Yvonne Arnaud Theatre Guildford On an almost island next to an old mill, and across from the colossal carcass of the abandoned Debenhams is the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre. A 60s spaceship of a building in layers of glass and fluffy blue carpets. Guildford’s second theatre to border the slow path of the winding river Wey. Having missed the London run ...
Sadlers Wells 20 years, that’s almost my whole life…if you add a couple of years… OK…10 years, who’s counting? Back in triumphant fashion, this hip hop happening has weathered the last few (hard) years with style and sensational energy. As a confirmed sycophant of the festival, I have seen it on YouTube, with tight restrictions within Sadlers Wells (no distinctive beef ...
Barbican, Ballet Black Cassa Pancho does it again. Pulling intellectually stimulating, and eye-wateringly beautiful ballet out of the proverbial hat. Even if the evening is a little one-sided, I ask, what have we done to deserve it? Ballet Black returns in all their glory. A double bill, something old and something new as it were….with just a dash of something blue(s). William Tuckett’s ...
Julie Cunningham & Company, Sadlers Wells I’ll give ya what ya want, what ya really really want… and if that is a space-age experimental dance piece with the famous Jules Cunningham and sporty (dancy) spice Mel C, then that is what you’ll get. But how does this happen? Celeb cameos are a staple in musical theatre land, as Nicole Scherzinger ...
Grupo de Rua by Bruno Beltrão at Sadler’s Wells In 1996 Bruno Beltrão (only 16) created Grupo de Rua with his friend Rodrigo Bernardi. The only thing I created at 16 was an emotional collage to my “platonic” best friend, never mind I digress. Little did these teenagers know the highs the company would soar to: touring around the world, ...
New English Ballet Theatre, Aud Jebsen Studio Theatre, Royal; Academy of Dance Clouds of Chanel perfume, clacking pearls, with plenty of room to swing a…..arabesque. Welcome to the gleaming columns of the Royal Academy of Dance. Admits this polite cacophony New English Ballet Theatre marks both Remembrance Day and simultaneously celebrates 12 years of existence. Peeking in at dance lessons in ...
Birmingham Royal Ballet, Sadlers Wells If Carlos Acosta guarantees us Londoners an “extraordinary” triple bill, rushing down from his midland powerhouse, we sit up and listen. The mere whisper of this most hallowed director soars ticket sales and promises bums on seats. Add name-dropping of the likes of Jiří Kylián, Benjamin Britten, Uwe Scholz, and Ludwig van Beethoven plus the ...
Hofesh Shechter II at the Battersea Arts Centre Shechter II’s dazzling show is proof that the youth wing of the famous company is as dexterous as its progenitor. Hofesh Shechter gifted the world with his eponymous company in 2008, enrapturing the dance scene. Since then, he has dazed audiences and yours truly. Now he turns his impassioned eye to the youth (how sweet) ...
Alexander Whitley Dance Company, Lilian Baylis Studio A fresh new work by Alexander Whitley and his company is always something to get the blood pumping of dance aficionados. A premiere, in the Lilian Baylis Studio, exploring technology’s distant future and transhumanism promises to bring that blood to a boil. So, the huddled masses of ballet’s vanguard march into the hazy ...
Dance Consortium at the Peacock Theatre Ballet is not known for its humour (mores the pity). The stiff faces, rigid movements, and rules on rules on rules. The land of daily repetition is not a breeding ground for the brawling baby called comedy. Matthew Bourne and William Forsythe inject intellectual irony into their work, but a burst of laughter would still be ...