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The Flames of Paris The Mikhailovsky Ballet, Mikhailovsky Theatre, St Petersburg – July 22, 2013 Within minutes of the curtains closing on the premiere of The Flames of Paris, dancers and staff of the Mikhailovsky Ballet were addressed onstage by the surviving son of Vasily Vainonen. He spoke softly, barely audible above the sound of […]
Read moreVikki Jane Vile enjoyed Craig Revel Horwood’s show, starring Lisa Riley and a topless Artem Chigvintsev, at the New Wimbledon Theatre on July 1 With Strictly fans offered so many spin-off shows in the bleak cold months of the year, when withdrawal symptoms are at their most insufferable, it’s a rather nice surprise to be […]
Read moreMixed BillLyric Pieces, Bitesized Ballet, Pineapple PollBirmingham Royal Ballet, Swan Theatre, High Wycombe – May 21, 2013 Birmingham Royal Ballet’s “split-tour” nomenclature suggests a glass half empty. Its notion of “south west” is misleading too, extending to the doorstep of London – to High Wycombe. The company – well this half of it – looked […]
Read moreA Midsummer Night’s Dream Baltic Dance Theatre, Baltic Opera House, Gdańsk – May 28, 2013 A breath of fresh air wafted though this innovative narration of Shakespeare’s timeless comedy, carrying with it an affirmation that complex stories can be told with simple clarity through the medium of dance and gesture alone without the need to […]
Read moreFive Dances – a modern ballet evening Hungarian National Ballet, Erkel Theatre, Budapest – June 1, 2013 In its aim to attract newcomers to enjoy dance, the Hungarian National Ballet certainly got things right when putting together its latest evening of modern ballets. With pieces not too long to let attention wander, and accompanied by […]
Read moreThe black and white photographs of the dancers of the Ballets Russes in Natalia Goncharova’s designs for Les Noces, posed in the gardens at the back of the Casino in Monte Carlo in the 1920s, are a reminder of the works created in the principality by Serge Diaghilev’s company – works that have enriched the […]
Read moreIt is a wonderful time of year in Budapest: whorls of autumn mist curl up from the Danube, the avenues are lined with golden trees and the mulled wine sellers are out in force. The Hungarian National Ballet has added to the pleasure with its new production of John Cranko’s globally popular Onegin (or Anyegin […]
Read moreChoreographers have often evoked the analogy of knitting to describe what they do. Few, however, have made knitting, in the real sense, as integral as does French choreographer Mourad Merzouki in YogeeTi, a highlight of the 2012 Taiwan International Festival of Arts.
Read moreWhen we entered the Burton Taylor (the tiny studio attached to the Oxford Playhouse, usually given over to student theatre) it was quite dark, apart from a thin shaft of light, and quite empty, apart from the figure of a woman lying in the middle of the floor. We ranged ourselves against the walls, standing. […]
Read moreI was not sure what to expect from Paulette Mae’s A Suitcase for All Occasions. It was very well attended on March 17, and the atmosphere built up outside as we all waited in the foyer to be let in. The programme seemed to suggest – from Mae’s background and the information we were given […]
Read moreLa Bayadère American Ballet Theatre, The Kennedy Center, Washington DC – February 3–5, 2012 Tucked away in a Saturday afternoon matinée at the centre of a weekend mini-season of Natalia Makarova’s production of La Bayadère, padded out on either side by more experienced casts, came a trio of debuts in the leading roles. This protective […]
Read moreSurrounded by vertiginous rock-faces in the southeast corner of southern France, Monaco is where, at this time of the year, snow-capped Alps tumble into the Mediterranean. Like other city-states, the Principality survives by reaching out to the rest of the world, which its biennial dance event, Monaco Dance Forum, has been doing enthusiastically for the […]
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