It’s a truism that any startlingly new dance-maker without an early elite training will have based his (or her) choreography on their own physique...
Tag - Alexander Campbell
The gala opened with the Act III wedding pas de deux from The Sleeping Beauty, performed by Ekaterina Osmolkina and Guiseppe Picone. No fish-dives in this version – the Russians regard them as vulgar, and Osmolkina could never be vulgar.
Both Royal Ballet premieres, one by Kim Brandstrup, the other by Liam Scarlett, were surely keepers, bound to be seen again.
I've never been to Dance Proms at the Royal Albert Hall before. Which is amazing given it has a cast of over 400 dancers, has been running since 2011 and, as I discovered, is such an uplifting and feel-good affair.
The programme was so underwhelming that I went twice in succession, to see whether alternative casts could make a difference.
Fascinating to see the Royal Ballet’s production of Balanchine’s Jewels not long after the Bolshoi’s account at the Royal Opera House in summer. Unlike the Russians, the Royal Ballet dancers understand the different period conventions of the three ‘acts’...
Another December, another Royal Ballet Nutcracker: anything new to report? Not much, no. And for once that's probably the answer most people are hoping to hear...
The performance was sold out and very warmly applauded and I hope the Festival authorities will take notice, and schedule a similar programme in future years.
First thing to say is that it's a peach of a production, coherent, dramatically satisfying... It still feels fresh and vibrant... The three leads did well... Elsewhere it was a mix of good and ragged steps...
...though I don’t believe it’s a great work of art, there’s no denying that it’s fun.
But it was Rojo who really surprised me, with the most emotionally open performance I've ever seen from her. ...a swansong, indeed: what a way to go!
For Immediate Release The Royal Ballet’s Ryoichi Hirano and Alexander Campbell have been promoted to First Soloists in the recent Company promotions. Ryoichi, 28 from Japan, joined The Royal Ballet in 2002 and was promoted to Soloist in 2008. Sydney-born Alexander, 25, joined the Company as a Soloist at the beginning of this season . Congratulations also go to Beatriz Stix-Brunell, Claire...
Barry Wordsworth conducted the trimmed and re-ordered score as though it were great ballet music. If only.
'Sweet Violets', though over-ambitious, is the best stab at a psychologically complex narrative ballet the company has commissioned for years.