Dance Theater Reviews

Review: PILOBOLUS at The Joyce Offers Two Stunning Programs
by Marina Kennedy - July 25, 2024

Pilobolus comes to The Joyce Theater for a two-week residency and New York metro audiences will be delighted and enthralled by the programs they are presenting....

Review: BEFORE I GO, Brixton House
by Matthew Paluch - July 18, 2024

Before I Go, first seen during the Brixton House's Housemates Festival in summer 2023, is a one hour work written by Tobi King Bakare that centres on Ajani, a young, black man who has issues with communication when it really matters....

Review: NATIONAL YOUTH DANCE COMPANY: WALL - OONA DOHERTY, Sadler's Wells
by Matthew Paluch - July 15, 2024

National Youth Dance Company has been running since 2013, and acts as “England’s Flagship youth dance company”, the brainchild of, and run by Sadler’s Wells. The (Guest) Artistic Directors read like a who’s who of present day contemporary dance royalty, and 23/24 sees Oona Doherty take up the presti...

Review: PATHWAYS TO PERFORMANCE at Kennedy Center
by Emily Berger - July 05, 2024

This outstanding festival featured brilliant new or recent work by five choreographers....

Review: THE NEXT GENERATION FESTIVAL - RAMBERT SCHOOL, Royal Opera House
by Matthew Paluch - July 02, 2024

The Next Generation Festival continues at the Royal Opera House with Rambert School. The programme includes six new commissions for the third-year, graduate students, and the restaging of three Akram Khan works for the second-years....

Review: 10,000 DREAMS: A CELEBRATION OF ASIAN CHOREOGRAPHY, PROGRAM B at Kennedy Center
by Michela Dwyer - June 28, 2024

What did our critic think of 10,000 DREAMS: A CELEBRATION OF ASIAN CHOREOGRAPHY, PROGRAM B at Kennedy Center?...

Review: DEBUT SOUNDS: SOUND IN MOTION, Queen Elizabeth Hall
by Matthew Paluch - June 28, 2024

Debut Sounds: Sound in Motion is the London Philharmonic Orchestra’s annual concert showcasing the LPO’s Young Composers. The concept sees five composers and eight choreographers collaborating to create the final works shown, with the music played by musicians from the LPO Foyle Future Firsts Devel...

Review: THE NEXT GENERATION FESTIVAL: BUNDESJUGENDBALLETT, Royal Opera House
by Matthew Paluch - June 26, 2024

The Next Generation Festival continues at the Royal Opera House with two performances by the BundesJugendBallett AKA German National Youth Ballet. The group was founded by Hamburg Ballet director and chief choreographer, John Neumeier in 2011, and has been directed by Kevin Haigen since its inaugur...

Review: ACROBATIC SWAN LAKE, Sadler's Wells
by Franco Milazzo - June 24, 2024

Zhang Quan’s Acrobatic Swan Lake is so much more than its title suggests. The show originated in China in 2004 and, in the intervening decades, has travelled the world and was updated in 2019 under director Yan Hongxia. As choreographer and artistic director, Quan has created a work which seamlessly...

Review: THE NEW GENERATION FESTIVAL - THE ROYAL BALLET SCHOOL, Royal Opera House
by Matthew Paluch - June 20, 2024

The Next Generation Festival at the Royal Opera House continues with the first outing for The Royal Ballet School's annual performance dates...

Review: SWAN LAKE IN-THE-ROUND, Royal Albert Hall
by Vikki Jane Vile - June 14, 2024

Derek Deane’s Swan Lake has quite the reputation. First premiered in 1997 it became known for its corps de ballet of 60 swans (with freelancers hired to beef up ENB’s ranks) and then in 2010, a BBC documentary tracked its rehearsals and opening night, not always depicting everyone in the most flatte...

Review: SARASOTA BALLET GALA - ASHTON WORLDWIDE, Royal Opera House
by Matthew Paluch - June 10, 2024

The final Ashton Worldwide bill at the Royal Opera House (23-24 season) was a Gala programme performed by the Sarasota Ballet in the Linbury Theatre...

