End of the World and Hard-Boiled Wonderland: A Japanese-French encounter with the absurd
An encounter in which the choreography too often serves to connect or decorate scenes, without adding much to the drama itself
Month: October 2026
New York City Ballet: Eclectic NYCB
Three ballets, very different in style and mood: Christopher Wheeldon’s Continuum, Alexei Ratmansky’s Solitude, George Balanchine’s Bourrée Fantasque
Something old, something new. Limón Dance Company in Mazurkas and Join
As in Mazurkas, everyone performed with superb assurance. There was power, there was grace, there was beauty. Join draws you in and never lets go.
New York City Ballet: Contemporary Choreographers
The new works that premiered at this year’s Fall Fashion Gala, including Jennifer Archibald’s terrific Shared Rain, alongside two from previous years
Polymer DMT / Lo Fang-yun: The Seas Between Us
Taking the unresolved conflict between China and Taiwan as its starting point, a look at how political systems and cultural influences shape identity, behaviour and relationships
Fall for Dance Program 5: Pony Cam, Miami City Ballet, Australian Ballet
Some gentle ribbing of the art form from Pony Cam, a Ratmansky from Miami City Ballet, and Australian Ballet in Stephanie Lake’s Seven Days
An English evening in New York City with Sarasota Ballet
Antony Tudor’s Lilac Gardan, five Frederick Ashton divertissements and, most interesting and anticipated of all, Peter Wright’s one-act ballet, Summertide
Getting to the soul of it: The Brown Suite by BlacBrik
Packed with wonderful dancing, wit, character, tremendous music and choreography… marvellously entertaining from start to finish
Pam Tanowitz’s Pastoral. Beautiful pieces, strangely little pull
The dancers are excellent, the movement has a sly sense of humour, the set is beautiful, the sound world keeps throwing up new ideas. But those pleasures rarely seem to gather.
NDCWales in Blue|Glas
The two works share ideas around struggle, change and moving forward, but they come from opposite directions.
Fall for Dance Program 4: San Francisco Ballet, Friedemann Vogel, Gauthier Dance
Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui’s Faun is good, but Any way the wind blows, created by Hofesh Shecter for Gauthier Dance earlier this year… is quite simply terrific. And it was terrifically danced too.