Matthew Paluch - Page 6

The prizes continue at Sadler’s Wells with both a Bloom and Rose contender showing their work.

Competition in the Arts...now there's a loaded statement! Nonetheless, London has a new biennial event, or rather two, in the form of the Rose, and Bloom Prize.

Northern Ballet return to the Linbury Theatre for a triple bill of diverse works…or is it really a double bill with an additional third piece that's just five minutes long?!

The one thing we can always count on is a new reading of The Rite of Spring. Welcome to London the Dewey Dell, 2023 production at the Purcell Room on the Southbank.

Cranko took the predictable love melodrama - I want you, I don't, actually I do, well now I don’t - and turned it into a full-length, 3 act ballet. It divides people - some love, some less so. I definitely think it has strong moments throughout, and an overall, refined structure that can't be denied. Add to that the layered, textured sets by Jürgen Rose and Tchaikovsky's lusher than lush score, and things are likely going to work out.

Teaċ Daṁsa return to Sadler’s Wells with Michael Keegan-Dolan's latest work: NOBODADDY (Tríd an bpoll gan bun). The title is a dark character that features in the poems of William Blake, but the blurb confirms that Dolan's reading is one of “an ode to the peacemakers and the bringers of good things” - so in that sense what's the point? As the two aspects appear to cancel each other out.

The forty year celebration of Sheffield based Forced Entertainment comes to a close with six performances of If All Else Fails at the Battersea Arts Centre. Performed and devised by Cathy Naden & Seke Chimutengwende, Tim Etchells of Forced Entertainment directs the duo in the improvisational informed “absurd test that fails to find the answers”.

Ballet Black return to the Royal Ballet and Opera's Linbury Theatre with their current double bill Heroes. It's a quick night with around one hour of dance, but an unsuccessful one choreographically.

Sadler’s Wells advertise The Rite of Spring / common ground[s] bill as “iconic” and I'm tempted to agree. It's rare that a programme can be so satisfying - two works so different yet complimentary, both steeped in power and intention. It's a night not to be missed that's for sure.

L’Addition is a show of simple means with two charismatic performers, but it's a miss for me.

Αγρίμι (Fauve) by Lenio Kaklea is a brave piece of modern dance that should be recognised for its shunning of conventions and committed performances. As well as its “if Balenciaga did contemporary dance…” overarching feel.

It’s interesting to consider that ballet began its development in the mid 16th century, however it wasn't until around 400 years later that BIPOC (American) dancers Maria Tallchief, Raven Wilkinson and Arthur Mitchell, first joined ballet companies.

The Royal Ballet season continues with its first modern bill - Encounters: Four contemporary ballets. For some, like me, the four works presented are all new, but in actuality only two of the four are premières. And one of those is in fact a development of an existing (2022) pas de deux into a bigger scale work.

Dance Umbrella continues in London with Radioactive Practice by Abby Z (Abby Zbikowski) and the New Utility. Sadler’s Wells is transformed for the work with three banks of seats placed on the stage and the upper two circles of the auditorium closed. Some audience members still sit in the stalls, but the performance has become in-the-round dance.

It can be a mistake to get overexcited. If then disappointed, the reality is tough to take. Case in point: Four by the Young Associates at Sadler’s Wells. Read our review...

Dance Umbrella 2024 opened at the Barbican last night for the 46th year of the cutting-edge dance festival. People have come to expect the opportunity to see experimental work during the run, and last night didn't disappoint in this sense.

The Place welcomes back the National Dance Company Wales in a double bill: Frontiers. See what our critic had to say.

I think Jez Butterworth must love fishing, as his 2012 play The River spends quite a lot of the time talking about the intricacies of the pastime. If one doesn't partake it can make the text a little monotonous at times…but of course there's more to take from the overall experience.

One person shows aren't easy things to do, and the Theatre Royal Drury Lane is a big space to fill, so Maria Caruso has all the cards stacked against her for her new solo performance Incarnation.

The Royal Ballet 24/25 season opened on September 28 with Christopher Wheeldon’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. When first created in 2011 the ballet was made up of two acts, by 2012 Wheeldon had reworked things into three and this is what we find in the 2024 revival. See what our critic thinks?