Sara Veale

Swings between violence and comedy: Pina Bausch's Kontakthof, at Sadler's Wells, reviewed

26 February 2022 9:00 am

When you take in the richness of a Pina Bausch production — the redolent staging, the eloquent, eccentric twists of…

Rojo’s choreographic updating is a visual feast: English National Ballet's Raymonda reviewed

29 January 2022 9:00 am

Velvet waistcoats, technicolour tulle and some very spangly harem pants — English National Ballet’s atelier must have been mighty busy…

Zany and sensory-rich: Scottish Dance's Amethyst/TuTuMucky at The Place reviewed

4 December 2021 9:00 am

The Barcelona-born choreographer Joan Clevillé has form for off-beat storytelling with a streak of sincerity. Before becoming artistic director of…

Richly layered and intricate: Royal Ballet's The Dante Project reviewed

30 October 2021 9:00 am

Where does the artist end and their work begin? Like 2015’s Woolf Works, Wayne McGregor’s new ballet swirls creator and…

Skirt-swishing and stomach-dropping: Ukrainian Ballet Gala, at Sadler's Wells, reviewed

25 September 2021 9:00 am

Like musical supergroups and Olympic basketball teams, ballet galas tend to prize individual gifts over group cohesion. A recent one…

Swaggerific display of pumping chests and crotch-grabbing struts: NYDC's Speak Volumes reviewed

31 July 2021 9:00 am

Last week I attended a dance performance in person for the first time since March last year. If you’d asked…

An awesome and hilarious display: Rambert's Rooms reviewed

17 April 2021 9:00 am

Social distancing continues to put the kibosh on large-scale productions, but Jo Stromgren has a nifty workaround in Rooms, which…

Zippy and stylish, with a glint of mischief: William Forsythe’s The Barre Project reviewed

3 April 2021 9:00 am

In the early Noughties there was a Hollywood subgenre (by which I mean a few cult movies, each with terrible…

Tranquil, silky and serene: Birmingham Royal Ballet’s Lazuli Sky reviewed

7 November 2020 9:00 am

When Carlos Acosta was named artistic director of Birmingham Royal Ballet in January of this year, he announced ambitious plans…

Vigour and verve from a unique new Rite of Spring: Dancing at Dusk reviewed

8 August 2020 9:00 am

Dancing at Dusk captures the final rehearsal of a new version of Pina Bausch’s The Rite of Spring. It’s only…

Sensual and silky: the Royal Ballet returns to Covent Garden

27 June 2020 9:00 am

Wayne McGregor’s Morgen! and Frederick Ashton’s Dance of the Blessed Spirits are the first pieces of live dance — streamed…

The genius of Martha Graham

30 May 2020 9:00 am

If eight weeks in lockdown have brought out my baser impulses (biscuits by the sleeve, total renunciation of waistbands), it’s…

Watching dance online is an advantage, not a concession: BalletBoyz – Deluxe reviewed

11 April 2020 9:00 am

Another day in isolation, another bid to find joy in my lone state-sanctioned walk. (Pro tip: stay out longer than…

A bruising encounter: Pina Bausch's Bluebeard reviewed

29 February 2020 9:00 am

Pina Bausch’s best work always hovered between the familiar and the unknown. The late choreographer revelled in borders and thresholds,…

Rambert's latest uses the migrant crisis for superficial intrigue: Aisha and Abhaya reviewed

8 February 2020 9:00 am

The January dance stage can be a site of naked contrition. Like a tippler grasping at green juice after a…