October 2011
Fabulous Beast and Liam O Maonlai in Rian at Sadler's Wells
“At its best it has a rawboned, revivalist feel, the five musicians speaking in tongues and the eight dancers stamping and groping after some possessing spirit”
The Royal Ballet in The Sleeping Beauty at Royal Opera House
“The flame-haired McRae is the kind of leading man most ballet companies, or fairytale princesses, would kill for. In the breadth of his leaps and the speed of his turns he attempts the near-impossible with the cockiness and calm insouciance of someone convinced…
Feature: Fearghus O'Conchuir
Tabernacle from Shoot To Kill on Vimeo. Tabernacle, a new dance piece from Fearghus O’Conchuir. With contributions from singer/composer Iarla Ó Lionáird, visual artist Sarah Browne and performers –… Continue Reading
Birmingham Royal Ballet in Autumn Glory: Checkmate/ Symphonic Variations/ Pineapple Poll at Sadler's Wells
‘It’s a terrific programme, danced with care and confidence.’
Richard Alston Dance Company in Richard Alston at Home at The Place
‘A mixed programme that went under the heading Alston at Home (referring both to its relaxed format and to the home base of Alston’s company for the past 17 years), brought his earliest work into contact with his latest – not entirely to flattering effe…
Lucinda Childs Dance Company in Dance at Barbican
‘Without puffing or sweating, with the same bright little bounce and fastidious placement of the foot, with the blithe and steady focus of the long-distance runner who is entirely in the zone, the effect is of angels dancing. Angels in white jeans and tennis shoes.’
Birmingham Royal Ballet in Autumn Glory: Checkmate/ Symphonic Variations/ Pineapple Poll at Sadler's Wells
‘[Checkmate’s] saving grace is its Arthur Bliss score, but given that one of BRB’s stated aims is to win new audiences it seems perverse to invest in a revival as clunky as this one.’
Beijing Dance Theater in Haze at Sadler's Wells
‘..her [Director Wang Yuan Yuan] unwillingness to risk an ugly or abrasive moment means that she never achieves the telling image that would bring the production into focus. The title of the piece is perhaps more apt than intended.’
Richard Alston Dance Company in Richard Alston at Home at The Place
‘In the hushed partnering of Doublework (1978), the dancers fold in upon themselves, expressing both intimacy and isolation. Alston has never been brash, but these youthful works remain remarkably fresh, and are a delight to watch.’
The Royal Ballet in The Sleeping Beauty at Royal Opera House
‘This is, in every sense, a real Sleeping Beauty – a revival of the Royal Ballet’s first ever production, which had been in mothballs for nearly 40 years before artistic director Monica Mason gave it the kiss of life in 2006.’
Review: Birmingham Royal Ballet in La Fille mal gardee at Sadler's Wells
Reviewed: 20 October The girl may well be hard to look after, but yet again Birmingham Royal Ballet has demonstrated its sound credentials for safeguarding the icons from the golden age of British ballet that sh… Continue Reading
Review: The Royal Ballet in The Sleeping Beauty at Royal Opera House
Reviewed: 22 October 2011 Many thousands of words will have been written about the intrinsic significance of The Sleeping Beauty to the evolution of The Royal Ballet, an integral relationship between ballet and… Continue Reading
Interview: Getting to the heart of the matter - Suzy Willson Q&A
Theatre director Suzy Willson is the co-founder of Clod Ensemble, which produces projects using theatre, dance and visual arts. Her Performing Medicine: The Anatomy Season season starts with a promenande perfor… Continue Reading
Lucinda Childs Dance Company in Dance at Barbican
“The boundaries between flesh and light, past and present, are mesmerically blurred. It’s hard to know whether to describe the second part of DANCE as a solo, a duet or something indefinable.”
Birmingham Royal Ballet in Autumn Glory: Checkmate/ Symphonic Variations/ Pineapple Poll at Sadler's Wells
“Ashton pared down his treatment of César Franck’s score again and again, to achieve a dance in which, strictly speaking, nothing happens, and doesn’t happen so beautifully that you wish it would never end.”