Swan Lake meets The Ugly Duckling in Circa’s Duck Pond
There are plenty of the usual handstands and tumbling… But what is really memorable is the ease with which the performers fly through the air.
David Mead
English National Ballet’s new Nutcracker
This much needed new production looks a treat… Paul Pyant’s video design is very good… Dick Bird’s sets are glorious… Act Two is a riot of colour
Ballet Theatre UK: The Nutcracker
Creates a fantasy of world that delights and entertains from start to finish with its fine storytelling, choreography… and a lot of excellent dancing.
Of swans and men: Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake
Most magnificent of all, is Harrison Dowzell as The Swan… Quite unforgettable. Whether in bird form… or as The Stranger at the Act 3 ball
Sasha Waltz & Guests: Beethoven 7
A cloud makes its way towards the audience, soon enveloping us in its misty grip. Through the fog are glimpsed figures, human, but…
Staatsballett Berlin: Giselle
When the assured Riho Sakamoto first stepped out of her home as Giselle, she didn’t so much skip round the stage as fly.
Lucinda Childs Dance Company: Dance
About movement to music and nothing else. There’s no hidden theme, no hidden meaning. It’s even performed in simple white tops and trousers.
Dance On Ensemble & Solistenensemble Kaleidoskop: A Sky Like A Wall
The fascinating collage of scenes and sounds engaged fully, watched over not only by the audience but by the rows of portraits that line the gallery’s walls
Staatsballett Berlin: 2 Chapters Love
“2 Chapters Love may be full of ‘classic’ Eyal but, in many ways, it also feels very much an ode to classical ballet.” Plus Sol Léon’s Stars Like Moths.
Staatsballett Berlin: SAABA & Minus 16
The fourth of Sharon Eyal and partner Gai Behar’s work to be danced by the Staatsballett, SAABA is different. Behar’s choreography feels more dreamy.
Dickensian delights: Northern Ballet’s A Christmas Carol
The setting may be dreary, but the story is warm, the characters vividly brought to life. Carols, Christmas tunes, fine dance, and a good story.