wed 30/04/2025

dance

Nutcracker, English National Ballet, Coliseum review - Tchaikovsky and his sweet tooth rule supreme

Jenny Gilbert

No new production of a beloved old ballet can please everyone, and there is none more beloved, or more frequently produced, than The Nutcracker. English National Ballet has staked its identity on performing Tchaikovsky’s last, most hummable and most festive ballet every Christmas since 1950, turning out a fresh reading every few years.

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Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake, New Adventures, Sadler's Wells review - 30 years on, as bold and brilliant as ever

Helen Hawkins

How do you refresh a masterpiece? Bringing back his first and still greatest hit, Swan Lake, Matthew Bourne seems to have changed only minor details since its 1995 premiere at Sadler’s Wells. Its core brilliance is untouched.

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Ballet Shoes, Olivier Theatre review - reimagined classic with a lively contemporary feel

Helen Hawkins

Those with treasured battered copies of Noel Streatfield’s 1936 story of three young adopted sisters in pre-war London may have thrilled to the idea of a version coming to the National Theatre. But be warned: jolly though it is, it’s not the story of stagestruck pre-war Londoners you know.

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Cinderella, Royal Ballet review - inspiring dancing, but not quite casting the desired spell

Helen Hawkins

Romeo and Juliet or Cinderella? Prokofiev’s two great scores have provided the Royal Ballet with a pair of popular hits, though Macmillan’s R&J has probably been the bigger draw, its Capulets ball music sampled everywhere from TV commercials to Sunderland FC’s pre-match stadium anthem.

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Akram Khan, GIGENIS, Sadler’s Wells review - now 50, Khan returns to his roots

Jenny Gilbert

London-born Akram Khan has come a long way in a 35-year career. He performed as a young teen in Peter Brook’s production of The Mahabharata, then progressed to dance training first in kathak then in contemporary dance.

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Maddaddam, Royal Ballet review - superb dancing in a confusing frame

Helen Hawkins

Valiant souls who have recently read the Margaret Atwood trilogy on which this new Wayne McGregor piece for the Royal Ballet is based will be at home with its time-shifting eco-sci-fi narrative. The rest of us, not so much.

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Pina Bausch’s The Rite of Spring/common ground[s], Sadler’s Wells review - raw and devastating

Jenny Gilbert

It takes a lot to make an audience not want to head to the bar at the interval. But the preparation of the stage floor for The Rite of Spring in the version by Pina Bausch is a piece of theatre in itself, and many at Sadler’s Wells couldn’t tear themselves away.

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Legacy, Linbury Theatre review - an exceptional display of black dance prowess

Jenny Gilbert

In the foyer of the Linbury Theatre is an exhibition which gives a very upbeat account of the presence of black dancers in British ballet. Photographs dating back to the 1950s, 60s and 70s show practitioners of extraordinary physicality and verve, with wide, confident smiles.

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Encounters, Royal Ballet review - exciting mixed bill with a gem of a premiere

Helen Hawkins

In 2022, the American choreographer Pam Tanowitz made a duet on Royal Ballet principals William Bracewell and Anna Rose O’Sullivan, which they performed at the company’s Diamond Celebration. That piece has now evolved into a true gem.

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National Ballet of Canada, Sadler's Wells review - see this, and know what dance can do

Jenny Gilbert

What to expect of the National Ballet of Canada since its last London visit 11 years ago? Dance with an eco-message, a world-peace message, or more visible diversity on stage?

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