A night of the best in ballet: Ballet Icons Gala
New and unfamiliar works rub shoulders with old favourites, with Sergio Bernal’s The Thinker the unexpected highlight of a super evening
Swan Lake
Nuñez and Muntagirov light up The Royal Ballet’s Swan Lake
Swan Lake is the ballerina’s ballet and Nuñez was perfection from her first grand jeté to her final death plunge.
Varna International Ballet’s Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty
What a wonderfully beguiling Odile Martina Prefetto offered. Here was a real temptress, casting her spell, snaring her prey
The Dance Locker: Tzu-chao Chou
For the second in our occasional series, the Birmingham Royal Ballet principal dancer chooses his seven works that have particular significance, saying a few words about each. Born in Yilan in the north-east of Taiwan, Tzu-chao Chou (周子超) was very active as a child. When he was nine, his parents thought that dance lessons would … Read more
Varna International Ballet takes Swan Lake back to its roots
Daniela Dimova talks about Varna International Ballet’s Swan Lake, now touring, that restores the score and dramaturgy to Tchaikovsky’s original.
Moving to pastures new: a conversation with Brandon Lawrence
“The worst thing is regret. And it’s an opportunity I can’t ignore. I don’t want to be wondering, ‘What if?’”
Staatstheater Nürnberg International Ballet Gala
A fine evening with plenty of variety; and one not dominated by nineteenth-century fireworks.
Ballet Preljocaj in a Swan Lake with a message
There are changes but… there are swans. There is a lake. There is an Odette in white, and a Siegfried who falls for an Odile in black.
Classicism to the fore: John Cranko School
Absolutely and unashamedly classically-focused. Even the student choreography. The contemporary pieces were clearly classically underwritten too
BRB2 in Carlos Acosta’s Classical Selection
A fine evening and a fine initiative that deserves to succeed. Yet more evidence of the excellent work Carlos Acosta is doing in Birmingham
A Scottish ‘Swan Lake’: The Swan of Salen by Ballet Folk and The Willow Trio
A beautiful story… a production that sits very comfortably within ballet, Gaelic and folk traditions, bringing them together as equals.