January 2022

Posted on January 27, 2022

Editorial and contents January 2022

Happy New Year to you all! As both 2020 and 2021 proved to have completely unexpected consequences during their course, I’m not exactly sure what will be in store for us in the coming months, but let us hope that dance will continue to excite and engage us all in 2022. Rest assured, Dancing Times has every intention to continue being here, reporting on the world of dance as we always have since 1910. 

In this issue, we find out more about how dance has been overcoming COVID-19, with principal dancer Daniel Camargo explaining how becoming a freelance dancer at this time has helped expand his career as a performing artist. We also travel to Latin America to hear from dance companies re-emerging from the pandemic. Julia Cheng reveals her ideas behind the choreography for the new West End production of the stage musical Cabaret, and Marianka Swain looks back at an extraordinary series of Strictly Come Dancing.

Strange as it might seem, we also celebrate the return of The Nutcracker, that indestructible Christmas favourite, to companies in cities across the UK, many of whom had to cancel performances of the ballet last year when it became clear another lockdown was about to be enforced.

JONATHAN GRAY

Dancing Times, January 2022 Volume 112 Issue 1337

Cover Stories

16 – Keeping focused. Natasha Rogai catches up with Brazilian dancer Daniel Camargo 

21 – No bowler hats, no chairs. Nicola Rayner interviews Julia Cheng, choreographer of the new West End production of Cabaret

37 – Dance Scene International. Reviews of The Nutcracker in Birmingham, Edinburgh and London

62 – Strictly Speaking. Marianka Swain rounds up a dramatic series of Strictly Come Dancing

Features

25 – Blurred, fuzzy, active, potent. Stage designer Antony McDonald talks about his career to Paul Arrowsmith

28 – Post-pandemic hopes. Fátima Nollén finds out how Latin American dance companies have been returning to the stage

32 – Field figures. Gerald Dowler highlights the career of dancer and director John Field

Dance Today

64 – Tips on technique. By James Whitehead 

65 – Technique clinic. By Phil Meacham

66 – Simon’s Guide to Swing. By Simon Selmon

67 – Stepping Out. By Pete Meager 

68 – Somewhere in time. Jack Reavely remembers ballroom legend Frank Ford

Regulars

8 – News. Phoenix Dance Theatre

13 – Letters

15 – Talking Point. By Shaun Walters

51 – Variety Lights. Barbara Newman reviews Alain Platel’s Gardenia at Sadler’s Wells

52 – Letter from St Petersburg. Igor Stupnikov sees the opening events at the International Festival of Arts “Diaghilev P S” 

55 – FRANCE/dance. Laura Cappelle attends the Cannes Dance Festival

59 – Notes from New York. By Leigh Witchel

71 – Dancer of the Month. Margaret Willis interviews English National Ballet’s Rhys Antoni Yeomans 

75 – People. César Morales, Peter Darrell bust unveiled at Sadler’s Wells

77 – Obituaries. Ronn Guidi, Tom Merrifield 

78 – Media. New books reviewed by Jann Parry and Jonathan Gray 

 81 – Products

82 – Education. Dance School of the Year, English National Ballet’s Pipeline Project

84 – Health. Luke Abnett explains how physios can help dancers who don’t have an injury

87 – Classifieds

89 – Calendar. Our guide to what’s on stage this month in the UK and abroad

94 – Listings. Where to learn to dance in the UK

98 – Last Dance. We look back to what was published in Dancing Times in January 1982

Simon Oliver

Simon Oliver has been production editor of Dancing Times since 2010 and is highly experienced in design across print and online magazine production. Throughout his career, Simon has worked on a diverse range of subjects including music, family history, book collecting and poker.