DANCE THEATER REVIEWS

This show, by the company of ex-Principal dancer at The Royal Ballet, Carlos Acosta, gives the audience a mixed bill, as up close as the title suggests, with as much Cuba as you would find in a hand-rolled cigar....

The first mixed programme of 2020 from the Royal Ballet sees Cathy Marston's much anticipated and arguably long overdue first work for the main stage at Covent Garden. Renowned for her lucid and atmospheric storytelling, most recently in The Suit (Ballet Black) and Victoria (Northern Ballet), she no...

San Francisco Ballet's latest mixed repertoire program, a?oeDance Innovations,a?? covers a lot of territory thematically and choreographically, and has a wealth of transcendent moments. Two of the ballets were made expressly for SFB, and the other is a classic from the mid-20th century....

Nashville Ballet's Artistic Director, Paul Vasterling, approached the company's annual Attitude series - Other Voices - with questions on gender: what does it mean to be a man, what does it mean to be a woman, what does it mean to be both, and what does it mean to be neither? Vasterling commissioned...

How lucky we are to be living in the age of Mark Morris! My first thought watching San Francisco Ballet's opening night performance of their a?oeClassical (Re)Visiona?? program was a?oeGod, they're good!a?? SF Ballet presents a sparking and varied program of contemporary ballet that will leave you s...

ABT does the melodrama of 'Giselle' with an acute attention to detail, diversity and dramatic flair....

A post-apocalyptic road warrior, an astronaut and a shark walk into a bara??...

In its annual Kennedy Center residency, the company tackles gun violence, love, youth and more in a program that includes new works and the seminal classic a?oeRevelations.a??...

​​​​​​​The first performance of Matthew Bourne's contemporary Swan Lake was performed at the Sadler's Wells Theater, London, in 1995. It has endured twenty-five years with the staying power of a new classic -- for very good reason. Bourne has reinvented the swans from maidens who have ...

On the afternoon of February 2nd, 2020, a nearly sold-out audience for a performance of Pacific Northwest Ballet's “Cinderella” proved that diehard dancegoers and eager young ballet students will show up in full force even though plenty of other people decide to opt for watching Superbowl Sunday...

Founding Artistic and Executive Directors Dwight Rhoden and Desmond Richardson founded Complexions Contemporary Ballet in 1994. Richardson enjoyed a stellar performing career, having danced with numerous prestigious dance companies, including American Ballet Theatre where he was the first African Am...

The latest edition of Innovative Works, BEYOND THE MINT, sends three choreographers across the street to soak in Spirit Drift's 'Immersed in Light' installation at the Mint Museum Uptown. Chelsea Dumas and Duane Cyrus are particularly successful in their quests for inspiration....

Sadler's Sampled is Sadler's Wells' annual parade of varied dance offerings - although this year proved somewhat of a disappointment from previous iterations. The selected work felt unbalanced in favour of contemporary performances, and for this traditionalist, the lack of any classical work weighe...

It's always a tough choice, at this annual Ballet Icons Gala, to know whether to review the performances on stage or the extravagant antics of it's animated Russian audience. It's a starry evening, where the glamorous attendees don floor length gowns, the men wear tuxedos and although it's meant to ...

Sir Matthew Bourne's 'Swan Lake' has a reputation as a beloved, fascinating, and powerful ballet. The latest production certainly justifies this reputation....

Individually, Beiser and Whelan captivated - Whelan walking contemplatively across the stage, Beiser seated in a power stance, limbs enfolding her cello. Together, they grounded the work's multi-disciplinary, hybrid structure with their various expertise along the spectrum of creative function. As a...

During this present time of great cultural and political strife, the world at large is yearning for humanity—for honesty, for truth, and for authentic connection. It's why more so than ever, creators are inspired to bring this to life in their chosen mediums to give audiences a greater sense of me...

​​​​​​​Shanghai Ballet was founded in 1966. Spanning over thirty years, this company embraces a blend of traditional and Western dance styles. Xin Lili, Artistic Director since 2011, has brought to the company English versions of Swan Lake, Romeo and Juliet, a French version of Coppeli...

John Cranko's Onegin was last performed by the Royal Ballet in 2015. Now five years later, there is a new wave of rising stars who are keen to showcase their take on the great dramatic classical roles on offer, and how palpably Onegin is a ballet that needs those stars. With only four key characters...

Galas are peculiar beasts. In attempting to please everyone, you sometimes please no one at all, but fortunately, for this nostalgic run through the rich history of English National Ballet, no one was disappointed by the varied and often emotive selection of greatest hits....

Whelan finds the yin and yang in their performance chemistry, saying, 'we're very opposite in nature, which creates balance. I'm more androgynous with clean, clear lines while she has a big, vibrant presence.' Beiser affirmed Whelan's value for respecting collaboration saying she learned from Lang t...

In true balletomane style, my first thought when I knew I would be in London over the Christmas and New Year period was that I would finally be able to catch Birmingham Royal Ballet's (BRB) Nutcracker which runs for just seven performances....

It's fitting that Matthew Bourne's The Red Shoes returns to London to finish up another year of reviewing dance. By far Bourne's most accomplished, creative and complete work, it's a theatrical joy from start to finish that is performed with confidence by a cast who have now had time to perfect it s...

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Artistic Director Paul Vasterling has set Nashville's Nutcracker with the Nashville Symphony at the 1897 Tennessee Centennial Exposition. Here, Drosselmeyer introduces Clara to the magical imagination and diversity of Nashville. In the ballet's opening, Clara sees a Nutcracker doll made by a German ...