dance

Hall family and Wales shine in nationwide stage awards

Ismene Brown Monday, 31 October 2011

Port Talbot’s staging of The Passion with Michael Sheen won the highest accolade at the Theatre Management Association Awards yesterday, which honour the best of work touring Britain beyond London during the 2010-11 season.

Dance faces its Question Time - theartsdesk to hold live debate

Ismene Brown Friday, 28 October 2011

As great changes happen in the British arts economy, what lies ahead for dance? What are the questions to ask about what we will watch in future, what we will create for others to see, what we will perform, what we will pay for?

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Beyoncé stole my moves, says high priestess of modern dance

Ismene Brown Tuesday, 11 October 2011

Has the great pop diva Beyoncé plagiarised the great modern dance diva Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker? This is the burning question that has today sent disco popsters and fans of austere contemporary dance in a feverish crush to YouTube, comparing Beyoncé’s new "Countdown" vid with De Keersmaeker’s art-house dance Rosas danst Rosas.

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Late run to preserve genius's works

Ismene Brown Monday, 10 October 2011

Death concentrates the mind wonderfully, as they say. In the wake of the demise last week of Alexander Grant, who owned the choreographer Frederick Ashton's world-wide hit ballet La fille mal gardée, the Royal Ballet has announced that it is launching a foundation to "perpetuate the legacy and work" of the distinguished choreographer 23 years after his death.

British ballet's secret weapon, funny and dangerous

Ismene Brown Thursday, 06 October 2011

You hear the names of the princes and romantic heroines in ballet, but the global success of 20th-century British ballet had much to do with its dramatic acuity and nuancing, the unexpected side characters who in the ballets of Ashton and MacMillan were vastly more interesting than the stock supporting roles of 19th-century ballet.

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Nuclear star dancer Robert Parker leaps to head ballet school

Ismene Brown Monday, 19 September 2011

Birmingham Royal Ballet’s star Robert Parker has been a ballet dancer and a trainee pilot - and is now to become artistic director of Elmhurst Ballet School in Birmingham, one of the two most important ballet schools in Britain.

Peace dance! A call for more fancy footwork at the Rugby World Cup

ASH Smyth Friday, 09 September 2011

Dance away the heartache: perennial Kiwi underachievers do the haka

We’ve long grown used to culturally themed opening ceremonies for big sporting events, but when New Zealand and Tonga come together this morning for the first match in the Rugby World Cup 2011, there won’t just be singing and dancing in the pre-match jamboree, but in the actual game as well.

The Arts Desk Birthday Event - Join Us on 9/9!

Ismene Brown Sunday, 04 September 2011

On 9 September theartsdesk, Britain's first professional arts journalism site, will be two years old. To celebrate we’re holding a live debate with four leading performers during the Kings Place Festival. An actor, a singer, a dancer and an instrumentalist will share their different experiences of performance. Join us, live or online, for a stellar event.

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50 years since Nureyev defected and Kirov Ballet debuted in London

Ismene Brown Friday, 15 July 2011

It's 50 years since the mighty Kirov Ballet made their debut London tour - reeling from Nureyev's defection days before at the Paris airport. The tour was promoted by the unique impresarios of Soviet culture, Victor and Lilian Hochhauser. Half a century on, the pair are still indefatigably promoting the company, now named Mariinsky Ballet, whose season at Covent Garden opens on Monday, 25 July and runs to Saturday, 13 August.

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Summary of main Arts Council winners and losers

Ismene Brown Wednesday, 30 March 2011

A sliderule of 11-15 per cent reductions in annual grants by 2015, compared with this year, has been applied to Britain's major orchestras, opera, dance, theatre and music organisations. One major gainer is London's Barbican Centre - one major loser is the now world-famous Almeida Theatre, which loses almost 40 per cent of its current annual subsidy despite its reputation for innovation and discovery. However, the Arcola Theatre, another small innovative theatre, gets a big boost.