June 2009
News: Pina Bausch 1940 - 2009
It has been announced that Pina Bausch, the great choreographer and dancer died this morning (30 June). Cancer had been diagnosed only a few days ago – and she performed with her company only last Sunday 1… Continue Reading
Les Ballets C de la B in Bodies Language at Queen Elizabeth Hall, Soutbank Centre
‘It boasts two singers, five musicians, an intriguing set, a brilliantly designed cast-sheet-cum-programme, and nine dancers who combine humour and athleticism in what’s called character-based work — the moves reflect who the dancers are, and the bod…
Tom Tom Crew at Udderbelly, Southbank Centre
‘The intimacy of the venue means that not only does every seat command a premium view, but the kinetic energy of the act communicates through vibration: you literally feel the landings and take-offs, and smell the sweat, if not the fear.’
Yasmeen Godder in Singular Sensation at The Place
Tongues snake and eyelids flicker in her fetishistically detailed vocabulary, and her scabrous trio of female performers pay slyly pornographic homage to feminine archetypes including the Three Graces and the Greek goddess Artemis. Godder
News: Doris Barry
Dancer, founder of London Studio Centre and sister of Dame Alicia Markova, died recently at the age of 96. Read an obituary Continue Reading
Yasmeen Godder in Singular Sensation at The Place
‘Godder’s vocabulary is unsparing in its concentration of raw, contorted, angry movement.’
Review: Sylvie Guillem / Robert Lepage / Russell Maliphant in Eonnagata at Sadler's Wells
I went to pay a quick return visit to *Eonnagata* – having reviewed the premiere back in March – to see what if anything had changed, either in terms of the show itself or in my opinions of it. There… Continue Reading
News: Siobhan Davies Archive
The UK’s first digital dance archive is now live online. Focussing on the work of choreographer Siobhan Davies, it has been produced by her company, Siobhan Davies Dance, in collaboration with researchers … Continue Reading
Review: Magpie Dance Company at Albany, Deptford
Magpie Dance Company flew their Bromley nest this week for their first performance at Deptford’s Albany theatre. This was also my first encounter with the inclusive dance company and their union of youths… Continue Reading
News: Dancing City - Without Walls
If you go down to docklands this Saturday afternoon, you’re sure of a packed programme of free dance performances in the parks, squares and plazas around Canary Wharf. Ballet Boyz II, StopGap, Dance Theatr… Continue Reading
Richard Alston Dance Company in - at home at The Place
‘Once a year, Richard Alston gives a short season at his home theatre trying out repertory that may not suit a larger stage. It’s an opportunity to have fun and, certainly, one of the two works premiered here looks more like a game, or an experiment, than …
News: Imagine… The Company of Elders
‘‘Quite simply, I shall dance until the end of my life.’‘ The group are the subject of the first film in the new series of Imagine.. presented by Alan Yentob on BBC1, on Tuesday 23 June. … Continue Reading
Tom Tom Crew at Udderbelly, Southbank Centre
‘…their dress-down brand of personal circus is spot-on for our time, a sort of tiny-top for the credit crunch or show in a shed that feels pleasingly DIY, although it obviously isn’t.’
English National Ballet in Ballet Russes at Sadler's Wells
‘The evening opens with its strongest work as ENB dance Balanchine’s Apollo with confidence. Thomas Edur is an elegant Apollo, every step smooth and musically aware, with Agnes Oaks alert as Terpsichore.
English National Ballet in Ballet Russes at Sadler's Wells
‘No Ballets Russes tribute is complete without a new work, and ENB came up with a corker. David Dawson’s Faun(e), a duet to Debussy’s score arranged for two pianos, contained just enough familiar material to anchor it to its source – oriental angl…