Q&A When did you start dancing? When I was 3 years old. My grandparents didn't know how to keep me occupied so they bought a video of The Nutcracker on a whim and that was it, I was happy all day long. Why did you start dancing? I can't give a definite reason, I just used to dance everywhere, wherever I was! Taking me to ballet classes seemed like an obvious thing … [Read more...] about Francesca Hayward answers the Gramilano Questionnaire… Dancers’ Edition
Maggie Smith
Introducing… Brandon Lawrence, