December 2004
Swan Lake
Swan Lake is appearing at Sadler’s Wells and the Royal Opera House, in two very different forms. Matthew Bourne’s production at Sadler’s Wells is a contemporary version with an all-male chorus … Continue Reading
Anton du Beke
partner to Esther Rantzen and Leslie Garrett in the BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing series_._ Elizabeth Grice talks about her first ballroom dancing lesson with Anton du Beke, “A vast wall of unforgiving… Continue Reading
Dance 2004
Ismene Brown reviews the highs and lows of 2004. “The death this month, at 94, of Alicia Markova, the magical woman who inspired the two greatest geniuses of 20th-century ballet, George Balanchine and Fred… Continue Reading
Return to Coliseum
The 21st December marks the return of the English National Ballet to the London Coliseum. With choreography by Christopher Hampson and designed by Gerald Scarfe, the company will perform The Nutcracker, Maev Ken… Continue Reading
Darcey Bussell
Darcey Bussell describes a typical day combining her roles of mum and principal dancer with the Royal Ballet “Rehearsals can go on until 6.30pm, but if I’m not called and don’t have a performan… Continue Reading
Big Youth Dance Weekend
The Royal Festival Hall, London Youth Dance and Youth Dance England have collaborated to create The Big Youth Dance Weekend – 22nd & 23rd January 2005, the first national event of its kind for over a … Continue Reading
Government arts funding frozen
The Department for Culture Media and Sport has announced a freeze in arts funding for the next three years, which amounts to a cut of £30 million in real terms. . ‘The arts are expected to have fared par… Continue Reading
Zenaida Yanowsky
has been ‘too Russian, too intelligent and sometimes just too tall for the great classical roles.’ with the Royal Ballet. But this season she has been dancing the lead role in Ashton’s Sylvia. … Continue Reading
The 'gorgeous silliness of ballet'
‘..the Royal Ballet’s brilliant production of Ashton’s Cinderella has an exquisiteness that has no connection to the thrust of life in Britain today; it seems to be an enchantment within an enc… Continue Reading
Stan Won't Dance
The South Bank Centre is consolidating its relationship with Rob Tannion, currently Dance Artist In Residence at SBC, by inviting his company Stan Won’t Dance to become Artists In Residence for one year fr… Continue Reading
Strictly Come Dancing Fever
The final of Strictly Come Dancing was watched by 10.6million viewers on Saturday night. East Enders star Jill Halfpenny won the competition, beating athlete Denise Woods into second and surprise finalist Julian… Continue Reading
Record year for Nutcrackers
Uk wide, 250,000 people are due to see a variety of *Nutcrackers* this year. Londoners have at least two to choose from… The Moscow Stansilavsky Ballet= are at the Royal Festival Hall for a second year run… Continue Reading
Leigh Zimmerman
Leigh Zimmerman is a dancer, actress, and singer, who has starred in productions on Broadway and the West End. Jonathan Sale finds out about the training and education that helped her to achieve the career she h… Continue Reading
Resolution!
The 16th annual Resolution! – firmly established as the UK launch pad for new choreographic talent – returns to The Place from Thursday 6 January – Saturday 19 February 2005. Over the six week… Continue Reading
South Bank Show Awards 2005
Nominations for the South Bank Show awards have just been announced. This year’s Dance category is dominated by contemporary productions rather than classical ballet: Akram Khan for ‘Ma’ premie… Continue Reading