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Posted on July 29, 2016
There is a real “summer” feel to this issue of Dancing Times, where we take a look at some of the big dance events about to take place over the next few months. 2016 is the 60th anniversary of the Bolshoi Ballet’s first visit to the UK, and on page 17 I talk to some of the people who remember that remarkable landmark visit. David Mead previews the annual Sidmouth Folk Festival on page 29, which includes an enormous amount of dance for festival goers to participate in or just to watch, and Marianka Swain looks back on ten years of Big Dance on page 21. Continuing the summer theme, on page 39 Dominic Antonucci reveals what dancers can get up to during their summer breaks, and Nicola Rayner discovers more about the heat of Cuban salsa on page 25. In addition, Martin Cutler begins his verdict on the 2016 Blackpool Dance Festival on page 78, Barbara Newman reviews the new production of The Threepenny Opera at the National Theatre on page 42, and on page 94 we meet The Royal Ballet’s Nicol Edmonds, our Dancer of the Month. Finally, on a sad note, I record the passing of Jackie Mitchell, the much-loved director of Millennium Performing Arts. We will pay tribute to her next month.
JONATHAN GRAY
Cover stories
17 – 60 years of the Bolshoi. Jonathan Gray looks back to the Bolshoi Ballet’s first visit to London in 1956
21 – Ten Big Years. As the final Big Dance arrives, Marianka Swain examines its history and legacy
78 – British Championships 2016. Martin Cutler assesses the glamour, grace and closely fought battles of Blackpool
Features
25 – Cuba libre. As ¡Vamos Cuba! premieres at Sadler’s Wells, Nicola Rayner explores what makes Cuban salsa unique
29 – Country dancing, morris, clog, sword and more… David Mead looks ahead to Sidmouth Folk Week
33 – Dance united. Zoë Anderson talks to One Dance UK’s Andrew Hurst
35 – Berlin State Ballet School. Jenny Veldhuis pays a visit to a school celebrating its 65th birthday
39 – Pirouetting by the pool? Dominic Antonucci reveals what dancers get up to on their summer holidays
Dance Today
84 – Tips on technique by James Whitehead
85 – Technique clinic by Phil Meacham
86 – Simon’s Guide to Swing by Simon Selmon
87 – Stepping Out by Marianka Swain
88 – Notes from the dance floor
90 – Somewhere in time by Jack Reavely
Regulars
6 – News. BBC Young Dancer 2017, Kenneth Tindall, Robert Robinson’s BalletWorks
13 – Letters
15 – Talking Point by Leigh Witchel
42 – Variety Lights. Barbara Newman reviews The Buskers Opera and The Threepenny Opera
45 – Letter from St Petersburg by Igor Stupnikov
47 – Notes from New York by Jack Anderson
49 – Media. Bryan Allen hears some new ballroom and Latin CDs
51 – Dance Scene. Reviews this month include: International Dance Festival Birmingham, Northern Ballet in 1984 and Jane Eyre, Urban Bush Women, Jekyll and Hyde, The Royal Ballet and Zurich Ballet
93 – People. Blue plaques unveiled for Frederick Ashton and Margot Fonteyn
94 – Dancer of the Month. Margaret Willis meets The Royal Ballet’s Nicol Edmonds
98 – Obituaries. Eloy Pericet Blanco, Jacqueline Matthews, Geneviève Salbaing, Peggy Spencer
101 – Products
104 – Education. Legat School, Verve, bbodance, London Children’s Ballet
108 – Health. Debbie Malina looks at some of the factors that can lead to muscle cramp
111 – Classified
112 – Calendar
118 – Listings
122 – Last Dance