tue 12/08/2025

dance

Bernstein triple bill, Royal Ballet review - epic ambitions unfulfilled

Hanna Weibye

The Royal Ballet last night presented an evening of Bernstein-scored ballets, two of them premieres by Wayne McGregor and Christopher Wheeldon and the other a revival of Liam Scarlett's 2014...

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Macbeth, Wilton's Music Hall review - incisive and thrilling dance theatre

Jenny Gilbert

There’s more than a touch of vaunting ambition in the idea of turning the Scottish Play into dance theatre. Without spoken text, named scenes or even a printed synopsis, it falls to choreography and direction to speak for them all.

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Giselle, Royal Ballet review - beautiful dancing in a production of classic good taste

Hanna Weibye

The run of Giselle that opened at the Royal Opera House last night was completely sold out before it even started, and no wonder. Pair Sir Peter Wright's eerie production with some very fine casts and the reliable classiness of the Royal Ballet's corps de ballet and you have an enchanting package indeed.

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Song of the Earth/La Sylphide, English National Ballet review - sincerity and charm in a rewarding double bill

Hanna Weibye

The unifying theme of this new Coliseum double bill is death, but don’t let that put you off. Kenneth MacMillan’s Song of the Earth and August Bournonville’s La Sylphide may seem like odd bedfellows, but both are a great deal more uplifting than their plot summaries might suggest, and in the hands of English National Ballet the evening is joyous, even life-affirming.

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Best of 2017: Dance

theartsdesk

With forelock-tugging celebrations of a choreographer who died 25 years ago and a summer visit by the Mariinsky the highest-profile events in the calendar, 2017 may not be remembered as a vintage year for British dance.

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Cinderella, Sadler's Wells review - Matthew Bourne puts Cinderella through the Blitz

Jenny Gilbert

Even if Matthew Bourne were never to choreograph another step, he could fill theatres in perpetuity by rotating old stock. Cinderella, made in 1997, was the follow-up to his break-out hit Swan Lake but, never quite happy with it, he reworked it in 2010, replacing the musicians in the pit with a custom-made recording of an 82-piece orchestra.

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The Nutcracker, English National Ballet review - a thoroughly enchanting performance

Katherine Waters

The familiar doesn’t have to get old. Last night at the Coliseum there were children in the boxes, adults in the circle and grandparents in the stalls.

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The Nutcracker, Royal Ballet review - superb start to the festive dance season

Jenny Gilbert

For some people, the festive season starts with The Nutcracker. And as it happens, this year the opening night of Sir Peter Wright’s production for the Royal Ballet was also the performance beamed live to hundreds of cinemas around the UK and many more around the world.

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Sylvia, Royal Ballet review - Ashton rarity makes a delicious evening

Hanna Weibye

On paper, the appeal of a Sylvia revival is questionable. If even the choreographer (Frederick Ashton) wasn't sure his 1952 original was worth saving for posterity, do we really want to watch a 2004 reconstruction posthumously pieced together from rehearsal tapes?

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Triple Bill, Royal Ballet review - Arthur Pita's 'Wind' is a howling success

Jenny Gilbert

Of all the stories Arthur Pita could have chosen to wrangle for his new narrative ballet, he chose one about wind, perhaps the trickiest element of all to represent on a live stage. Tricky because of course you can’t see wind, you can only see its effects. Tricky, too, because – in extremis, as this is – it does mad things to hair-dos, costumes, and the ability of the cast to keep a grip on props and even dance the steps.

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