A fitting – and lovable – tribute to Frederick Ashton
I encountered Frederick Ashton at a dinner party shortly before he died in 1988. Frail and anxious, he clutched my…
Arresting and memorable: Compagnie Maguy Marin’s May B reviewed
Samuel Beckett was notoriously reluctant to let people muck about with his work, so it’s somewhat surprising to learn that…
There are passages of considerable eloquence in Royal Ballet’s The Winter’s Tale
There’s no escaping Christopher Wheeldon – a modest, amiable fellow from Yeovil of whom anyone’s mum would be proud. Reaching…
Don’t write off Hofesh Shechter – his new work is uniquely haunting
In 2010, when his thrillingly edgy and angry Political Mother delivered modern dance a winding punch right where it hurt,…
Choreographers! Enough with the reworkings of Carmen and Frankenstein!
Carmen and Frankenstein are without a doubt two of the most over-worked tropes in our culture, the myths of the…
Subtle, intriguing and inventive: Rambert’s Death Trap reviewed
Ben Duke belongs to a class of younger choreographers who have decided to flout the convention that dancers should remain…
Can everyone please shut up about Maria Callas?
Rupert Christiansen on the cult of Callas
Uninventive and far too polite: BRB’s Black Sabbath – The Ballet reviewed
Not being an aficionado of the heavy-metal genre, I snootily suspected that I would rather be standing in the rain…
Dancing feat
Aaron S. Watkin, an affable bearded Canadian, is the new artistic director of English National Ballet. He arrives from Dresden,…
Jumping for joy
One could soundly advise any choreographer to avoid music so transcendentally great in itself that dance can add nothing except…
50 not out
In 2015 Carlos Acosta announced his retirement from the Royal Ballet and the classical repertory. It seemed like the right…
The brutality of ballet
Despite #MeToo and the new resistance to male bullying, the dance world is still ferocious and unforgiving, writes Rupert Christiansen
Short of sparkle
Having been unexpectedly delighted by the Royal Ballet’s revival of Christopher Wheeldon’s Corybantic Games at Covent Garden last week, I…
Lost in space
My witty friend whispered that Wayne McGregor’s new ballet Untitled, 2023 put her in mind of Google HQ – it’s…
Snapshots from the edge
This month I’ve been venturing into the further reaches of modern dance – obscure territory where I don’t feel particularly…
