In today's Links, dirac posts a report about the appointment of Rex Harrington to be "artist in residence" at the National Ballet of Canada.

Karen Kain held this position after her retirement and before being appointed as the Artistic Director of the company.

Do other companies have such a title or position? How does it differ from the job being done by ballet masters/mistresses and visiting coaches? What do you think about this system?

Here's a link to the complete article:
http://www.cbc.ca/arts/story/2006/09/28/ha...let-artist.html

The job specs sound to me like those of a ballet master/mistress, but the title implies more. Since most companies employ a select few of their retired dancers as ballet masters, I don't see how this differs, except that Kain and Harrington were The Stars of their respective NBoC generations. Perhaps the title "Artist in Residence" honors and perpetuates their special place in the company's heritage.

In a university the title usually means an artist or writer who is on campus for the duration, gives a lecture or seminar or two, and who consults with students, other faculty, and sometimes community members.

I wonder if the coaching part will be more of an "on request" role.