Sadler’s wells
Exhilarating – but also exhausting: ENB’s The Forsythe Programme reviewed
The first time I saw the work of Trajal Harrell I stomped out in a huff muttering about the waste…
What a joy to see some Merce Cunningham again
How salutary to encounter the cool cerebral elegance of Merce Cunningham’s choreography again. A figure at the heart of the…
I’ve had it with Pina Bausch
My patience with the cult of Pina Bausch is wearing paper thin. She was taken from us 16 years ago,…
Does Sadler’s Wells really need a lavish new building?
Arts Council England may be successfully clobbering the poor old genre of opera into the ground, but its sister art…
Deeply impressive and beautiful: Akram Khan’s Gigenis reviewed
After taking a wrong turn culminating in the misbegotten Frankenstein, Akram Khan has wisely returned to his original inspiration in…
I’m done with Hofesh Shechter
I think I’m through with Hofesh Shechter, and that’s a pity, because earlier work of his such as Political Mother…
Expressive and eloquent: Northern Ballet’s Three Short Ballets reviewed
Ballet companies have become dismally timid about exploring their 20th-century heritage: everything nowadays must be either box-fresh new or a…
How claims of cultural appropriation scuppered an acclaimed new ballet
On 14 March 2020 I was at Leeds Grand Theatre for the première of Northern Ballet’s Geisha. The curtains swung…
Welcome back to London City Ballet – but can they please change their name?
There’s sound thinking behind this summer’s resuscitation of London City Ballet – a medium-scale touring company popular in the 1980s…
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…
Stunts, gimmicks, tricks, hot air: snapshots from the edge of modern dance
This month I’ve been venturing into the further reaches of modern dance – obscure territory where I don’t feel particularly…
A solid evening’s entertainment: Rambert's Peaky Blinders ballet reviewed
Being of a squeamish sensibility and prejudiced by a low opinion of recent BBC drama, I can claim only a…
Touching, eclectic and exhilarating: Rambert Dance is in great shape
Rambert ages elegantly: it might just rank as the world’s oldest company devoted to modern dance (whatever that term might…
Why is dance so butch these days?
For an art form that once boldly set out to question conventional divisions of gender, ballet now seems to be…
Swings between violence and comedy: Pina Bausch's Kontakthof, at Sadler's Wells, reviewed
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
Velvet waistcoats, technicolour tulle and some very spangly harem pants — English National Ballet’s atelier must have been mighty busy…
The Nutcracker wasn’t always considered quite such a box of delights
The enduring appeal of The Nutcracker. The ballet wasn’t always considered quite such a box of delights
Zany and sensory-rich: Scottish Dance's Amethyst/TuTuMucky at The Place reviewed
The Barcelona-born choreographer Joan Clevillé has form for off-beat storytelling with a streak of sincerity. Before becoming artistic director of…
Skirt-swishing and stomach-dropping: Ukrainian Ballet Gala, at Sadler's Wells, reviewed
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
Last week I attended a dance performance in person for the first time since March last year. If you’d asked…
Jockeys suffer online abuse just like footballers
At least England’s defeat in the European Cup final has spared us the sight of Boris Johnson, who can scent…
Crystal Pite tore the house down: Royal Opera's 21st-Century Choreographers reviewed
The choreographers called on to get the nation’s dancers back on to the stage have as much to say about…
Gripping – if you skip the non-stop Yentobbing: Dancing Nation reviewed
Thank God for the fast-forward button. Sadler’s Wells had planned a tentative return to live performance last month but the…
Tranquil, silky and serene: Birmingham Royal Ballet’s Lazuli Sky reviewed
When Carlos Acosta was named artistic director of Birmingham Royal Ballet in January of this year, he announced ambitious plans…
