December 2010
News: New Year's Resolution!
Resolution! – The Place’s annual platform for new contemporary choreography opens on Thursday 6 January. Between then and Friday 19 February 102 companies and individuals will take part in 34 perform… Continue Reading
Matthew Bourne's Cinderella at Sadler's Wells
‘This is a nice twist, not only because it’s the 70th anniversary of the Blitz itself, or because Bourne makes London the star of his show, but because it allows him to move Cinderella (Kerry Biggin) on from the fairytale into being a grown-up.’
English National Ballet in The Nutcracker at London Coliseum
‘Greater consistency would assist, plus the transformation scene and the Christmas tree are underwhelming. But notwithstanding new production nerves, all danced well, with Daria Klimentova (Clara) and Vadim Muntagirov (the Nephew) strong leads. ‘
Royal Ballet in Peter and the Wolf / Tales of Beatrix Potter at Royal Opera House
‘There was altogether too damn much gingham and bloating costume, and capering, and macaroni limbs going through the motions of the classic dance, for this observer.’
Royal Ballet in Peter and the Wolf / Tales of Beatrix Potter at Royal Opera House
‘Even for Christmassy ballet, this is a show with a high sugar content.’
Royal Ballet in Peter and the Wolf / Tales of Beatrix Potter at Royal Opera House
‘These are trying times, but a world in which Laura Morera is dancing Pig-Wig can’t be all bad.’
ROH2 in Faeries at Linbury Studio Theatre, Royal Opera House
‘The fairies are beautiful, gossamer-winged puppets, magically animated and voiced by Blind Summit Theatre, and Tuckett’s choreography is fluid and inventive.’
English National Ballet in The Nutcracker at London Coliseum
‘There’s a particular frisson that can exist between an established ballerina and a younger male dancer – Fonteyn and Nureyev are the most famous exemplars – and this was very much in evidence last week when Daria Klimentová and Vadim Muntagirov …
Royal Ballet in Les Patineurs & Tales of Beatrix Potter at Royal Opera House
‘It ends with one of the most unforgettable images in the Royal Ballet repertoire: the Blue Boy, here danced by the brilliant Steven McRae, whirling round and round in a seemingly endless pirouette in the twilight. It’s a sequence charged with the joy of yout…
Flawless in Chase the Dream at Royal Festival Hall
‘Four minutes of Flawless is a thrill, but 90 something of an endurance test.’
News: Diaghilev's influence on British cinema
“Michael Powell, who drew on 1920s memories of the Diaghilev milieu for The Red Shoes, was just one among a generation of cineastes who found inspiration in the same source.” Read more in the Guardia… Continue Reading
Feature: Christmas Gifts
*There’s still time to beat the high street crush and shop online! Here’s a few Christmas present ideas on a dance theme…* DVD – Diversity, Dance.Fitness.Fusion A double-disc DVD contain… Continue Reading
Matthew Bourne's Cinderella at Sadler's Wells
‘Bourne knows his people, and knows that his combination of the quirky, the sentimental and the Hollywood-referential reaches the places that other dance shows don’t.’
English National Ballet in The Nutcracker (Wayne Eagling's production) at London Coliseum
‘Muntagirov was that prize combination of generous partner and audacious virtuoso, while Klimentova, in the music-box choreography of the grand pas de deux, surely danced the performance of her career.’
ROH2 in Faeries at Linbury Studio, Royal Opera House
‘The strongest performances come from the onstage puppeteers, dressed in 1940s costumes and giving lively line readings. Fireflies are handheld torches, joined by dragonflies with fluttering wings.’