Budding Ballet Dancers Charm and Delight Picture this: a hard-boiled critic, who has seen a lot of dance and over many years has been privileged to marvel at the talent of some of the greatest dancers in the world, sits in a darkened theatre with a goofy smile of sheer pleasure on her face. She […]
Next Generation Festival #3
ENB School/John Cranko School – Two Schools, One Mission Collaborations often work by throwing up the unexpected. We saw an example of great cross-fertilisation in the previous Next Generation 2026 programme, when ZooNation Youth Company joined forces with dancers from Memphis, USA, and Memphis Jookin’ pioneer Lil Buck to reimagine history through the lens of […]
Colossus, Queen Elizabeth Hall
Australian Choreographer Stephanie Lake’s UK Debut As every dictator and cult leader knows, there’s a special dynamic to large groups of people moving in strictly coordinated unison. It never fails to have an impact: it astounds, dazzles or frightens. And for a while Colossus, Australian choreographer Stephanie Lake’s work for a massive group of well-marshalled […]
The Sleeping Beauty, English National Ballet
ENB’s Signature Classic Debuts at the Royal Albert Hall ==== The Sleeping Beauty will be screened in cinemas nationwide 13 – 18 October. To find a participating cinema near you and buy tickets click here ==== Kenneth MacMillan’s The Sleeping Beauty, entrusted in the UK to English National Ballet (ENB), is a glorious spectacle full […]
Phoenix Dance Theatre, Interplay
A Varied and Engaging Mixed Bill Funny, clever, engaging and thoroughly entertaining – Interplay, Phoenix Dance Theatre’s new mixed bill, brought a breath of metaphorical fresh air from its Leeds home to London’s Sadler’s Wells East (which, it’s only fair to point out, is itself delightfully air-conditioned). A mixed bill of works by international choreographers, […]
Next Generation Festival #2
Junior Company of Polish National Ballet joins Rambert School at the Linbury I don’t know whose idea it was to pair off students of Rambert School of Contemporary Dance and the Junior Company of The Polish National Ballet, for the fifth programme of Next Generation Festival 2026 at the Linbury Theatre. On paper, they were […]
Staging The Sleeping Beauty at the RAH
English National Ballet Director Aaron S Watkin Interview The Sleeping Beauty is one of the best-loved 19th-century classical ballets still in repertoire around the world. The Charles Perrault fairy tale about a Princess who is fated to sleep for 100 years until true love awakens her had its first ballet incarnation in imperial Russia, where […]
Acosta Danza Yunior – Next Generation
Carlos Acosta’s Young Dancers Strut Their Stuff Cuba remains, despite unimaginable deprivations, an extraordinary crucible for dance talent. Year after year, its dance schools turn out wave after wave of exceptional dancers, and by virtue of his international prestige, Carlos Acosta, Cuban ballet superstar, has the pick of the best. Acosta’s latest project is Acosta […]
20th Century Masterpieces
Birmingham Royal Ballet Honours Three Choreographic Giants Birmingham Royal Ballet (BRB) ends its season on a high with a compact series of performances of a demanding triple bill entitled 20th Century Masterpieces. The weekend performances follow a one-off gala marking the 100th year of Director Laureate Sir Peter Wright, the man who steered the company’s […]
Next Generation Festival 2026, Linbury
Youth Company of the Ballet Academy of the Vienna State Opera and The Royal Ballet School Next Generation Festival, an annual Royal Ballet initiative which brings young dancers and choreographers from around the world to the Linbury Theatre, kicked off its 2026 edition with wondrous displays of talent from Vienna and London. The Youth Company […]