dance
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Royal Ballet review - a feast of visual delightsThursday, 28 September 2017
I can imagine Monica Mason, the artistic director who commissioned Christopher Wheeldon's 2011 Alice, feeling pretty pleased with herself as she looked around the Covent Garden auditorium last night at an audience buzzing with excitement for the first performance of... Read more... |
Akram Khan's Giselle, Sadler's Wells review - the migrant crisis in a ballet thrillerThursday, 21 September 2017
Of the many good reasons for seeing Akram Khan’s 2016 remake of Giselle – his work is often a headline event, for one – the most compelling is the company performing it. English National Ballet used to be the poor relation of its plusher sister national flagship in WC2. Not any more. Read more... |
La Bayadère, Mariinsky Ballet review - a parade of delightsSaturday, 12 August 2017
There are half as many performances of La Bayadère in this Mariinsky tour as performances of Swan Lake (four vs eight). Read more... |
Contrasts, Mariinsky Ballet review - company shows off range of its powersThursday, 10 August 2017
There are two approaches to a triple bill: make all three pieces similar so you get one crowd with definite tastes, or make them very different so you have a chance of pleasing everyone. The Contrasts bill that the Mariinsky ballet showed at the Royal Opera House was, as its title suggests, firmly in the latter camp. Read more... |
Swan Lake, Mariinsky Ballet review - Xander Parish lacks the spark of wildfireFriday, 28 July 2017
It's a Cinderella story: Xander Parish was plucked from obscurity in the Royal Ballet corps and trained by the Mariinsky to dance the greatest roles in the repertoire. Read more... |
Don Quixote, Mariinsky Ballet review - gentle charm, impressive principalsTuesday, 25 July 2017
One of the most Russian things you can do in ballet is dance Don Quixote, which is 100 percent set in Spain. Don't think too hard about it, and definitely don't think too hard about the plot (which is barely there). Read more... |
Scottish Ballet, Sadler's Wells review - striking and memorable danceFriday, 09 June 2017
Years ago, MC14/22 (Ceci est mon corps), the Angelin Preljoçaj piece with which this Scottish Ballet double bill opens, made a deep impression on Christopher Hampson. Read more... |
Ashton triple bill, Royal Ballet review – fond farewell to Zenaida YanowskySaturday, 03 June 2017
Nicely covering the many bases of Frederick Ashton's genius, the Royal Ballet triple bill which opened last night is a chance to see both the company and its founder choreographer on top form. Read more... |
m¡longa, Brighton Festival review - sensual tango explosionSaturday, 20 May 2017
Watching tango dancers Gisela Galeassi and Nikito Cornejo own the apron of the stage during the second half of m¡longa, the brain finds it difficult to process what the eyes are seeing. The pair seem to be one writhing, dark-toned dervish of jutting, sensual, passionate movement. Back and forth they go, he spinning her round his body like a silk scarf, fluid as mercury; her feet attacking the stage, staccato, kicking out, kicking down, so fast it really is the proverbial blur. Nigh... Read more... |
Symphonic Dances, Royal Ballet review - a truly interesting creationFriday, 19 May 2017
Liam Scarlett must be worked off his feet. Just at the Royal Ballet, he made a full-length work, Frankenstein, last year and is currently working on a new Swan Lake; and now last night he has premiered a new abstract work, Symphonic Dances at the Royal Opera House. Read more... |
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