Dance
Scarlet women
A Covent Garden barfly was scanning her programme during the first interval: ‘Oh yes, the one about the gynaecologist.’ She…
The unhappy Prince
A tragic flaw is one thing — every hero should have one — but Mayerling’s Rudolf, a syphilitic drug addict…
First Bourne
‘Modern’ dance was no laughing matter in 1987. Harold King, director of the now-defunct London City Ballet, cattily typified it…
Dazzled by Balanchine
A trio of dazzling scores, the soft clack of gemstones on hips and collarbones, a glittering parure of solos, duets…
Bravura bling
There was a nasty sound of pens being sharpened last week as Royal Ballet runaway Sergei Polunin prepared to unveil…
Mirror, mirror
The exit signs were switched off and the stalls were in utter darkness. One by one, 15 invisible dancers, their…
The Bourne identity
From a film about ballet to a ballet about film. In reworking the 1948 Powell and Pressburger classic The Red…
The Bourne identity
From a film about ballet to a ballet about film. In reworking the 1948 Powell and Pressburger classic The Red…
Mistaken identity
The Romanovs were a hot topic in 1967: it was the 50th anniversary of the Russian Revolution, memories of Ingrid…
Mistaken identity
The Romanovs were a hot topic in 1967: it was the 50th anniversary of the Russian Revolution, memories of Ingrid…
Yes, he Khan
Giselle endures in the collective imagination as a charming, sorrowful, supernatural love story. Premièred in Paris in 1841, this keystone…
Yes, he Khan
Giselle endures in the collective imagination as a charming, sorrowful, supernatural love story. Premièred in Paris in 1841, this keystone…
Let the good times roll
For a regular dancegoer in New York City, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater seasons arrive with the comforting predictability…
Let the good times roll
For a regular dancegoer in New York City, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater seasons arrive with the comforting predictability…
What’s the buzz?
Crystal Pite, the Canadian dancemaker who combines intellectual, emotional and physical intelligence in rare degree, is classically trained, but her…
What’s the buzz?
Crystal Pite, the Canadian dancemaker who combines intellectual, emotional and physical intelligence in rare degree, is classically trained, but her…
Young at heart
The second half of the Bolshoi tour brought much fresher fare than the first: following the ubiquitous warhorses Don Quixote…
Young at heart
The second half of the Bolshoi tour brought much fresher fare than the first: following the ubiquitous warhorses Don Quixote…
Poetry in motion
For almost 60 years, whatever the political weather, Russia and Britain have maintained mutually assured respect as far as ballet…
Poetry in motion
For almost 60 years, whatever the political weather, Russia and Britain have maintained mutually assured respect as far as ballet…
All in the mind
Mark Morris, the most musically communicative and naturally lyrical of choreographers of the past 30 years (and an absentee from…
All in the mind
Mark Morris, the most musically communicative and naturally lyrical of choreographers of the past 30 years (and an absentee from…
Double trouble
The Bolshoi Ballet’s wunderkind ballerina Natalia Osipova defied received wisdom when, in 2012, she cast off from the great Moscow…
Double trouble
The Bolshoi Ballet’s wunderkind ballerina Natalia Osipova defied received wisdom when, in 2012, she cast off from the great Moscow…
Moor four
Paradoxically, some ballet masterworks absolutely depend on tiptop performing to demonstrate how great they are. If they don’t get it,…
