First photos of tonight's opening of a new double bill at The Royal Opera House with Jerome Robbins’s Dances at a Gathering and Cathy Marston's The Cellist. Dances at a Gathering Jerome Robbins’s elegant and elegiac classic forms the first part of the programme. This exercise in pure dance for five couples, set to music by Chopin, is a masterpiece of subtlety and … [Read more...] about Photo Album: Royal Ballet first night with Dances at a Gathering and The Cellist
Jerome Robbins
Eleonora Abbagnato will say adieux to the Paris Opera Ballet with a gala and défilé on 18 May
Eleonora Abbagnato’s planned soirée d’adieux to the Paris Opera Ballet on 23 December with a performance of Angelin Preljocaj’s Le Parc was postponed due to the ongoing strike by the ballet company, protesting against planned changes to their pension scheme. Abbagnato has opted instead for a ‘carte blanche’ evening for her farewell, dipping her toes for the last time into the … [Read more...] about Eleonora Abbagnato will say adieux to the Paris Opera Ballet with a gala and défilé on 18 May
Dancing Times, September edition – with Gramilano’s Danza in Italia column including Woolf Works at La Scala and a Glass triple bill in Rome
The latest issue of Dancing Times is out tomorrow. In September’s issue, I cover Wayne McGregor’s “amazing” Woolf Works at La Scala with Alessandra Ferri giving a “frighteningly intense” performance alongside an excellent cast from La Scala Ballet including “powerful and touching” performances from Timofej Andrijashenko as Septimus and Claudio Coviello as Evans, and Gioacchino … [Read more...] about Dancing Times, September edition – with Gramilano’s Danza in Italia column including Woolf Works at La Scala and a Glass triple bill in Rome
Dance in Italy – Spoleto Festival’s Dance Gala with Abbagnato, Vogel, Frola, Dato and many more on 30 June
There are many, many Italian dancers scattered around companies throughout the world. Some are in the corps de ballet, others are principal dancers, but all continue the tradition that made Italian dancers some of the most famous of all. Even leaving the men aside, we have Pierina Legnani (noted as 'maybe' being the first to perform 32 fouetté turns) who was a prima ballerina … [Read more...] about Dance in Italy – Spoleto Festival’s Dance Gala with Abbagnato, Vogel, Frola, Dato and many more on 30 June
Rome Opera Ballet announces 2019-2020 season
Five different programmes make up Rome Opera Ballet’s new season, 2019-2020. Benjamin Pech’s successful Swan Lake will be remounted to open the season. This will be followed by an evening dedicated to Jerome Robbins; a new work by José Carlos Martínez telling the tale of Lord Byron’s Il Corsaro (The Corsair); a triple bill featuring Suite en blanc, Serenade, and Pastor’s … [Read more...] about Rome Opera Ballet announces 2019-2020 season
Rome Opera Ballet’s Philip Glass triple bill thrills
The Philip Glass triple bill at Rome Opera Ballet showed off three very different choreographic styles to one composer’s music. Glass has a way of seducing the listener into his world —his music is guileful and hypnotising. The mainly minimalist component to his music results in there being a stronger connection with Vivaldi or Bach than Wagner or Strauss, so it is not … [Read more...] about Rome Opera Ballet’s Philip Glass triple bill thrills
Rome Opera Ballet presents a Philip Glass Evening featuring a new work with Eleonora Abbagnato and Friedemann Vogel
Rome Opera Ballet presents a Philip Glass Evening, which opens 29 March 2019, and features a new work with the company’s director, Eleonora Abbagnato, and guest artist Friedemann Vogel. The programme offers Benjamin Millepied’s Hearts and Arrows, Jerome Robbins’s Glass Pieces, and Nuit Blanche, a new piece by Sébastien Bertaud with designs by Christian Dior Couture. Abbagnato … [Read more...] about Rome Opera Ballet presents a Philip Glass Evening featuring a new work with Eleonora Abbagnato and Friedemann Vogel
Dancing Times, August 2018 out now – including latest Danza in Italia column
The latest Dancing Times magazine is now on sale. The August 2018 issue contains my latest Danza in Italia column with thoughts on the new Le Corsaire by Anna-Marie Holmes at La Scala, with company dancers Nicoletta Manni, Timofej Andrijashenko, Martina Arduino and Mattia Semperboni. The theatre also dedicated a series of evenings to Rudolf Nureyev to mark the 80 years since he … [Read more...] about Dancing Times, August 2018 out now – including latest Danza in Italia column
Meeting Alice Bellini, winner of English National Ballet’s People’s Choice Award 2018
Alice Bellini, who graduated from The Royal Ballet School last year, has won this year’s People’s Choice Award at the annual Emerging Artists competition held by English National Ballet to promote its new talent. The People’s Choice Award is voted for by audience members so represents how an artist communicates with the public. This is my first season with English National … [Read more...] about Meeting Alice Bellini, winner of English National Ballet’s People’s Choice Award 2018
Premiere of “Mahler 10”, Aszure Barton’s new dance piece for La Scala, reveals a small treasure
Aszure Barton has created a gem of a ballet for Milan’s Teatro alla Scala. Mahler 10 uses the first movement of Gustav Mahler’s unfinished Tenth Symphony and above it, Barton fashions a small world with a community of people who play, cry and love with directness and simplicity. Although the music is Mahler’s, the atmosphere is certainly not European, evoking the open spaces … [Read more...] about Premiere of “Mahler 10”, Aszure Barton’s new dance piece for La Scala, reveals a small treasure
