dance

Dance landscape shrinks and shifts nationwide in Arts Council cuts

Ismene Brown Wednesday, 30 March 2011

The Arts Council’s rearrangement of the dance world by its handling of its 15 per cent subsidy cut shows no change in its persistence in choosing to prefer bureaucratic structures to talent. The 15 per cent cut has been handed straight over to all the ballet companies, with no evidence of strategic thinking about the implications for numbers of dancers, productions or programming.

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Birmingham Royal Ballet, 2011-12 Season

Ismene Brown Thursday, 24 March 2011

Family-favourite storyballets dominate Birmingham Royal Ballet's 2011-12 season, as the company looks forward to a stringent year. Beauty and Beast, Hobson's Choice and Far From the Madding Crowd, three of director David Bintley's full-lengthers, and the iconic Peter Wright Nutcracker for Christmas aim to be money-spinners for three mixed programmes, culminating in a Bintley creation next summer on an athletic theme to chime with the 2012 Olympics.

Today ballerinas dance for Japanese tsunami

Ismene Brown Sunday, 20 March 2011

The Royal Ballet’s sizeable Japanese contingent of dancers, headed by former principal ballerina Miyako Yoshida, are staging a concert performance of ballet at 4pm today in aid of the Japanese Tsunami Appeal. All tickets are £20, to pay in cash on the door at arrival at the Linbury Studio Theatre, Royal Opera House. Yoshida, former Principal, hopes to be joined on stage by Yuhui Choe, Valeri Hristov, Hikaru Kobayashi, Ryoichi Hirano, Kenta Kura, Akane Takada and students from the Royal Academy...

Bolshoi leader quits in porn scandal

Ismene Brown Wednesday, 16 March 2011

Still reconstructing: The Bolshoi Theatre is due to reopen in October

The Bolshoi Ballet's company manager, Gennady Yanin, has resigned after pornographic pictures appeared on the internet that were linked to him, just as he was being considered to take on the job of artistic director, which became vacant that day. As a result the world's largest ballet company is now leaderless, with an inexperienced dancer appointed to hold the fort. SEE LATEST NEWS:...

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Now McCartney writes a ballet...

Ismene Brown Thursday, 24 February 2011

Hot on the heels of the Pet Shop Boys’ foray into ballet for Sadler’s Wells next month, it’s revealed that Sir Paul McCartney has composed a ballet for New York City Ballet, a love story called Ocean’s Kingdom.

Scheduled to premiere on 22 September, the four-act ballet so far has 45 minutes of music, and a cast of around 40. The New York Times reports that the first act is having its first run-through next Thursday at the Lincoln Center, NYCB’s home stage.

Bolshoi prima and violinist Repin have baby

Ismene Brown Friday, 18 February 2011

Proud parents: Ballerina Svetlana Zakharova and violinist Vadim Repin are Russian megastars

The Bolshoi Ballet’s prima ballerina Svetlana Zakharova gave birth in Moscow yesterday to a baby girl, the child of the celebrated violinist Vadim Repin. Weighing 3.1 kilograms, the baby is named Anna.

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Specialist Dance Books shop finally closes

Ismene Brown Thursday, 06 January 2011

The specialist book supplier Dance Books is finally closing up, due to the ill health of its longtime proprietor. David Leonard’s little shop long embellished Cecil Court, one of the alleys of literature off Charing Cross Road, London, until 10 years ago he moved out to a former bakery in Hampshire focusing on publishing Dance Now, the last serious dance magazine of ideas, and mail order books retail.

Boxing Day Bloat: theartsdesk recommends

theartsdesk Saturday, 25 December 2010

Yesterday was yesterday. Today there's the rest of the week. What are the options? You could go to the shops and exchange all your presents, or you could pursue something more in the cultural line. To which end, theartsdesk is delighted to propose some suggestions. Our writers strongly recommend that you do one or more of the following while opportunity knocks.

ENGLAND

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Anna Karenina still leads Mariinsky Ballet's tour

Ismene Brown Tuesday, 14 December 2010

The Mariinsky's 'Firebird': On a Fokine triple bill with Sheherazade and Chopiniana

True to form the Mariinsky Ballet has already made programme changes for its Covent Garden visit next summer, not a fortnight after announcing its tour on 3 December. But we're used to it and it's all to the good. Substituting Don Quixote for the Lavrovsky ...

Curiouser and curiouser: snubbed Scottish Ballet chief bites back

Ismene Brown Tuesday, 09 November 2010

Ashley Page: 'Leaving Scottish Ballet in 2012 with great sadness and regret'

Scottish Ballet’s artistic director Ashley Page yesterday angrily made clear that when he leaves the company in 2012 it will be against his wishes. Last Thursday the company issued an emotionless brief statement that Page had “felt he was unable to accept” an extension to his contract, which ends after 10 years' work in 2012.