A long-established dance writer, Jann Parry was dance critic for The Observer from 1983 to 2004 and wrote the award-winning biography of choreographer Kenneth MacMillan: 'Different Drummer', Faber and Faber, 2009. She has written for publications including The Spectator, The Listener, About the House (Royal Opera House magazine), Dance Now, Dance Magazine (USA), Stage Bill (USA) and Dancing Times. As a writer/producer she worked for the BBC World Service from 1970 to 1989, covering current affairs and the arts. As well as producing radio programmes she has contributed to television and radio documentaries about dance and dancers.
Under are the articles written for DanceTabs. Reviews on Balletco
Feature – Ashton Rediscovered Masterclass: Foyer de danse and the Le Papillon solo
Ashton Rediscovered Masterclass: “Foyer de danse”, coached by Ursula Hageli & Christopher Newton, and the “Le Papillon” solo, coached by Wayne Eagling. Jann Parry with a detail report for DanceTabs..
CCN Ballet de Lorraine and Compagnie Amala Dianor – The Future Bursts In bill – London
★★★★✰ The title of the latest triple bill in the Linbury studio theatre is taken from The Observer’s dance critic’s review of the Merce Cunningham Company’s arrival in Britain in 1964.
Royal Ballet – Concerto, Enigma Variations, Raymonda Act III – London
★★★★✰ It is all too easy to assume that the first triple bill of the Royal Ballet’s autumn season celebrates its creative heritage from the 1960s. In fact, two of the ballets were made for other companies…
Interview: Pam Tanowitz – Choreographer and Director
Pam Tanowitz, well known in New York, just created her first work outside the States – for the Royal Ballet. It’s been a critical success and Jann Parry (who gave the work 5 stars) finds out what makes her tick and why so many directors are seeking Tanowitz out…
Royal Ballet – Merce Cunningham celebration: Cross Currents, Monotones II, Everyone Keeps Me – London
★★★★★ Quite some achievement by Pam Tanowitz, to have followed treasured works by Cunningham and Ashton with one that pays homage to both, yet stands on its own as her distinctive tapestry of dance.
Royal Ballet – Manon – London
★★★★✰ Sarah Lamb and Vadim Muntagirov, as Des Grieux, are not new to the roles and their understanding of the characters and the choreography has deepened with experience.
Ballet Preljocaj – La Fresque – London
★★★✰✰ The key to La Fresque (The Wall Painting) is that it was originally commissioned in France as a piece to be seen by young people. Choreographed by Angelin Preljocaj, it’s based on a 14th century Chinese fable…
Gauri Sharma Tripathi, Sonia Sabri and Mayuri Boonham – Descendants bill – London
★★★★✰ As in all three pieces, these female artists and choreographers are formidable figures, descendants of dance pioneers from the Indian sub-continent.
Astana Ballet – Love Fear Loss, A Fuego Lento, Heritage of the Great Steppe, Salomé – London
★★★✰✰ The extremely good-looking company members are well-trained, versatile dancers…
Bolshoi Ballet – Don Quixote – London
★★★★✰ The reason the Bolshoi’s Don Quixote is so enjoyable is the gusto with which it is performed. It doesn’t aim to be remotely authentically Spanish or even respectful of the original 1869 version…
Bolshoi Ballet – The Bright Stream – London
★★★★★ A wildly surreal comic turn involves a dog riding a bicycle, both cunningly choreographed. He’s actually a tractor driver in disguise, disrupting sexual assignations.
Bolshoi Ballet – Spartacus – London
★★★★✰ The messages of Grigorovich’s Spartacus may have changed over the half-century since its creation but new generations revel in its theatricality – and the bolshoi power of its performers.
Book – Dancing Under The Southern Skies: A History of Ballet in Australia – by Valerie Lawson
Although Valerie Lawson’s context is wide-ranging, she brings individuals into focus with personal details, shining a spotlight onto their roles in Australian dance history. Lavishly illustrated with photographs from Australian archives, her book gives vivid life to long-gone personalities.
Royal Ballet School – Summer Show, ROH Main Stage – London
★★★★✰ The choice of works emphasised ensembles more than individuals. It was interesting to see large numbers of young men dancing together, as well as a more usual female corps de ballet.
The Bolshoi Ballet in London, Summer 2019 – All you need to know (and more!)
The Bolshoi Ballet are in London this summer with Spartacus, Swan Lake, The Bright Stream and Don Quixote. One of the world’s greatest companies, here are Jann Parry’s thoughts on an important visit…
Akademi, Sama Art and Dr Swarnamalya Ganesh – Sadir Āttam – Cambridge
★★★★✰ The subtitle for the night was “Sadir: Dancing for Rajahs, Nawabs and the Officers of the Raj”. Sadir dance is a controversial precursor to Bharatanatyam, the classical dance style of South Asia…
Yorke Dance Project – Twenty: Playground, Between and Within, Communion, Imprint – London
★★★★✰ By swelling the numbers of her small touring company, Yolande Yorke-Edgell was able to mount a revival of Kenneth MacMillan’s Playground and a 10-strong ensemble for Robert Cohan’s Communion. The programme also included new works by Sophia Stoller and Yorke-Edgell herself.
Viviana Durante Company – THREE/8.38/SEVEN – London
★★✰✰✰ The show at Wilton’s Music Hall, produced and directed by former ballerina Viviana Durante, was originally billed as The Seven Deadly Sins by Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht…
Royal Ballet – Within the Golden Hour, Medusa, Flight Pattern – London
★★★✰✰ A very mixed bill… Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui’s Medusa (★★✰✰✰), Christopher Wheeldon’s Within the Golden Hour (★★★★✰) and Crystal Pite’s Flight Pattern (★★★★✰)
