Dance Theater Reviews
BWW Review: LIVE FROM COVENT GARDEN - DANCE, Royal Opera House
by Vikki Jane Vile - June 30, 2020
The third installment of Live from Covent Garden is the first to feature two ballet performances instead of one, and all the stronger for it. The result is a more rounded experience for arts fans and the choice of pas de deux more satisfying than those seen before. ...
BWW Review: MANON, Manchester Opera House
by Vikki Jane Vile - June 27, 2020
The latest installment from English National Ballet's series of a?oewatch partiesa?? is Kenneth MacMillan's emotionally demanding Manon. This filming shows a recent performance from late 2018 in Manchester with a stellar cast, most notably Alina Cojocaru in the title role with excellent and memorabl...
BWW Review: Martha Graham's IMMEDIATE TRAGEDY in Honor of Juneteenth
by Valerie-Jean Miller - June 22, 2020
Inspired by archival remnants of Martha Graham's “Immediate Tragedy,” a solo she created in 1937 in response to the Spanish Civil War, and in collaboration with composer Henry Cowell, the Martha Graham Dance Company, the Los Angeles-based Wild Up music collective, and The Soraya have created an inno...
BWW Review: LA FILLE MAL GARDEE, Royal Opera House
by Vikki Jane Vile - June 14, 2020
The Royal Opera House continues to treat us to a fortnightly fix of ballet and what relief this latest edition is. After some rather sombre, heavier narrative works, the froth and joy of Frederick Ashton's La Fille Mal Gardée is balm for the soul. Balletomanes will want to pour over this 2005 record...
BWW Review: MAYERLING, Royal Opera House
by Vikki Jane Vile - June 13, 2020
Kenneth MacMillan's Mayerling is the vivid dramatisation of the life of Crown Prince Rudolph and his death alongside his young mistress Mary Vetsera in 1889. A staple of the Royal Ballet's repertoire since its premiere in 1978, it is known for the rigorous demands on the central male dancer, but is ...
BWW Review: AVIVA - DANCE FILM at Virtual Theatrical Premier
by Amber Adams - June 09, 2020
AVIVA - DANCE FILM at Virtual Theatrical Premier this Friday, June 12...
BWW Review: ENGLISH NATIONAL BALLET - SWAN LAKE, Liverpool Empire
by Vikki Jane Vile - May 28, 2020
The next lockdown treat courtesy of English National Ballet comes in the form of Derek Deane's Swan Lake. This production last ran over the 2018/19 Winter season with this particular performance seeing Principals Jurgita Dronina and Isaac Hernandez in the leading roles....
BWW Perspective: Video of PACIFIC NORTHWEST BALLET'S Dress Rehearsal of Kent Stowell's SWAN LAKE Recorded at McCaw Hall
by Sondra Forsyth - May 23, 2020
During the 2020 global pandemic, PNB is offering audiences the opportunity to enjoy at no cost a series of limited-time-only videos in lieu of this season's cancelled live season....
BWW Announcement: PNB SPECIAL VIDEO PRESENTATION: KENT STOWELL'S 'SWAN LAKE' Recorded at McCaw Hall
by Sondra Forsyth - May 22, 2020
...
BWW Review: ANASTASIA, Royal Opera House
by Vikki Jane Vile - May 17, 2020
The latest ballet to feature as part of the #OurHouseToYourHouse series is Kenneth Macmillan's Anastasia, the true story of Anna Anderson who claimed to be the youngest daughter of Tsar Nicholas II and the only survivor of the Russian Royal family's assassination in 1918....
BWW Review: THE ROYAL BALLET - THE WINTER'S TALE, Royal Opera House
by Vikki Jane Vile - May 03, 2020
The second opportunity for online audiences to enjoy some Royal Ballet repertoire over lockdown is Christopher Wheeldon's adaptation of The Winter's Tale. First premiering in 2014, it has proved popular with ballet fans and has subsequently been programmed in 2016 (this recording) and 2018....
BWW Update: PACIFIC NORTHWEST BALLET ANNOUNCES VIDEO RELEASES OF BALLETS DURING SHELTER-AT-HOME
by Sondra Forsyth - May 01, 2020
While Pacific Northwest Ballet waits for the green light to get back to doing what we do best – live performances for live audiences – Artistic Director Peter Boal and Executive Director Ellen Walker are pleased to announce a bit of good news during these trying times...
BWW Dance Book Review: DAMIEN SIMON'S THE COLLABORATION
by Barnett Serchuk - April 27, 2020
Damien Simon's The Collaboration is an elegant and entertaining book, introducing those in the know--and those who may not know very much--to the sometime quicksand process known as collaboration....
