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UK / WEST END DANCE NEWS COVERAGE

The latest news on performances of Dance in UK / West End.

Review: STATE BALLET OF GEORGIA'S SWAN LAKE, London Coliseum
by Aliya Al-Hassan - August 29, 2024

It's a significant cultural moment for the State Ballet of Georgia, who come to London for the first time in their 175 year history to perform the iconic Swan Lake....

Matthew Bourne's New Adventures Announces The Return of DOORSTEP DUETS
by Blair Ingenthron - July 29, 2024

Matthew Bourne's New Adventures, in partnership with Farnham Maltings, has revealed the return of Doorstep Duets, touring to communities across the South-East this summer from 13 August to 10 September 2024....

Varna International Ballet Announces New UK Tour
by Blair Ingenthron - July 28, 2024

RG Live will present the return of the celebrated Varna International Ballet and Orchestra to the UK following a breathtaking debut tour in 2023. The company will visit 20 venues around the UK in 2025 with beloved classics Swan Lake, The Nutcracker and Romeo and Juliet....

Review: BEFORE I GO, Brixton House
by Matthew Paluch - July 18, 2024

Before I Go, first seen during the Brixton House's Housemates Festival in summer 2023, is a one hour work written by Tobi King Bakare that centres on Ajani, a young, black man who has issues with communication when it really matters....

Review: NATIONAL YOUTH DANCE COMPANY: WALL - OONA DOHERTY, Sadler's Wells
by Matthew Paluch - July 15, 2024

National Youth Dance Company has been running since 2013, and acts as “England’s Flagship youth dance company”, the brainchild of, and run by Sadler’s Wells. The (Guest) Artistic Directors read like a who’s who of present day contemporary dance royalty, and 23/24 sees Oona Doherty take up the presti...

Review: THE NEXT GENERATION FESTIVAL - RAMBERT SCHOOL, Royal Opera House
by Matthew Paluch - July 02, 2024

The Next Generation Festival continues at the Royal Opera House with Rambert School. The programme includes six new commissions for the third-year, graduate students, and the restaging of three Akram Khan works for the second-years....

Review: DEBUT SOUNDS: SOUND IN MOTION, Queen Elizabeth Hall
by Matthew Paluch - June 28, 2024

Debut Sounds: Sound in Motion is the London Philharmonic Orchestra’s annual concert showcasing the LPO’s Young Composers. The concept sees five composers and eight choreographers collaborating to create the final works shown, with the music played by musicians from the LPO Foyle Future Firsts Devel...

Review: THE NEXT GENERATION FESTIVAL: BUNDESJUGENDBALLETT, Royal Opera House
by Matthew Paluch - June 26, 2024

The Next Generation Festival continues at the Royal Opera House with two performances by the BundesJugendBallett AKA German National Youth Ballet. The group was founded by Hamburg Ballet director and chief choreographer, John Neumeier in 2011, and has been directed by Kevin Haigen since its inaugur...

Review: ACROBATIC SWAN LAKE, Sadler's Wells
by Franco Milazzo - June 24, 2024

Zhang Quan’s Acrobatic Swan Lake is so much more than its title suggests. The show originated in China in 2004 and, in the intervening decades, has travelled the world and was updated in 2019 under director Yan Hongxia. As choreographer and artistic director, Quan has created a work which seamlessly...

Review: THE NEW GENERATION FESTIVAL - THE ROYAL BALLET SCHOOL, Royal Opera House
by Matthew Paluch - June 20, 2024

The Next Generation Festival at the Royal Opera House continues with the first outing for The Royal Ballet School's annual performance dates...

Review: SWAN LAKE IN-THE-ROUND, Royal Albert Hall
by Vikki Jane Vile - June 14, 2024

Derek Deane’s Swan Lake has quite the reputation. First premiered in 1997 it became known for its corps de ballet of 60 swans (with freelancers hired to beef up ENB’s ranks) and then in 2010, a BBC documentary tracked its rehearsals and opening night, not always depicting everyone in the most flatte...

Review: ASHTON CELEBRATED - PROGRAMME 2, Royal Opera House
by Matthew Paluch - June 10, 2024

We're back for more Ashton, with a variation on the initial Royal Ballet programme...

