Francesca Hayward

Review: LIKE WATER FOR CHOCOLATE, Royal Ballet And Opera
by Matthew Paluch - Oct 2, 2025

Narrative ballet is hard, so anyone willing to go there deserves a medal regardless of the outcome. The Royal Ballet (mainstage) season opened last night with Christopher Wheeldon's 2022 Like Water for Chocolate. Based on the 1989 Laura Esquivel novel of the same name, the ballet is fundamentally a love story, and includes all the trials and tribulations that often come with it - with a heavy dose of mysticism and culinary explorations.

Bob Geldof To Receive Lifetime Achievement Award At The Sky Arts Awards 2025
by A.A. Cristi - Sep 13, 2025

Sky has announced that Bob Geldof will be honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2025 Sky Arts Awards, recognizing his extraordinary impact as a musician, activist, and cultural figure. The ceremony, hosted by Bill Bailey, will air on Sky Arts, Freeview, and streaming service NOW on September 16.

Christopher Wheeldon's LIKE WATER FOR CHOCOLATE Will Open the Royal Ballet's 25/26 Season
by Stephi Wild - Aug 28, 2025

The Royal Ballet will open their 2025/26 Season with Christopher Wheeldon's Like Water for Chocolate. Passion, mystery and magic set the themes for this captivating family saga inspired by Laura Esquivel's modern Mexican classic.

International Dance, Music and Arts Festival, Gala de Danza Comes to London in June
by Stephi Wild - May 8, 2025

Gala de Danza, the international dance, music, and art festival will have its London premiere with three performances this June at Central Hall Westminster. 

BALLET TO BROADWAY: WHEELDON WORKS Comes to the Royal Ballet
by Stephi Wild - Apr 22, 2025

Ballet to Broadway: Wheeldon Works will celebrate the choreographic talent of The Royal Ballet's Artistic Associate, Christopher Wheeldon. Learn more about the show here!

Kenneth MacMillan's ROMEO AND JULIET Returns To The Royal Ballet
by Stephi Wild - Feb 6, 2025

Kenneth MacMillan's Romeo and Juliet will celebrate its 60th anniversary with a return to The Royal Ballet this spring. Learn more about the upcoming production here!

The Royal Ballet's ONEGIN Returns in January
by Stephi Wild - Dec 9, 2024

The Royal Ballet will present Onegin, a heart-wrenching adaptation of Alexander Pushkin’s bittersweet verse-novel of Eugene Onegin. Performances begin in January 2025.

Review: ALICE'S ADVENTURES IN WONDERLAND, Royal Ballet And Opera
by Matthew Paluch - Sep 30, 2024

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?

Royal Academy Of Dance Reveals Winners Of The Margot Fonteyn International Ballet Competition 2024
by Stephi Wild - Sep 9, 2024

The Royal Academy of Dance has announced the medallists of The Margot Fonteyn International Ballet Competition 2024 final which took place at His Majesty's Theatre in London this evening.

Casts Revealed for Final Three Weeks of ABT 2024 Summer Season
by Chloe Rabinowitz - Jun 17, 2024

The casts have been unveiled for the final three weeks of American Ballet Theatre’s 2024 Summer season at the Metropolitan Opera House was announced today by Artistic Director Susan Jaffe.  

Review: ASHTON CELEBRATED - PROGRAMME 2, Royal Opera House
by Matthew Paluch - Jun 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 - Jun 7, 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.

The Royal Ballet Celebrates Founding Choreographer Frederick Ashton With Two Special Programmes
by Stephi Wild - May 15, 2024

This summer, The Royal Ballet will celebrate the genius of its Founding Choreographer Frederick Ashton with two mixed programmes demonstrating the remarkable range of his theatrical imagination.

Review: THE WINTER'S TALE, Royal Opera House
by Franco Milazzo - May 6, 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.

Tickets for American Ballet Theatre's 2024 Summer Season to Go on Sale This Month
by Chloe Rabinowitz - Apr 8, 2024

Tickets for ABT’s 2024 Summer season go on sale Monday, April 22 at 12:00 P.M. at the Metropolitan Opera House box office.

Review: DANSES CONCERTANTES/DIFFERENT DRUMMER/REQUIEM, Royal Opera House
by Matthew Paluch - Mar 21, 2024

The entire evening confirms MacMillan’s scope as a choreographer, but we knew that already right?

Alexander Campbell Becomes Artistic Director Of Royal Academy Of Dance
by Stephi Wild - Feb 21, 2024

The Royal Academy of Dance has announced Alexander Campbell as its new Artistic Director. Alexander will begin his tenure in April 2024.

Royal Academy of Dance's THE FONTEYN Comes to London in 2024
by Stephi Wild - Jan 24, 2024

The Royal Academy of Dance has announced that its flagship event The Margot Fonteyn International Ballet Competition comes to London in 2024.

CATS is Now Available to Stream on Netflix
by Stephi Wild - Jan 18, 2024

The 2019 film adaptation of CATS is now available to stream on Netflix in the US. Find out how and where to watch CATS here!

Review: MANON, Royal Opera House
by Michael Higgs - Jan 18, 2024

Kenneth MacMillan's Manon is a haunting exploration of desire and sexuality, contrasting pompous extravagance with the poverty of the masses.