thu 06/02/2025

dance

Ghost Dances: Rambert, Sadler's Wells review - vital and joyfully precise dancing

Jenny Gilbert

There is a South American theme to Rambert’s latest triple bill, two new commissions made to chime with an oldie but goldie, the rhythms of Latin social dances linking all three.

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Mayerling, Royal Ballet review - 'every ballet fan should see this'

Hanna Weibye

Sure, there are things not to like about Kenneth MacMillan's Mayerling. Confusing plot. Plethora of characters. Unsympathetic (anti-)hero. Borderline melodramatic choreography. Tense, scary dénouement. But to be at the Royal Opera House last night was to be convinced that Mayerling's merits far outweigh its demerits.

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Betroffenheit, Crystal Pite & Jonathon Young, Sadler's Wells

Sanjoy Roy

Where does my voice come from? Whose is my body? It’s apt that these questions run deep through a work that was created jointly by an actor, Jonathon Young, and a choreographer, Crystal Pite.

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Matthew Bourne's Early Adventures, Sadler's Wells

Hanna Weibye

Not every artist attains the kind of status that will allow their early works to be revived – or, when revived, greeted with commercial and critical success. This is something of a shame for those of us with a historical mindset who like seeing where an artist has come from and how they have developed.

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Balanchine's Jewels, Royal Ballet

Hanna Weibye

Balanchine's Jewels is catnip to dedicated ballet lovers.

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Pina Bausch's Rite of Spring, English National Ballet, Sadler's Wells

Hanna Weibye

Is English National Ballet's current predilection for acquiring European repertoire some kind of anti-Brexit statement, or just smart brand positioning?

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Crystal Pite, Flight Pattern, Royal Ballet

Hanna Weibye

Can thirty minutes of contemporary ballet say something meaningful about the modern refugee crisis? It has been the surprise of the season to find myself asking this question not once, but twice, at the Royal Ballet.

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Project Polunin, Sadler's Wells

Katie Colombus

This is the comeback after the comeback-that-never-was. It's the anticipated full stage ballet after the hugely popular Youtube video. It's the press waiting to see if ballet's bad boy will do something wild. It's the fans waiting to see if Sergei Polunin really will be the second coming (he's often hailed as the modern day Nureyev). Pamela Anderson is in the audience.

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Tree of Codes, Wayne McGregor, Sadler's Wells

Katie Colombus

Tree of Codes is a work made from a work made from a work.

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FLA.CO.MEN, Israel Galván, Sadler's Wells

Hanna Weibye

Before this Sadler's Wells Flamenco Festival-opening performance of Israel Galván's show FLA.CO.MEN, my guest wanted to know what the show would be like.

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