wed 25/12/2024

Dance reviews, news & interviews

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Theartsdesk

It all started on 09/09/09. That memorable date, September 9 2009, marked the debut of theartsdesk.com.It followed some hectic and intensive months when a disparate and eclectic team of arts and culture writers went ahead with an ambitious plan – to launch a dedicated internet site devoted to coverage of the UK arts scene.

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.

Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake, New Adventures,...

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...

Ballet Shoes, Olivier Theatre review - reimagined...

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...

Cinderella, Royal Ballet review - inspiring...

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...

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First Person: singer-songwriter Sam Amidon on working in Dingle with Teaċ Daṁsa on 'Nobodaddy'

Sam Amidon

Michael Keegan-Dolan’s mind-boggling total work of art arrives at Sadlers Wells this week

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

Jenny Gilbert

The dancer-choreographer goes epic in a show that unites South Asian dance styles

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

Helen Hawkins

Wayne McGregor's version of Margaret Atwood's dystopia needs a clearer map

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

Jenny Gilbert

Returning dancers from 13 African countries deliver celebrated vision with blistering force

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

Jenny Gilbert

An all-too-fleeting celebration of black and brown ballet talent that demands a reprise

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

Helen Hawkins

Pam Tanowitz's latest piece is a stunner that larkily subverts the rules

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

Jenny Gilbert

Yet again, Crystal Pite proves herself a ferocious creative force, alongside fellow Canadian exports James Kudelka and Emma Portner

Nobodaddy, Teaċ Daṁsa, Dublin Theatre Festival review - supernatural song and dance odyssey

David Nice

Michael Keegan-Dolan’s genius guides us through death, separation and loss

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Royal Ballet review - big, bold and ultimately brash

Jenny Gilbert

It may be box-office gold, but Christopher Wheeldon's adaptation fails to find a beating heart down the rabbit hole

Resurgence, London City Ballet, Sadler’s Wells review - the phoenix rises yet again

Jenny Gilbert

A new 14-strong company reviving a much-loved name is taking ballet to smaller theatres

The Mad Hatter's Tea Party, ZooNation, Linbury Theatre review - a joyous celebration of differentness

Jenny Gilbert

Kate Prince's hip hop take on Lewis Carroll is energetic, charming and moving by turns

Ballet Nights #006, Cadogan Hall review - a mixed bag of excellence

Jenny Gilbert

Gala enterprise, 12 months on, will be a stayer if it keeps up this level of excitement

theartsdesk Q&A: Nina Ananiashvili, founder of the State Ballet of Georgia

Ismene Brown

Bolshoi superstar who made her name in London returns with a new generation

Ashton Celebrated, Royal Ballet review - peerless delights from the master step-smith

Jenny Gilbert

A delicious triple bill kicks off a worldwide Fred-fest

Rocio Molina, Sadler's Wells Flamenco Festival review - mystery and dark magic, with a giggle

Jenny Gilbert

Annual Spanish showcase opens with a dancer intent on subversion by edgy games

The Winter's Tale, Royal Ballet review - what a story, and what a way to tell it!

Jenny Gilbert

A compelling case for ROH's ballet-friendly rebrand

All You Need Is Death review - a future folk horror classic

Justine Elias

Irish folkies seek a cursed ancient song in Paul Duane's impressive fiction debut

MacMillan Celebrated, Royal Ballet review - out of mothballs, three vintage works to marvel at

Jenny Gilbert

Less-known pieces spanning the career of a great choreographer underline his greatness

Carmen, English National Ballet review - lots of energy, even violence, but nothing new to say

Jenny Gilbert

Johan Inger's take on Carmen tries but fails to make a point about male violence

WAKE, National Stadium, Dublin review - a rainbow river of dance, song, and so much else

David Nice

THISISPOPBABY serves up a joyous tapestry of Ireland contemporary and traditional

Swan Lake, Royal Ballet review - grand, eloquent, superb

Jenny Gilbert

Liam Scarlett's fine refashioning returns for a third season, and looks better than ever

First Person: Ten Years On - Flamenco guitarist Paco Peña pays tribute to his friend, the late, great Paco de Lucía

Paco Peña

On the 10th anniversary of his death, memories of the prodigious musician who broadened the reach of flamenco into jazz and beyond

Dance for Ukraine Gala, London Palladium review - a second rich helping of international dancers

Helen Hawkins

Ivan Putrov's latest gala was a satisfying mix of stars and young hopefuls

Nelken: A Piece by Pina Bausch, Sadler's Wells review - welcome return for an indelible classic

Helen Hawkins

A new generation of gifted performers for us to get to know

Footnote: a brief history of dance in Britain

Britain's reputation as one of the world's great ballet nations has been swiftly won, as home-grown classical ballet started here only in the 1930s. Yet within 30 years the Royal Ballet was recognised as the equal of the greatest and oldest companies in France, Russia or Italy. Now the extraordinary range in British dance from classical ballet to contemporary dance-theatre, from experimental new choreography in small spaces to mass arena-ballet spectaculars, can't be matched in the US or Russia, where nothing like the Arts Council subsidy system exists to encourage new work.

Fonteyn_OndineWhile foreign stars have long been adored by British audiences, from Anna Pavlova and Rudolf Nureyev to Sylvie Guillem, the British ballet and dance movements were offspring of the movement towards a national subsidised theatre. This was first activated in the Thirties by Lilian Baylis and Ninette de Valois in a tie-up between the Old Vic and Sadler's Wells, and led to the founding of what became the Royal Ballet, English National Opera and the National Theatre. From 1926 Marie Rambert's Ballet Club operated out of the tiny Mercury Theatre, Notting Hill, a creative crucible producing early stars such as choreographer Frederick Ashton and ballerina Alicia Markova and which eventually grew into Ballet Rambert and today's Rambert Dance. From all these roots developed Sadlers Wells Theatre Ballet (now Birmingham Royal Ballet), London Festival Ballet (now English National Ballet), and Western Theatre Ballet which became Scottish Ballet.

Margot Fonteyn's dominance in the post-war ballet scene (pictured in Ashton's Ondine) and the granting of a Royal charter in 1956 to the Royal Ballet and its school brought the "English ballet" world renown, massively increased when Soviet star Rudolf Nureyev defected from the Kirov Ballet in 1961 and formed with Fonteyn the most iconic partnership in dance history.

The Sixties ballet boom was complemented by the introduction of American abstract modern dance to London, and a mushrooming of independent modern choreographers drawing on fashion and club music (Michael Clark), art and classical music (Richard Alston), movies (Matthew Bourne) and science (Wayne McGregor). Hip-hop, salsa and TV dance shows have recently given a dynamic new twist to contemporary dance. The Arts Desk offers the fastest overnight reviews and ticket booking links for last night's openings, as well as the most thoughtful close-up interviews with major creative figures and performers. Our critics include Ismene Brown, Judith Flanders, David Nice, Matt Wolf and James Woodall

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