‘The Dreamers Ever Leave You’ – Karen Kain on a unique Royal Ballet & National Ballet of Canada collaboration…
Karen Kain, Artistic Director of the National Ballet of Canada, on celebrating Canada’s 150th with a joint work that includes NBoCanada and Royal Ballet dancers in a unique London Docklands event on the 12/13 October… that and lots more
New York City Ballet – Liturgy, Polyphonia, Odessa, The Times are Racing – New York
★★★★✰ The oldest piece on the program is Wheeldon’s Polyphonia. Made in 2001, it has stood the test of time. Just last week it was performed at the Fall for Dance festival…
Mikhailovsky Ballet – Cinderella – St. Petersburg
★★★★★ It seems appropriate that I’ve travelled to Russia to find a Cinderella interpreter of movement and spectacle to match up to the genius of Prokofiev’s music.
Bialy Teatr Tanca Izadory Weiss – Eros Thanatos – Warsaw
★★★★✰ Biały Teatr Tańca (it means White Dance Theatre), is a new vehicle for the work of the uber-talented choreographer, Izadora Weiss, a protégé of the great Jiri Kylian…
Royal Ballet – Opening the New bill – Hull
★★★★✰ The Royal Ballet’s away-day to Hull, this year’s UK Capital of Culture, was dramatic in its scale: 17 pieces presented over three hours…
5 Questions to Emma Maguire, RB Soloist, about the Ann Maguire Gala and Charity
We talk to Emma Maguire about the Gala that honours the life of her mum, Ann Maguire, and this year takes place at the Leeds Grand Theatre on 3 September. The proceeds go to support the Ann Maguire Arts Education Fund – inspiring young people through the arts…
Royal Ballet School – Annual Main Stage Performance 2017 – London
★★★★✰ It was a well-balanced programme, featuring different kinds of discipline for future corps de ballet dancers, and honouring veteran choreographers as well as contemporary ones.
American Ballet Theatre – Tchaikovsky Spectacular bills – New York
★★★✰✰ Ratmansky’s Souvenir d’un Lieu Cher turned out to be a mysterious little ballet, a double pas de deux that captures, …the complex history of a quartet of characters.
American Ballet Theatre – Swan Lake – New York
★★★★✰ 2 casts reviewed Isabella Boylston / Alban Lendorf and Devon Teuscher / Aléxandre Hammoudi.
American Ballet Theatre – Giselle – New York
American Ballet Theatre Giselle ★★★★✰ New York, Metropolitan Opera House 26,27 May 2017 www.abt.org Giselle Fever Like Swan Lake, Giselle is a centerpiece of the ballet repertoire; American Ballet Theatre performs it almost…
English National Ballet’s Emerging Dancer 2017 Competition – 5 Questions to 4 Finalists
English National Ballet’s Emerging Dancer Competition is unique in British ballet in throwing the spotlight on more junior dancers or “tomorrow’s stars” as ENB put it. This year’s competition is on the 25 May and ahead of the that we talk to 4 of the 6 finalists – Isabelle Brouwers, Rina Kanehara, Madison Keesler and Guilherme Menezes…
New York City Ballet – Spring Gala with Odessa, Ratmansky premiere – New York
★★★✰✰ With only four works, no intermissions and a run time of less than two hours, New York City Ballet’s Spring Gala was short and to the point.
Matthew Bourne – An Appreciation on his winning the Critics’ Circle Award for Outstanding Services to the Arts
Graham Watts’ citation, made before the presentation – a major appreciation of a huge star of dance and theatre…
Vanessa Fenton – Bouncing back and new works presented in Siobhan Davies and Clore Studios
After a few years below the radar Vanessa Fenton has been quietly bouncing back choreographically and this month presented her own double bill at Siobhan Davies Dance Studies and once again contributed a piece to the Royal Ballet’s latest Draft Works bill.
New Adventures – Matthew Bourne’s Early Adventures – London
★★★★✰ Matthew Bourne celebrates the 30th anniversary of his own company at the same time as Tate Britain has launched “Queer British Art 1861-1967” to mark the 50th anniversary of the decriminalisation of homosexuality. “Early Adventures” could be a theatrical coda to the exhibition…
Russian Ballet Icons Gala – In the steps of the Ballets Russes – London
★★★★✰ The long gala (three and a half hours with one interval) was well organised, with no speeches and no protracted curtain calls.
Interview – Robert Barnett, former New York City Ballet dancer and longtime Artistic Director of Atlanta Ballet
Robert Barnett joined New York City Ballet in 1949. In those early years he worked closely with Balanchine and Robbins particularly before going on to direct Atlanta Ballet. Now 91 he is still actively involved in dance and passing on all he knows…
Miami City Ballet – The Fairy’s Kiss, Walpurgisnacht Ballet, Polyphonia – Miami
★★★★✰ The Fairy’s Kiss (Ratmansky premiere): The final image is poetic, grand, inspiring. It takes one’s breath away.
2016 National Dance Awards – Winners Announced
The Critics’ Circle National Dance Awards for 2016 were presented today at a ceremony in London, hosted by Kenrick ‘H2O’ Sandy MBE and Michael ‘Mikey J’ Asante, the creative team behind the highly successful dance company, Boy Blue Entertainment.
