DANCE THEATER REVIEWS

Fast forward to the afternoon of December 8th, 2019 in Seattle when I was utterly charmed by Pacific Northwest Ballet's faithful yet fresh production of Mr. B's venerable holiday staple, staged by Judith Fugate with PNB Artistic Director Peter Boal and Garielle Whittle....

Manfred Thierry Mugler and Wayne McGregor are such renowned names in their respective fields, a collaboration between them need only be eponymously titled. But for the thrill of the glamour and high-fashion of McGregor + Mugler, this short duet for Edward Watson or the Royal Ballet and Olga Smirnova...

Continuing a series of personal projects away from the mainstay of the Bolshoi repertoire, Svetlana Zakharova returns to the London Coliseum once more with Modanse, a chic double bill of UK premieres with high calibre support from a range of Bolshoi Principals and Soloists. Chic it may be, with opul...

The festive treat of The Nutcracker presented by The Syracuse City Ballet has once again entertained numerous audiences this past weekend to kick off the 2019 Holiday season. Under the devoted direction of the Syracuse City Ballet founding Artistic Director Kathleen Rathbun, the show once again brou...

Tis the season for Santa Claus, holiday lights, people lining up at three am to get a deal on a 76 inch TV set, and of the course the perennial holiday ballet favorite by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky known as The Nutcracker....

There's a lot riding on this revival of Ninette de Valois' production of Coppélia. Not only is it being performed by an (almost) entirely new crop of dancers since it was last seen here in 2006, it replaces Sir Peter Wright's long loved production of Nutcracker as this year's festive treat. ...

Throughout The Great Tamer, choreographer Dimitris Papaioannou makes his audience witness violent absences, ponderous stillness, and tender presence. The entirety of the human experience, from sublime to mundane, and from the curious to the apathetic, finds space on the stage. All of these events ye...

In their second visit to London's dance house, Acosta Danza return with a varied bill, following a successful debut in 2017. It culminates in a guest appearance from the man himself as he approaches his second Artistic Director role with Birmingham Royal Ballet in the new year. ...

The knowledge that Mark Morris Dance Group's 'Pepperland' is based on the Beatles' a?oeSgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Banda?? album sets the expectation for a bright, vivid performance that's just edging into trippy. For the most part, the show lives up to that expectation, but with some twists....

'On a personal level, to me, the piece represented the lineage: a student hears a teachers' voice and is forever changed by it,' Vangeline described. 'A butoh student must be lost to be found, walk in the dark, dive deeply inside themselves, and, as Tatsumi Hijikata said, 'pluck the darkness from th...

A stalwart of the classical repertoire, there's much to admire in The Sleeping Beauty; glittering, colourful costumes, enchanting storytelling and opportunities for the whole company to shine. Petipa's production was first seen in 1946 to reopen the Opera House after World War II, alternative versio...

ometimes it's nice not to have to follow a dramatic storyline throughout a ballet, and just be able to enjoy the performances, the artistry, the costumes, the captivating choreography and the whole presentation. This, is such a ballet. Before the performance began, there was a wonderful, infor...

​​​​​​​The first performance of a ten city/ten performance tour of the U.S. was given on November 2, 2019 at the Manhattan Center, 311 West 34th Street, NYC. I was excited to be in attendance. Afterall, Russian ballerina Diana Vishneva danced the role of the Princess, known in the orig...

It's a particular treat when a triple bill allows programme space to showcase not one but two exciting companies. We should thank Birmingham Royal Ballet for the highly democratic move of inviting Ballet Black to share the Sadler's Wells stage with them in this latest Autumnal offering. ...

The word “romantics” is defined in many ways: “a person with romantic beliefs or attitudes,'; “a writer of the romantic movement,'; “having no basis in fact.' Despite the different definitions, the concept of romance is always rooted in a feeling of extreme love and passion. And it's this ...

Just over a year ago Natalia Osipova premiered her own curated programme of work, Pure Dance, to mixed reviews. Amazing how, just one year later and with the pieces sitting more comfortably with the artists on stage, the momentum shifts, making for a much more powerful evening than before. ...

The first mixed bill of the season sees the Royal Ballet celebrate a diverse cross-section of 1960s productions - from the clean and tightly choreographed Concerto, to the luscious opulence of Raymonda Act III (so commonly seen as a standalone piece). The two are separated by some picture-perfect As...

Sadler's Wells associate artist Russell Maliphant is renowned for his work studying the intricacies of the human body. New piece, first premiered earlier this year at DanceEast, Silent Lines, seeks to continue this endeavour with all of Maliphant's signature creative devices. ...

There's a new Dance Movie, which opened nationwide Friday, October 11th, that's sure to advance the genre in popularity.  In the last few decades “Dirty Dancing,” “Footloose,” “Flashdance,” “Saturday Night Fever,” “Staying Alive” and more recently “La La Land” all caused qui...

THE DANCE GALLERY FESTIVAL was founded in 2007 by Astrid Von Ussar and Mojcar Ussar as a platform to present choreographers in annual showcases in New York City and Texas. This year, there were three performances at the Ailey Citigroup Theatre, September 27, 28, and 29. I attended the September 28th...

The Mariinsky Ballet's a?oePaquitaa?? should begin at its end. It's culminating event, the infamous Grand Pas, arrives after roughly two hours and for anyone in the Kennedy Center Opera House who doesn't know it's coming, the temptation to leave at one of two interminable intermissions is hard to re...

Saturday, September 27-29, 2019 The Los Angeles Youth Ballet's Artistic Director, Andrea Paris-Gutierrez, introduced the program for the evening, giving a warm welcome to the audience. The first half of the 'bill' was entitled 'Mixed Motions.'  Talented Choreographer Cedric Dodd, mounting his...

Body Traffic is a world-renown contemporary dance company, based in Los Angeles, and is The Wallis's 2019/20 Company-in-Residence.  A perfect match-up with the Wallis's imaginative and varied program schedule for the year. Lillian Barbeito and Tina Finkelman Burkett, the Artistic Directors, foun...

The Royal Ballet's 19/20 season is opened in confident style with Kenneth MacMillan's 1974 production of Manon. It features a cast who perform it with renewed vigour and attack, easing through the testing emotional and physical demands of the story with style and flair. ...

September 21, 2019 Olga Pericet presents her unique flamenco flair, in “La Espina... que quiso ser flor o la flor que soñó con ser bailaora” or 'The Thorn That Wanted to Be a Flower, or The Flower That Dreamed of Being a Dancer' Having recently been the recipient of the National dance ...