
2017 National Dance Awards – Announcement of Nominations
The Dance Section of the Critics’ Circle is pleased to announce the nominations for the 18th National Dance Awards…

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 – 3 casts in The Dream, Symphonic Variations, Marguerite and Armand – London
★★★★✰ In Marguerite and Armand the 3 casts reviewed are Zenaida Yanowsky and Roberto Bolle, Alessandra Ferri and Federico Bonelli, Natalia Osipova and Valdimir Shklyarov.

Royal Ballet – Symphonic Dances (premiere), The Vertiginous Thrill of Exactitude, Tarantella, Strapless – London
★★★★✰ Symphonic Dances is Scarlett’s farewell portrait of Yanowsky. Like her, the ballet is big and bold, beautiful and elusive.

Royal Ballet – Flight Pattern (premiere), After the Rain, The Human Seasons – London
Flight Pattern: ★★★★★, After the Rain: ★★★✰✰, Human Seasons: ★★✰✰✰. Like Gorecki, Crystal Pite has created a memorable and moving work full of meaning…

Royal Ballet – The Nutcracker – London
★★★★★ The Royal Ballet’s Nutcracker has undergone various changes since its gala premiere in 1984, not least in the central roles of Clara and Drosselmeyer…

New English Ballet Theatre – Quint-Essential bill of Five New Ballets – London
★★★✰✰ Some of these pieces are more successful than others but the dancers seize the opportunities with relish…

Royal Ballet – Giselle – London
★★★★✰ Lamb’s mad scene is all the more effective by starting as though she’s a broken porcelain doll, uncomprehending. She retreats into her herself in disbelief at Albrecht’s treachery.

Royal Ballet – Wheeldon bill: Strapless, After the Rain, Within the Golden Hour – London
★★★✰✰ Wheeldon’s talents are on display, as well as the Royal Ballet’s dancers. A pity, then, that Strapless has been exposed without previews to sort out its weaknesses.

Royal Ballet – Monotones I & II, The Two Pigeons – London
Monotones II: Audiences are now accustomed to the manic acrobatic contortions of modern choreography, so it is rewarding to see the rigour with which the three performers (Marianela Nunez, Valeri Hristov and Edward Watson) control their elasticity.

Royal Ballet – Raven Girl, Connectome – London
In this revival of Wayne McGregor’s Raven Girl, Watson becomes something more than a postman…

Natalia Osipova and Ivan Vasiliev – Solo for Two: Zeitgeist, Mozart & Salieri, Facada – New York
Dancers should be allowed to have fun, especially when they’ve worked as hard as Ivan Vasiliev and Natalia Osipova…

Ardani 25 Dance Gala – Zeitgeist, Tristesse, Facada – London
…it certainly showed that Osipova is a lightning bolt which can illuminate and energise everything she appears in.

Natalia Osipova, Ivan Vasiliev, Edward Watson and Marcelo Gomes star in ‘Ardani 25 Dance Gala’. 17/18 July 2015, London Coliseum
Natalia Osipova, Ivan Vasiliev, Edward Watson and Marcelo Gomes star in ARDANI 25 DANCE GALA Friday 17th and Saturday 18th July 2015, London Coliseum This summer’s hot dance ticket will be the ARDANI…

Royal Ballet – Draft Works 2015 – London
This year‘s highlight was an exuberant piece from Marcelino Sambé which provided a lively closer to an otherwise rather downbeat programme.