Memorable Performances of 2018 – London
Semperoper Ballett Dresden were another new visitor in the summer, with a programme of Forsythe works, some not seen here before. But Forsythe is a theme this year in himself.
2018 National Dance Awards – Announcement of Nominations
The Dance Section of the Critics’ Circle is pleased to announce the nominations for the 19th National Dance Awards…
Northern Ballet – Jane Eyre – London
★★★✰✰ This excellent ballet is clearly a “keeper” and a work I would like to see again and again.
Royal Danish Ballet – The Queen of Spades – Copenhagen
★★★✰✰ The good news is that Queen of Spades is a good-looking crowd pleaser and the RDB dancers look fantastic in it – I can’t emphasise that enough. Also good that it’s a step up from his last commission, Frankenstein – thank goodness, really.
Interview – Annabelle Lopez Ochoa on creating Guernica for SF Ballet’s Unbound Festival
“I don’t know if we can make the world a better place, but we can definitely have the audience think about it.”
San Francisco Ballet – Unbound Festival Program B: works by Myles Thatcher, Cathy Marston, David Dawson – San Francisco
★★★✰✰ Snowblind is a great narrative ballet – the source material is striking and Marston’s interpretation of it, equally so.
Ballet Black – The Suit, A Dream Within a Midsummer Night’s Dream – London
★★★★★ Another year and another terrific bill from Ballet Black, mixing two strong and sophisticated works from much sought after international choreographers. …one of the company’s finest nights.
Gallery – Ballet Black in The Suit and A Dream Within a Midsummer Night’s Dream
Gallery by Dave Morgan…
Royal Danish Ballet – Dangerous Liaisons (premiere) – Copenhagen
★★★★✰ …I was again struck by just how effortlessly a story can be communicated and emotions laid bare by ballet – it was a triumph.
Northern Ballet – Casanova – Leeds
★★★★✰ This is Northern Ballet firing on all dramatic cylinders – a fine show made great by the entire company.
Interview – Mara Galeazzi on Woolf Works, her wider career and dancing on…
She found that she came back to perform with the company she left five years ago with a different approach. ‘I know more about why I love to perform…’
Memorable Performances of 2016 – London
Lynette Halewood with her personal selection of London dance memories from the past year…
2016 National Dance Awards – Announcement of Nominations
The Dance Section of the Critics’ Circle is pleased to announce the nominations for the 17th National Dance Awards,
Birmingham Royal Ballet: Taming of the Shrew (Birmingham) and Northern Ballet: Jane Eyre (Leicester)
★★★✰✰ for BRB’s troublesome fun packed Taming of the Shrew and ★★★★✰ Northern Ballet’s Jane Eyre with Hannah Bateman in the lead…
Northern Ballet – Jane Eyre – London
★★★★✰ …their final duet, when Rochester is blinded and broken, is truly touching…
Northern Ballet – Jane Eyre – Doncaster
★★★★✰ It’s actually the best new narrative work I’ve seen Northern Ballet do in many years.
English National Ballet – She Said: Broken Wings, M-Dao, Fantastic Beings – London
★★★✰✰ Rojo has succeeded in securing one really stimulating work in Broken Wings.
Obituary: David Drew, Royal Ballet Principal, with the company 56 years
David Drew, for 56 years a member of The Royal Ballet, has died after a long battle with illness. He described himself as one of a ‘bridge generation’ of dancers. The longevity of his career meant that he worked with many figures from the Ballets Russees – but also taught many dancers and choreographers working today.
Gwyn Emberton Dance – My People – London
My People is a mature work, developed in close collaboration with the composers, that deserves to be widely seen.