Review: SARASOTA BALLET GALA - ASHTON WORLDWIDE, Royal Opera House
by Matthew Paluch - June 10, 2024

The final Ashton Worldwide bill at the Royal Opera House (23-24 season) was a Gala programme performed by the Sarasota Ballet in the Linbury Theatre...

Review: ASHTON CELEBRATED - PROGRAMME 1, Royal Opera House
by Matthew Paluch - June 07, 2024

The Ashton Worldwide (2024-2028) international festival continues at the Royal Opera House with the Royal Ballet on the mainstage in Ashton Celebrated. The company is performing two mixed bills with slight repertoire changes....

Review: SARASOTA BALLET - PROGRAMME 1, Royal Opera House
by Matthew Paluch - June 05, 2024

'wit, charm and elegance' are the words used to describe the work of Royal Ballet founding choreographer Sir Frederick Ashton (1904-1988). English ballet, or rather style wouldn't exist without him, so The Frederick Ashton Foundation have understandably instigated the Ashton Worldwide (2024-2028) in...

Review: ROMEO AND JULIET, Sadler's Wells
by Vikki Jane Vile - May 30, 2024

Leeds based Northern Ballet always pack a punch when they visit London every May, and this time was no different, with Massimo Moricone’s slick and captivating Romeo and Juliet. This year’s touring production held extra poignancy, with the costumes and set requiring full restoration and repair from ...

Review: EMERGING DANCER 2024, Sadler's Wells
by Vikki Jane Vile - May 25, 2024

English National Ballet’s Emerging Dancer award returned to Sadler’s Wells after a two year absence, with a unique opportunity for the most junior members of the company to shine. With his feet now firmly under the desk, Artistic Director Aaron S. Watkin hosted the evening, the first of his tenure, ...

Review: MAY B - COMPAGNIE MAGUY MARIN, Sadler's Wells
by Matthew Paluch - May 22, 2024

Marin is regarded as a major force in French modern dance, and one can understand why when appreciating the work's overall accomplished structuring…but that doesn't mean it will be an unequivocally enjoyable experience for all....

Review: THE WINTER'S TALE, Royal Opera House
by Franco Milazzo - May 06, 2024

Part violent psychodrama, part sunny romcom, The Winter’s Tale was not the most obvious of plays for the Royal Ballet to take on....

Review: CYCLES, Barbican Centre
by Franco Milazzo - May 02, 2024

With their new work Cycles, it is clear that Boy Blue are at something of a crossroads....

Review: THE SLEEPING BEAUTY, Sadler's Wells
by Matthew Paluch - April 25, 2024

Is there anything similar to The Sleeping Beauty overture? With Tchaikovsky filling the theatre with full-blown fairy tale drama - it's quite the opener. ...

Review: DANCE ON ENSEMBLE, Sadler's Wells
by Matthew Paluch - April 18, 2024

“When are we old? How can experience and embodied knowledge be brought into creative play? And what is the role of dance in questioning the idealisation of youth in our culture?” ...

Review: GISELLE: REMIX, Pleasance Theatre
by Franco Milazzo - April 15, 2024

Created by cabaret artist Jack Sears and Royal Ballet soloist Hannah Grennell, Giselle:Remix fuses dance and lip sync....

Review: THE POWER (OF) THE FRAGILE - MOHAMED TOUKABRI, Sadler's Wells
by Matthew Paluch - April 12, 2024

The Elixir Festival returns to Sadler’s Wells with the same, integral mission: “rethinking perceptions around dance and age.”...

Review: INTERNATIONAL DRAFT WORKS, Royal Opera House
by Matthew Paluch - April 11, 2024

The evening includes ten works and the premise is an important, and pressing one: where is ballet (as we know it) going…? ...

Review: THE VELVETEEN RABBIT, Sadler's Wells
by Louise Penn - April 08, 2024

The Velveteen Rabbit is a story which needs little introduction, and which retains wide appeal. This retelling by Ben Crompton for balletLORENT pops with life as a man reacquaints himself with childhood toys, notably a beloved rabbit. Aimed at a family audience, this is a delightful way to while awa...

