March 2013
balletLORENT - Rapunzel - Sadler's Wells
Framed by ingeniously shape-shifting designs and colourfully atmospheric music, this Rapunzel comes close to being a genuine all-ages show. Ironically, however, the weakest link in this production is the pure dance material.
Royal Ballet - Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland - Royal Opera House
last Monday, Beatriz Stix-Brunell danced the title role in the Royal Ballet’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. She’s an engaging Alice, Rupert Pennefather is a debonair Knave of Hearts, and the ballet, choreographed by Christopher Wheeldon, has its e…
Mikhailovsky Ballet - Giselle, Ou Les Wilis - London Coliseum
The calm authority of her pointe work, the billowing leaps and soaring entrechats, the gorgeous sostenuto balances: by these means Osipova tells Giselle’s story in a new way, and the result is unforgettable.
balletLORENT - Rapunzel - Sadler's Wells
I longed for more light and shade, and a greater faith in the dance itself: too often for me, it was Duffy’s fierce words that were doing the heavy lifting, not Lorent’s rather tentative steps.
Mikhailovsky Ballet - Giselle, Ou Les Wilis - London Coliseum
Vasiliev sets out his own stall as a technician. Ricocheting from jump to impossibly high, twiddle-toed jump, and rattling off a demonic sequence of beetling brisés, he seems a perfectly plausible candidate for death by dancing.
News: New training opportunities from Dance UK
The Business of Dance Stepping Stones training series kicks off with seminars on Fundraising for Artistic Projects and Nutrition and touring this week! Continue Reading
Interview: Ross MacGibbon
Once a Royal Ballet dancer, now the ROH's Cinema Screen Director, Ross is in charge of next week's live relay of 'Alice' from the Covent Garden stage to cinemas around the world.. Continue Reading
Review: Mikhailovsky Ballet - Giselle, Ou Les Wilis - London Coliseum
The person who raised the bar for this ballet (probably by two whole stars if we played that game) was Natalia Osipova in the title role...I admired her partner, Ivan Vasiliev, for allowing her to shine. Continue Reading
Feature: Olesya Novikova and Natalia Osipova as Giselle
Judith Mackrell (Guardian) compares Olesya Novikova's and Natalia Osipova's interpretations of Giselle with video clips of both ballerinas performing the Giselle Act 1 Variation. Continue Reading
Mikhailovsky Ballet - Giselle, Ou Les Wilis - London Coliseum
The ensembles were done with clear, devoted style by the troupe, but the key to this performance was, inevitably, the presence of Natalia Osipova and Ivan Vasiliev in the leading roles.
Mikhailovsky Ballet - Giselle, Ou Les Wilis - London Coliseum
Osipova is so technically adept she can alter her physicality with each emotion and has an ethereality that makes it look as if she’s moving in slo-mo even when she’s dead on the beat.
Mikhailovsky Ballet - Giselle, Ou Les Wilis - London Coliseum
it’s only in the second act, as all realism is blown to the winds, that this Giselle becomes the great, shivering drama it’s meant to be. Osipova is extraordinary – a driven, anguished spirit.
Mikhailovsky Ballet - Giselle, Ou Les Wilis - London Coliseum
When this duo move, however, they are close to perfection, and her reading of this ballet’s doomed heroine is a thing of profound beauty.
Mikhailovsky Ballet - Giselle, Ou Les Wilis - London Coliseum
In the second act, Osipova dances with ghostly chill, her limbs floating into long, long phrases. Her bounding jump becomes even airier; when she changes direction, she looks like a leaf suddenly caught by the wind.
Feature: The risk of injujry
As a performance by BGroup is stopped after ten minutes because of one of the dancers sustaining an injury, Luke Jennings (Observer) reflects on the physical risks that professional dancers face. Continue Reading