Dance Writer/Critic. Member of the Critics' Circle, Chairman of the Dance Section and National Dance Awards Committee. Writes for leading dance magazines & websites - in UK, Europe, USA, Japan & cyberspace. Graham is based in London.
Under are the articles written for DanceTabs. Reviews on Balletco
Luca Silvestrini’s Protein – The Little Prince – London
★★★★✰ Silvestrini has fashioned a striking theatrical experience in perfect harmony with this timeless story, capped by a triumphal performance in the title role.
Obituary: Jeffery Taylor, 1938 – 2019, Dancer and Critic
Jeffery Taylor, who died in the autumn, aged 81, was a professional dancer for sixteen years before going on to become a dance critic. Graham Watts on the real Billy Elliot…
Book – Royal Academy of Dance: Celebrating 100 Years
The achievements of RAD over the past hundred years are brought together in an impressive new book, published this month…
New Adventures – Matthew Bourne’s The Red Shoes – London
★★★★★ …this revival of The Red Shoes, coming with a number of tweaks, appears even tighter and slicker than the original.
English National Ballet – The Nutcracker – London
★★★✰✰ Having premiered in 2010, it is now two years’ past the median lifespan of an ENB Nutcracker and – despite many attributes – the show has reached its sell-by date.
Film: Kes Reimagined, by Jonathan Watkins
★★★★✰ In Watkins’ choreography and MacGibbon’s mastery of camera angles and close-ups the narrative is crystal clear.
Madhavi Mudgal – Vistar – London
★★★✰✰ There is a mannered and refined gentility in the movement style; bodies and arms beautifully shaped with the eloquent symmetry of body bends…
Tom Dale Company – Step Sonic, Resonance of Air, Escape, Surge – London
Tom Dale Company Step Sonic, Resonance of Air, Escape, Surge ★★★✰✰ London, The Place 14 November 2019 tomdale.org.uk www.theplace.org.uk This two-part programme of work in progress further enhances Tom Dale’s reputation as a…
ACE Dance and Music – Skin Reimagined: Blind Trip, Letlalo – London
★★✰✰✰ Blind Trip was longer than it deserved to be and mixed too many ideas to be compact and coherent, while Letlalo left me wanting more of the performance on stage but less of the filming going on beside me.
Emanuel Gat Dance – WORKS – London
★★✰✰✰ There are six distinct works that, taped together, form WORKS… It adds up to a beguiling, albeit uneven and often inaccessible, 70-something minutes of dance.
Northern Ballet – The Kingdom of Back, Mamela…, The Shape of Sound – London
★★★✰✰ The works offer strong contrasts between the traditional story-telling strength of Northern Ballet and more abstract thematic dance.
Shobana Jeyasingh Dance – Staging Schiele – London
★★★★✰ Jeyasingh has directed a work in which all the elements integrate seamlessly to provide a satisfying, if fleeting, picture of a life.
Birmingham Royal Ballet & Ballet Black – A Brief Nostalgia, The Suit, Nine Sinatra Songs – London
Birmingham Royal Ballet ★★★✰✰ & Ballet Black ★★★★★ The Suit rewards multiple viewings and it thoroughly merited the opportunity of the bigger platform…
ZooNation: The Kate Prince Company – Some Like It Hip Hop – London
★★★★✰ Some Like it Hip Hop is full of quirky humour, great music and dance, enjoying top-notch performances throughout the whole cast of sixteen.
Fame the Musical – London
★★★★✰ With a strong and familiar story, an excellent songbook, well performed, and a pacy theatrical momentum, it is highly recommended.
Interview: Angelin Preljocaj, Choreographer and Director
Ballet Preljocaj are about to make their long awaited return to London’s Sadler’s Wells dancing “La Fresque” – Graham Watts talks to Angelin Preljocaj about the work itself and more widely about his creative life.
Mercedes Ruiz, Eduardo Guerrero and María Moreno – Gala Flamenca – London
★★★★★ As the gala’s artistic director, Liñán brought together four great talents (three dancers and a singer), backed up by an outstanding group of musicians…
Rocío Molina – Fallen From Heaven – London
★★★★✰ Fallen From Heaven (Caido del Cielo) is referenced as the celebration of being a woman, and it is certainly all about one woman.
London Children’s Ballet – Ballet Shoes – London
★★★✰✰ The great achievement of LCB is to mount professional productions, complete with full orchestra, without charging parents for the privilege.
AVA Dance Company – ORIGINS Festival: No Woman’s Land – London
★★★★✰ Ava Dance Company’s essay on the tribulations of the Inuit people from the northern-most reaches of Canada is appropriately a mix of dance theatre and spoken text…
