A Trio of McGregor Works Old and New The Royal Ballet’s latest triple bill, Alchemies, showcasing the work of its resident choreographer Wayne McGregor, consists of a little gem bookended by two difficult works. The gem is Yugen, created in 2018 as part of the Leonard Bernstein centenary celebrations. Either side of it comes […]
Dorrance Dance, The Centre Will Not Hold
A Genre-Busting Celebration of Dance The American Michelle Dorrance made her name as a tap dancer extraordinaire, not quite in the elegant mould of Fred and Ginger, but rather more physical, more street, more of our times. She’s always relished collaboration with other dance forms and has recently been seen at Sadler’s Wells as one […]
International Draft Works 2026
Emerging Choreographic Voices at the Linbury International Draft Works is undoubtedly a good thing. A Royal Ballet initiative in collaboration with a number of international companies, every year it brings to London emerging choreographers from across the globe to meet, share ideas and showcase their work. The 2026 edition once again validated the project, offering […]
Birmingham Royal Ballet, Don Quixote
A Look-Ahead to a Sunny, Joyous Ballet Undoubtedly one of the sunniest, most joyous and amusing ballets in Birmingham Royal Ballet’s repertoire, Don Quixote is weaving its magic across the UK in a tour that will end at Sadler’s Wells in late April. BRB dance Carlos Acosta’s vibrant, boisterous production of the 19th century classic […]
Kontakthof – Echoes of ’78
Veteran Pina Bausch Dancers Reimagine a Landmark Work The late great German choreographer Pina Bausch created Kontakthof for Tanztheater Wuppertal in 1978. At about three hours’ length, it was, like so much of Bausch’s output, an expressionist piece of dance theatre – truth to tell, always more theatre than dance – focusing on human interactions […]
My First Ballet: Cinderella
English National Ballet Dances for Young Audiences The target audience may be children, many very young and some attending the first ballet performance of their short lives, but that doesn’t mean stinting on production values. On the contrary, one of the many remarkable things about English National Ballet’s ‘My First Ballet’ programme is the consistently […]
Mayerling, The Royal Ballet
A Royal Scandal at the Habsburg Court Few choreographers have the skill to probe the darkness of the human soul like Kenneth MacMillan; few, if any, works in his extensive oeuvre probe it quite so disturbingly as his Mayerling, created for The Royal Ballet in 1978. MacMillan’s three-Act reading of the events leading to the […]
English National Ballet, Body & Soul
UK premieres by Crystal Pite and Kameron N. Saunders English National Ballet’s latest double bill, Body & Soul, now on at Sadler’s Wells, brings together two UK premieres by transatlantic choreographers: Canadian Crystal Pite, a Sadler’s Wells Associate Artist, and American Kameron N. Saunders, a newcomer to these shores. With her unique ability to move […]
Alexander Whitley, The Rite of Spring/Mirror
The Uneasy Marriage of Dance and AI Hands up all those who’ve read/heard of Shannon Vallon’s book The AI Mirror. No, me neither, and having watched Alexander Whitley’s new work, Mirror, which it has apparently inspired, I’m none the wiser. I have seen wonderful work by this science-obsessed choreographer. Years later, I still recall […]
Dance for Ukraine 2026
Keeping the dreams of young Ukrainian dancers alive Dance for Ukraine 2026, a fundraiser in aid of ballet students in the war-torn country, is just around the corner, the latest in a series of events providing much needed help to Ukraine. But before we launch into the detail of the forthcoming show, let’s just look […]