BWW Review: MATTHEW BOURNE'S SWAN LAKE, Sadler's Wells
by Vikki Jane Vile - April 23, 2020
It's no understatement to say Sir Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake changed the dance landscape back in 1995 when it first premiered. Any Swan Lake is a juggernaut of a production but Bourne's added layers of storytelling, engaging new characters and unique reimagining for a 21st Century audience cemented ...
BWW Review: ENGLISH NATIONAL BALLET - BROKEN WINGS, Sadler's Wells
by Vikki Jane Vile - April 23, 2020
Admirably enhancing their “at home” offering, in addition to regular live streams of company class and chair-based dance classes for those with limited mobility, English National Ballet now bring us Wednesday Watchalongs, a weekly opportunity to experience key work from their back-catalogue for no e...
BWW Update: PACIFIC NORTHWEST BALLET ANNOUNCES CANCELLATION OF PITE-THARP-LIANG PERFORMANCES. at McCaw Hall
by Sondra Forsyth - April 13, 2020
SEATTLE, WA, 4/13/20 – In light of the state of Washington's ongoing health and safety efforts around the COVID-19 pandemic, Pacific Northwest Ballet's Executive Director Ellen Walker and Artistic Director Peter Boal have announced that the organization has made the difficult decision to cancel its ...
BWW Update: PACIFIC NORTHWEST BALLET RELIEF FUND at McCaw Hall
by Sondra Forsyth - March 23, 2020
There is no road map for how to proceed in this unprecedented situation. Our dancers and staff have been hunkering down at home, hoping for a positive turn of events that will allow us to welcome you back to McCaw Hall....
BWW dance link: KATHAKALI CLASSICAL INDIAN DANCE LESSON IN HAND WASHING at H/T Barbara Fromm and Sarah Ozturk
by Sondra Forsyth - March 21, 2020
...
BWW Review: CANCELLED! LYON OPERA BALLET USA TOUR and YAGP NEW YORK FINALS at David H. Koch Theater, Lincoln Center, And Others
by Sondra Forsyth - March 12, 2020
As the pandemic continues to impact the ballet world, I'm keeping BWW Dance updated on cancellations and postponements. This report is about the Lyon Opera Ballet, which is cancelling the USA tour and returning to France, as well as about the cancellation of YAGP New York Finals slated for April 202...
CANCELLED! SAN FRANCISCO BALLET AND CAROLINA BALLET at War Memorial Performing Arts Center and Fletcher Opera Theater
by Sondra Forsyth - March 12, 2020
The COVID-19 pandemic continues to cause ballet companies to cancel or postpone performances. Here are notices from San Francisco Ballet and Carolina Ballet:...
BWW Update: DUE TO CONCERNS ABOUT COVID-19, PACIFIC NORTHWEST BALLET CANCELS ONE THOUSAND PIECES AND BEAUTY AND THE BEAST at McCaw Hall
by Sondra Forsyth - March 11, 2020
Washington State is the epicenter of the 2019 COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak in the United States. King County, where PNB is located in Seattle, has been the hardest hit. Here is the press release from PNB regarding performance cancellations and options for ticket holders. You can also read a Health ...
BWW Review: RICHARD ALSTON DANCE COMPANY - FINAL EDITION at Sadler's Wells
by Vikki Jane Vile - March 09, 2020
Richard Alston is a man who doesn't need reviews any more. With a choreographic career spanning over fifty years (“entirely lacking any strategic plan” by his own admission), there is not much that hasn't been said. Alston is also adamant that this Final Edition is a celebration and not a funeral bu...
BWW Review: SWAN LAKE, Royal Opera House
by Vikki Jane Vile - March 07, 2020
Enough words have been given to the controversy surrounding this run of Liam Scarlett's Swan Lake, its first revival since a largely triumphant premiere in 2018. I don't wish to dwell further here, and instead want to focus on what was one of the most memorable nights at the theatre in quite some ti...
BWW Review: LA BALLET 'BALANCHINE'S BLACK AND WHITE' AND 2020 GALA at The Broad Stage
by Amber Adams - March 04, 2020
BWW Review: LA BALLET 'BALANCHINE'S BLACK AND WHITE' AND 2020 GALA at The Broad Stage...
BWW Review: ALVIN AILEY AMERICAN DANCE THEATER at Tennessee Performing Arts Center
by Melia Kraus-har - March 03, 2020
It was humbling listening to audience members remark upon the beauty and pure joy of seeing a stage filled with artists of color, responding to a shared sense of knowing, especially Ailey's work, Cry, dedicated in the program to 'all Black women everywhere - especially our mothers.' The ability for ...
