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.
Gallery – Royal Ballet Merce Cunningham celebration – works by Cunningham, Ashton and Pam Tanowitz
Featuring works by Merce Cunningham, Frederick Ashton and Pam Tanowitz. Gallery by Foteini Christofilopoulou…
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.
5 Questions to Sarah Lamb, Royal Ballet Principal, about dancing Kenneth MacMillan’s Manon…
The Royal Ballet 2019/20 season opens on Wednesday 2 October with one of Kenneth MacMillan’s masterworks – Manon. Dancing that night will be Sarah Lamb – time to catch up with her we thought…
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.
New York City Ballet – Balanchine + Wheeldon bill & Jewels – New York
★★★★✰ It makes a noticeable difference when Litton, music director of the company, is in the pit; the orchestra has presence and sings, providing a convincing counterpart for the dancing.
New English Ballet Theatre – New Works – London
★★★✰✰ In the event, the levels of polish and invention were quite remarkable given the circumstances.
RB, ABT, NYCB & NYTB dancers at the Joyce Ballet Festival – Prog C, curated by Jean-Marc Puissant – New York
★★★★✰ Starwise, Bejart’s Wayfarer bumps this program from two stars to four.
RB, NBoC & ABT dancers at the Joyce Ballet Festival – Prog B, curated by Lauren Cuthbertson – New York
★★✰✰✰ I hadn’t seen much of the well-regarded Cuthbertson, so I was looking forward to this chance to get to know her (she appeared in four of five pieces), as well as the not-always-dubious introduction to new works by new choreographers…
Royal Ballet dancers at the Joyce Ballet Festival – Program A, An Evening of Solos and Duets – New York
★★★✰✰ Program A consisted of a string of solos and duets representing a slice of the company’s choreographic trajectory, from Frederick Ashton through Kenneth MacMillan to Liam Scarlett, Wayne McGregor, and Charlotte Edmonds.
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 – Holland Park bill (mainly Upper School) – London
★★★★✰ The show overall gave us a good slice of what ballet is in 2019, and just how adaptable the students need to be these days – exciting times for them and exciting for us in the audience as well.
5 Questions to Iain Mackay, Director of Yorkshire Ballet Seminars
This years Yorkshire Ballet Seminars take place from 13 July to 2 August 2019 – time for a word with Director Iain Mackay about what makes them so special and his plans…
ROH Young Talent Festival Symposium on Exposure, Access and Opportunity
The Young Talent Festival at London’s Royal Opera House included an important Symposium, hosted by Theresa Ruth Howard, under the title “Exposure, Access and Opportunity: Exploring the Cultural Barriers to Ballet.” Deborah Weiss with a comprehensive report on a stimulating event…
Dutch National Ballet Junior Company – ROH, Young Talent Festival, Quint bill – London
★★★✰✰ Dutch National Ballet Junior Company at the ROH Young Talent Festival with 5 works – No Time Before Time, Fuse, What Got You Here, Fingers in the Air and In The Future.
Royal Ballet School – ROH, Young Talent Festival, mixed bill – London
★★★★✰ Royal Ballet School at the ROH Young Talent Festival with a mixed bill of over 10, new and old works…
Norwegian National Ballet 2 – ROH, Young Talent Festival, Quint Bill – London
★★★✰✰ Norwegian National Ballet 2 at the ROH Young Talent Festival with 5 works – Departures, Valse-Fantaisie, Pas de Sept from A Folk Tale, Some See Stages, Left from Write
Royal Ballet – Margot Fonteyn, A Celebration – London
★★★★✰ The Royal Ballet did themselves a lot of good with the last new bill of the season – a one-off celebration of Margot Fonteyn. There was much to be reminded of and be proud of.
Gallery – Royal Ballet in The Firebird, A Month in the Country, Symphony in C
Gallery by Foteini Christofilopoulou…
San Francisco Ballet – Your Flesh Shall Be a Great Poem, Bound To, Anima Animus – London
★★★★✰ It’s been a treat to see so much new work made specifically for a company. The dancers are free, unburdened by the weight of history and expectation, with no comparisons to be made to famous past performers or interpretations. It’s all theirs.
