Luke Jennings – The Observer From the moment of his first entrance, it’s Ball’s show. As well as being an assured technician, he’s a dance actor of real charisma. As the Swan, he’s dangerous and commanding, all sinew and hissing aggression; and as the Stranger he’s as disdainful as he is sexually predatory, cutting a ruthless swath through the female courtiers before finally, … [Read more...]
Interview: For The Royal Ballet’s Yasmine Naghdi it’s “Ready, Steady, Go”!
Interview with Yasmine Naghdi as she dances in the world premiere of Alastair Marriott’s The Unknown Soldier - with photos by Dasa Wharton I last interviewed Yasmine Naghdi in September of 2015 when she and Matthew Ball were preparing to dance Romeo and Juliet together. They were dancing the roles for the first time — she was a Soloist and he a First Artist. Time passes … [Read more...]
Photo Album: In the Upper Room and Embrace with Birmingham Royal Ballet
In the Upper Room and Embrace were part of a triple-bill programme by Birmingham Royal Ballet called Polarity & Proximity. Embrace, a new ballet commissioned from choreographer George Williamson as part of Ballet Now, Birmingham Royal Ballet's five-year programme, run in conjunction with Sadler's Wells, to develop choreographers, composers and designers to create … [Read more...]
English National Ballet’s The Sleeping Beauty – a photo album, dedicated to Elisabetta Terabust
Italian ballerina Elisabetta Terabust, who died in February this year at her home in Rome after a long illness, was a star of the London Festival Ballet, now English National Ballet, from 1973 until 1988. ENB dedicated this season's performances of Kenneth MacMillan's The Sleeping Beauty to her memory. Alina Cojocaru was Princess Aurora, Joseph Caley played Prince … [Read more...]
Birmingham Royal Ballet dancers Delia Mathews and Brandon Lawrence on dancing The Sleeping Beauty
Birmingham Royal Ballet’s run of The Sleeping Beauty performances is coming to end, with the final performances being given this week at Plymouth’s Theatre Royal. The very last performance features Delia Mathews and Brandon Lawrence. Dasa Wharton went to photograph a stage rehearsal and I talked to them about the dancing this most famous of ballets. Both dancers are new to … [Read more...]