers. Did the BNP harm the interior maximum pension schemes, Has crime exploded under a BNP government, has the national wellness provider almost collapsed under a BNP government. Is it the BNP or the communist occasion that has set up a secret police tension to interrogate people who disagree with homosexuality. i do no longer think of its the BNP you are able to desire to agonize approximately i might look on the communist occasion in potential and desire they're going to go if ousted.

Answer 3

I deplore anybody who supports the BNP.

However, if you deplore racism in ballet, as I do if it exists, I am not sure you should start by condeming Simone Clarke, who as I understand it is married to a man who happens to be of Chinese origin. If I recollect the newspaper reports right, nine out of ten leading dancers (I stand open to correction as to the description of the grade) at the National Ballet have work permits. I wonder how many of these are from other developed countries, Russia or Eastern Europe? At the same time, thousands of British children apply for merely dozens of places at full-time ballet school. This denies opportunities to British born people who I suspect may be more ethnically diverse than the people being given work permits.

Ballet, and football, represent what is happening in many sectors of the British economy where employers and government are acting in the short-term by sucking in foreign people, from countries who can ill-afford to lose them and at great disruption to family life, instead of long-term investment in proper education and training within the UK.

If the UK Government hands over taxpayers' money to foreigners, as it is doing if the subsidised National Ballet is employing foreigners, it had better benefit British people. I can see that bringing over visiting world class dancers to play leading roles can enrich the UK culturally, but I cannot see how the employment of people on work permits in the "corps de ballet" can bring any special benefit

I have considerable qualms about using public money to subsidise middle-class people to see highly stylised ballets like "Nutcracker", "Swan Lake" and "Giselle" based upon European, largely Russian, tradition. These works could be provide by the commercial theatre, or indeed their audiences could afford to travel abroad, e.g. to see the Bolshoi Ballet. My qualms are increased by the nature of the dancing, which leaves many ballet dancers with painful and long-term medical problems. British dance should do much more to develop a 21st. century indigenous tradition, which should build upon the varied, expressive and healthy forms of dance that come from places like India and the West Indies as well as English folk tradition. And that is where subsidy for ballet, which doubtless should be increased, should go.

Finally, some ballets and other performance arts (particularly opera) do have a political dimension. It would be unwise to write off creative artists like Simone Clarke as mere technicians whose views are irrelevant. However, if the National Ballet or the Government were to prevent Simone Clarke from working it would have grave implications for our democratic tradition. Above all, it would provide the BNP with a huge propaganda weapon.

My advice to a Labour politician would be to take no action directly against Simone Clarke, but to switch any subsidy for the National Ballet to grassroots dance benefiting all sections of the British people.

Answer 4

She is stupid and uninformed. Its all very well supporting border control, but what she doesn't seem to be aware is that the BNP's policies are much more extreme than that to the point of advocating the removal of "non-white" people despite their birthplace being the UK. As far as I am concerned, they are a legal version of the Klu Klux Klan. Someone should chuck some rotten fruit at her next time she performs. Lets see how she likes being singled out and bullied.

Answer 5

She shows poor judgement in her choice of political party but she's hardly unique. She may be in a publicly funded role but she isn't in a position to influence government or civil service policy or service delivery so I don't think she should be hounded out of her post. I do think she should be declared ineligible for promotion to any kind of executive role within the ENB.

Answer 6

Although I certainly don't agree with the policies or views of the BNP, one of the rights to each and every individual who subscribes to our democratic society is that they are entitled to their own opinion.

Answer 7

I don't care if everyone in this country votes BNP i can't see people like her picking up a gun, but i can promise you this i refuse to be constantly be blamed for things because someone doesn't like my colour,and i refuse to fight side by side with a Nazi.

Answer 8

Ballet sucks, and so does the BNP. I'm glad I never went to ballet classes as a girl!

Answer 9

Clearly she has her brains in her feet.

To be fair, ballet dancers are not exactly where the bar is set for political understanding. She is entitled to her beliefs but they are not that interesting frankly.

Answer 10

She can beleive and follow whatever political party she likes - it's called freedom of speech and democracy.
You're entitled to your opinions and she's entitled to her's.
Freedom of speech also allows you to disagree with her opinions and say so.