Two takes on contemporary flamenco: Reflexiones sobre las Parcas & Matancera
Reflections on a double header at Sadler’s Wells: Reflexiones sobre las Parcas by a trio of artists, and Matancera by Rosario la Tremendita
UK
Alejandro Hurtado/Inmaculada Salomón and Manuel Valençia Trio
Two shows that presented the very best of contemporary flamenco, and how lucky are we that London is able to witness it.
Ballet Flamenco Sara Baras: Vuela
Sara Baras and her company, just five years older than the LOndon Flamenco Festival itself, have set the bar very high… A hard act to follow
Modern Table in Ham:beth
The six dancers present sequence after sequence of precise, tight, intricate, and repetitive dance, that certainly hits the spot.
Bat Out of Hell: The Musical
The live band do more than justice to Steinman’s compositions, they give them fresh life and vigour with feet stamping indulgence
Ballet BC: Frontier, Passing
Crystal Pite’s Frontier takes the audience on a fabulous thirty-minute journey to a place somewhere between conscious and unconscious
Ballet Hispánico: CARMEN.maquia
A more authentically Spanish take on the story, traditional yet innovative and with a contemporary vibe. It looks terrific, and was wonderfully danced
A trip down ballet’s memory lane with BRB2
The best performance of the afternoon came in the closing pas de deux from The Firebird… Alexandra Manuel was quite simply terrific
The Royal Ballet: All-Wheeldon Ballet to Broadway
Not only a super demonstration of the range of his output, but the title encapsulates neatly his journey from classical ballet to musical theatre.
Northern Ballet: Jane Eyre
One of the most beautifully danced ballets I have seen in a long while. All the dancers were both technically and expressively excellent
Acosta Danza: Cuban Eclectico
For sheer athleticism, expression and the multiple techniques of the dancers, all on show in Cuban Eclectico, they are hard to beat.