Now we know why Labour chose a ballerina

Published: March 26, 2008 at 2:30pm

Joseph MuscatBrainy Jason may have chosen to brand his party’s election campaign with a ballerina image because he has inside information from the National Office of Statistics, which has documented a surge in the numbers of children attending dance classes. He may not have known how many new voters there were, but he did know the number of little ballerinas (and please don’t come back and tell me that it figures). See this news story published in The Times today.

Dance schools seeing surge of students

There was a total of 5,086 participants enrolled in 34 dance schools in 2007, the most popular types of dance being classical ballet, jazz and modern dance, the NSO said this morning. The dance schools employed 109 persons and generated a financial surplus of €391,836. The office said participants in dance activities in 2007 increased by 8 percent over 2006 while the number of dance schools grew from 32 in 2006 to 34. Female dancers preferred classical ballet and jazz, whilst Latin American and ballroom were the most popular forms of dance amongst males. The majority of persons attending dance lessons were aged between 5 and 14, with the smallest percentage of persons being under the age of 5. Recurrent expenditure by the dance schools in 2007 amounted to €654,318, of which 45 per cent went towards staff costs. A significant proportion of the expenditure also went towards premises (including rent of premises) and operational expenditure. The total income generated in the same year reached €1,046,154. Of this, 85 per cent came from tuition fees, and a further 13 per cent came from dance shows, as shown in Table 11. The financial surplus for dance schools in 2007 amounted to €391,836, an increase of 14 per cent over 2006.




31 Comments Comment

  1. Guzeppi Grech says:

    Breaking News:
    Evarist Bartolo will be contesting the post of Labour Party Leader.

  2. Corinne Vella says:

    Guzeppi Grech: Reference?

  3. Guzeppi Grech says:

    Take my word for it Ms Vella :)

    Or else check DI-VE. I think they should have it up by now.

  4. Moggy says:

    Oh Glory!

  5. Simon says:

    I wonder what Varist meant by the following phrase

    “When the time is ripe, I will do what I have to do”

  6. Charles Cauchi says:

    What Evarist Bartolo believes in:

    “I stand for open mindedness and am against fanaticism. I believe in ‘a hands-on’ approach to problem solving and follow evidence-based decision making.

    I am open to persuasion and consider diversity and contrasting opinions as very useful and dynamic forces in a competitive democratic system yet at the same time I believe that whenever possible decisions should be reached by consensus and active participation of all those involved. I believe in fairness and am every sort of partisan, gender, sexual orientation, racial and religious discrimination.

    I think we can create a better Malta and Gozo by rewarding hard work, merit and honesty.”

    Lifted from his website. See if you can find the computer misprint.

    [Moderator – Varist is the way and the light. Behold your creator!]

  7. Guzeppi Grech says:

    The word “against is missing after “I believe in fairness and am”.

    Do I get a prize..do I? do I? Pretty please :)

  8. Corinne Vella says:

    Charles Cauchi: Here it is…Evarist Bartolo says he is “every sort of partisan, gender, sexual orientation, racial and religious discrimination.” No fool would make such a bold statement about himself.

  9. Moggy says:

    Simon on Mar 26, 2008

    I wonder what Varist meant by the following phrase

    “When the time is ripe, I will do what I have to do”

    Very strange!

  10. @ Guzeppi Grech
    ‘I believe in fairness and am ;-( every sort of partisan, gender, sexual orientation, racial and religious discrimination’
    Well done, Guzeppi Grech but the way it stands might fit dear ‘ol Varist to a T.

  11. Meerkat :) says:

    @ Moggy

    Forsi jnittef lil Poodle…

  12. Bootroom says:

    Dunno but I’d much rather see Joseph Muscat at the helm than Mount Evarist. If Muscat is Sant’s poodle than Varist is the man behind Sant and the one who advised him on some of his greatest gaffes.

  13. Blog Reader says:

    “we can create a better Malta and Gozo” (Evarist’s website)

    is his website implying that Malta and Gozo are bad at the moment? We are a nation of people who have strived and survived thousands of years of settlement on these semi-bare island-rocks. The politicians such as Varist and the rest are not going to create anything. We don’t want to either. We are who we are, happy to be Maltese. The website is perpetrating an inherent inferiority complex, perhaps an outcome of foreign colonization. In the face of this, will he be a suitable candidate representing our nation if the MLP wins the general election in 2013?