Review: ASHTON CELEBRATED - PROGRAMME 2, Royal Opera House
by Matthew Paluch - June 10, 2024

We're back for more Ashton, with a variation on the initial Royal Ballet programme...

Review: ASHTON CELEBRATED - PROGRAMME 1, Royal Opera House
by Matthew Paluch - June 07, 2024

The Ashton Worldwide (2024-2028) international festival continues at the Royal Opera House with the Royal Ballet on the mainstage in Ashton Celebrated. The company is performing two mixed bills with slight repertoire changes....

Review: New York City Ballet at The Kennedy Center
by Emily Berger - June 06, 2024

New York City Ballet returns to the Kennedy Center with a thrilling production of George Balanchine’s Jewels, through Sunday, June 9....

Review: SARASOTA BALLET - PROGRAMME 1, Royal Opera House
by Matthew Paluch - June 05, 2024

'wit, charm and elegance' are the words used to describe the work of Royal Ballet founding choreographer Sir Frederick Ashton (1904-1988). English ballet, or rather style wouldn't exist without him, so The Frederick Ashton Foundation have understandably instigated the Ashton Worldwide (2024-2028) in...

Review: ROMEO AND JULIET, Sadler's Wells
by Vikki Jane Vile - May 30, 2024

Leeds based Northern Ballet always pack a punch when they visit London every May, and this time was no different, with Massimo Moricone’s slick and captivating Romeo and Juliet. This year’s touring production held extra poignancy, with the costumes and set requiring full restoration and repair from ...

Review: BEYOND BOUNDARIES, AN EVENING CURATED BY ANNABELLE LOPEZ OCHOA at The Kennedy Center
by Michela Dwyer - May 26, 2024

What did our critic think of THE WASHINGTON BALLET'S BEYOND BOUNDARIES, AN EVENING CURATED BY ANNABELLE LOPEZ OCHOA at Kennedy Center?...

Review: NAVY BLUE at Ottawa's National Arts Centre
by Courtney Castelino - May 26, 2024

What did our critic think of NAVY BLUE at National Arts Centre?...

Review: EMERGING DANCER 2024, Sadler's Wells
by Vikki Jane Vile - May 25, 2024

English National Ballet’s Emerging Dancer award returned to Sadler’s Wells after a two year absence, with a unique opportunity for the most junior members of the company to shine. With his feet now firmly under the desk, Artistic Director Aaron S. Watkin hosted the evening, the first of his tenure, ...

Review: MAY B - COMPAGNIE MAGUY MARIN, Sadler's Wells
by Matthew Paluch - May 22, 2024

Marin is regarded as a major force in French modern dance, and one can understand why when appreciating the work's overall accomplished structuring…but that doesn't mean it will be an unequivocally enjoyable experience for all....

Review: ALONZO KING LINES BALLET: DEEP RIVER at Kennedy Center
by David Friscic - May 19, 2024

The visionary eye of Choreographer Alonzo King creates such complex choreographic movement from his gifted ensemble of twelve contemporary ballet dancers, that you will miss a tantalizing moment if you avert your eyes for even a nano-second. Billed as the Alonzo King LINES Ballet: Deep River ---the ...

Review: FRAMES OF MIND at Newport Contemporary Ballet
by Erica Cataldi-Roberts - May 17, 2024

Just in time for Mental Health Awareness month, Newport Contemporary Ballet presents a captivating evening of three mind-focused pieces, FRAMES OF MIND, at Providence’s WaterFire Arts Center....

Review: ABT STUDIO COMPANY Brings the Drama to The Joyce Theater
by Christina Pandolfi - May 08, 2024

It’s true what they say: everything old is new again. Ballets from a past time are reinvigorated and rejuvenated when today’s dancers take that form and breathe new life into it. ...

Review: THE WINTER'S TALE, Royal Opera House
by Franco Milazzo - May 06, 2024

Part violent psychodrama, part sunny romcom, The Winter’s Tale was not the most obvious of plays for the Royal Ballet to take on....