Review: CALIFORNIA CONNECTIONS, Royal Opera House
by Matthew Paluch - March 22, 2024

Original programming continues at the Royal Opera House, Linbury Theatre with the ever original Yorke Dance Project...

Review: DANSES CONCERTANTES/DIFFERENT DRUMMER/REQUIEM, Royal Opera House
by Matthew Paluch - March 21, 2024

The entire evening confirms MacMillan’s scope as a choreographer, but we knew that already right? ...

Review: UNIVERSE: A DARK CRYSTAL ODYSSEY, Sadler's Wells
by Franco Milazzo - March 19, 2024

Getting to grips with what a mute medium like dance is trying to convey is never easy even when there is a recognisable concept like Jim Henson’s The Dark Crystal....

Review: AUTOBIOGRAPHY (V95 AND V96) - COMPANY WAYNE MCGREGOR, Sadler's Wells
by Matthew Paluch - March 13, 2024

Wayne McGregor has been working with digital intelligence in relation to creativity since 2017, and why not? This is the digital age after all. Who needs humans?!...

Review: NEW YORK CITY BALLET: MIXED BILL, Sadler's Wells
by Vikki Jane Vile - March 09, 2024

New York City Ballet are at Sadler’s Wells for the very first time, and returning to London for the first time since 2008 in a rare event for dance fans in the capital. Now under the direction of Jonathan Stafford, they arrive with a diverse quadruple bill, presumably designed to offer something for...

Review: SWAN LAKE, Royal Opera House
by Vikki Jane Vile - March 08, 2024

If you came for anything other than wall-to-wall superlatives for the Royal Ballet’s A-team and Liam Scarlett’s superior production of Swan Lake then you’ll be disappointed with this review, because yet again, for the fourth time in six years, ballet heaven is delivered with a side of perfection. It...

Review: HOW TO BUILD A UNIVERSE - EXTENDED PLAY (JAMAAL BURKMAR), The Place
by Matthew Paluch - March 04, 2024

From the outset, the word/concept heavy narration often doesn't relate to the disjointed movement being executed, so disconnection feels apparent...

Review: BALLET NATIONAL DE MARSEILLE: ROOMMATES, Queen Elizabeth Hall
by Franco Milazzo - March 02, 2024

With an eclectic programme including an immersive dreamscape, an intense two-hander and a revolutionary footstomper, the Ballet national de Marseille present a six-pack of impressive dance pieces....

Review: INK - DIMITRIS PAPAIOANNOU, Sadler's Wells
by Matthew Paluch - February 29, 2024

In the 2024 UK premiere of his 2020 work, INK, we see Papaioannou himself and Šuka Horn perform a “nightmarish manhunt…testing the limits of reality.”...

Review: NELKEN - TANZTHEATER WUPPERTAL PINA + BAUSCH TERRAIN BORIS CHARMATZ, Sadler's Wells
by Matthew Paluch - February 15, 2024

Some people only need one name: Cher, Madonna etc. In dance we have Pina - as in Bausch, the revered German dancer, choreographer and Director of Tanztheater Wuppertal until her death in 2009. ...

Review: DARK WITH EXCESSIVE BRIGHT, Royal Opera House
by Franco Milazzo - February 13, 2024

Appearing as part of their Festival of New Choreography, the Royal Ballet have partnered with the National Ballet of Canada for Dark With Excessive Bright, an extraordinarily intimate experiment which allows audience to experience the art form in a radical way....

Review: SÃO PAULO DANCE COMPANY, Sadler's Wells
by Matthew Paluch - February 12, 2024

Considering the São Paulo Dance Company was founded in 2008, it’s taken them 16 years to perform in the UK! But the wait is over. ...

Review: EMPOWER IN MOTION: A BALLET INCLUSIVE, Sadler's Wells
by Matthew Paluch - February 08, 2024

The entire evening was a poignant reminder of the power of dance. How it feels to do, and to watch, with all the work exuding expression, joy and freedom, which shouldn't be underestimated ...

Review: TESS, Peacock Theatre
by Franco Milazzo - February 02, 2024

Filled with a couple of operas’ worth of tragedy, Thomas Hardy’s Tess of the d’Urbervilles is not the likeliest source of inspiration for a dramatic circus show but Ockham's Razor are here to prove us wrong. ...




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