  14. SB says:

    @ Blog reader

    I’m not a pro in English. However, I know that “better” is the comparative of “good”. Therefore, he is not implying that Malta is in a bad state.

    P.S.: I am against Varist as an MLP leader!

  15. Romegas says:

    This may be some good news, as long as it is not some form of doublespeak, where one of them will say he is retiring from the race to help the other. As it stands, both of them being avid ‘Santians’ there is a small risk that they will divide the Sant vote and a third party may benefit. On the other hand, if one of them is eliminated at the first ballot, there is a possibility that the loser will support the other Santian, ensuring victory for the Sant camp.

  16. Blog Reader says:

    @ SB

    implies something that is not that good, might even be bad

  17. Daphne Caruana Galizia says:

    @ Simon – let’s hope that he brings out his power-razor and cuts the poodle down to size.

  18. Daphne Caruana Galizia says:

    @Charles Cauchi – the computer misprint makes him every sort of partisan. Truly, a man for all seasons.

  19. SB says:

    @Blog reader

    I don’t agree.

    Something that is good is good. It is not ‘not so good’ or ‘bad’.

    I for one look forward for a better Malta. Does that make you understand that I believe our current situation is ‘not so good’ or ‘bad’?

  20. Ray says:

    “When the time is ripe, I will do what I have to do”.

    This reminds me of St.John 13:27 : “…And Jesus said to him: That which thou dost, do quickly”. Is this some kind of echo?

  21. Ray says:

    “I think we can create a better Malta and Gozo by rewarding hard work, merit and honesty.”

    Hmm…How many points will the MLP be rewarded for honesty? It seems they have some kind of gremlin in their computer, who mischieviously inserted the word ‘honesty’. Or maybe this is just another misprint.

  22. Albert Farrugia says:

    The way its going among you guys, you might as well have the item “Election of MLP Leader” as the last item on the agenda of the next PN Kunsill Generali! This website is getting to be quite a good record of the type of blinkered “politics” Malta is cursed with. Since every country has the government it deserves, no wonder the PN is ruling the island.

  23. Corinne Vella says:

    Albert Farrugia: I’ll hazard a guess and say that many here (if not most) will not be attending the next PN Kunsill Generali. The election of the MLP leader is of general interest. It is narrow minded to suggest that it shouldn’t be. Put it this way: you could look at this debate as free advice on how to choose an MLP leader with broad appeal. Or, if you’re going to be pig headed about the matter, how to choose a leader who isn’t.

  24. Daphne Caruana Galizia says:

    @Albert Farrugia – why don’t you start a similar blog for those who don’t like the Nationalist Party, instead of hanging around running us down? Then I can visit it and post comments like yours.

  25. Amanda Mallia says:

    Albert Farrugia – If you don’t like the blog, you are free to leave. Of course, you can occasionally honour us with your “virtual” presence any time you please, just as Victor Laiviera tends to do.

  26. my name is Leonard but my son calls me Joey says:

    future PM may have problems if he decides to visit South Korea

    hint:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_orkTy0A1yE

  27. Ray says:

    To unblinkered Albert Farrugia: unfortunately, unlike you, we have not been blessed with the happy state of being paragons of open-mindedness. Maybe you should seek loftier websites.

  28. matt spiteri says:

    Daphne

    In these last 10-15 years you spent most of your time attacking Sant personnally and also tried to ridicule the MLP and all those who supported the party. When Sant resigned, i thought that now finally the media would devote more attention on what the party in government is doing. Normally the party in government (especially one that is there for 20 years!!) should be under the scrutiny of the media. It seems that the media (including you Daphne of course) have never given PN a hard time and strangely it was always the MLP on the defence.
    Ok now Sant resigned. The MLP got rid of him finally, all Malta got rid of him and also you got rid of him.
    I thought that now Daphne your mission has been accomplished and you can devote your energy to other interesting issues. It seems you have an obession. You are all out against MLP.

    Now MLP are trying to elect a new leader. It seems that Joseph Muscat is not your liking. Falzon certainly you do not like, Evarist Bartolo no as well. It seems that for you Daphne, friends and co., MLP can just close down and we leave PN to rule forever.
    I would like to know who would be the ideal for you Daphne.

  29. Corinne Vella says:

    Matt Spiteri: I think you’ll find your answer here
    http://daphnecaruanagalizia.com/?p=155

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