Royal Danish Ballet's Tobias Praetorius is an anomaly, a young dancer – he’s only 24 – who is already interested in playing character roles. He is also a choreographer and Marina Harss catches up with him about his latest project - a 'Pixiballet' (aimed at children) based on Hans Christian Andersen's The Princess and the Pea...
Tag - Hans Christian Andersen
★★★★★ Think comic opera meets dance theatre, with choreography so animated there’s no translation needed.
★★★★★ ...this revival of The Red Shoes, coming with a number of tweaks, appears even tighter and slicker than the original.
★★★★✰ Hampson has created a naturalistic and, above all, a graceful and harmonious set of steps. It's all so unforced, but it feels right and creates a beautifully rounded and satisfying production.
★★★★✰ The Mother takes already dark source material (a Hans Christian Andersen tale) and plunges even deeper into the nightmare scenario it proposes, giving everything a convincing Russian twist along the way.
Scottish Ballet have just announced plans for their Fiftieth Anniversary in 2019, including three world premieres - we have the full press release and touch-base with CEO/Artistic Director Christopher Hampson about the celebrations and what happens beyond...
The Metropolitan Opera in New York staged "Le Rossignol" in December 1981 as part of a programme commemorating the hundredth anniversary of Stravinsky’s birth... the producer was John Dexter. He told Ashton, back in London, that he could choreograph two dancers as the Nightingale and the Fisherman on stage, while the roles would be sung by opera singers in the orchestra pit...
★★★★✰ It’s always exciting to discover a new side of an artist. For this, and for an immensely entertaining show, we have to thank Matthew Bourne.
In the first of the mixed bills celebrating Kenneth MacMillan’s ballets, 25 years after his death, "Le Baiser de la fée" intrigued me because the questions it posed about his development as a choreographer...
★★★★✰ Absolutely fascinating... Scottish Ballet should feel very proud of celebrating MacMillan in such a thoughtful way...
Scottish Ballet will be performing Kenneth MacMillan’s "Le Baiser de la fée" as part of the celebrations marking the 25th anniversary of his death. It will be the first revival of the ballet in 30 years - Jann Parry on the return of an important work.
★★★✰✰ Belles-Lettres – a piece by NYCB’s Justin Peck, reworked for Acosta Danza – is a sweepingly pretty pieces for nine dancers, all floaty, gorgeous frocks and increasingly impassioned duets...
★★★✰✰ It’s a somber and dark story; yet in Neumeier’s hands it gets even darker. Don’t expect Disney’s happily-ever-after – this Little Mermaid is certainly not for children.
★★★★✰ The Fairy's Kiss (Ratmansky premiere): The final image is poetic, grand, inspiring. It takes one’s breath away.
★★★✰✰ If you remember the 1948 film, the plot is easy to follow. If you don’t, and can’t pick up the references to ballets, a printed scenario would be helpful, as would job-descriptions of the characters...
★★★★✰ The Little Match Girl is small-scale, but it’s pretty spectacular all the same – a sweet and witty alternative to the typical Christmas family fare.
★★★✰✰ The first of two mixed programs that New York City Ballet presented at the Kennedy Center Opera House in March offered a wide variety of works...
★★★✰✰ "Incredible is Peck’s first narrative, and this fact was obvious Tuesday night, particularly in the opening scenes which lacked clarity..."
It all makes for a captivating hour that will surely bring a tear to your eye.
Arthur Pita The Little Match Girl London, Lillian Baylis Studio 13 December 2014 www.arthurpita.com www.sadlerswells.com This Christmas family show in the cosy space of the Lillian Baylis Studio (at Sadler’s Wells) is a real charmer. It’s all put together on a very modest scale, with an energetic cast of four portraying multiple roles. But it has a warm heart and a big imagination and bags of...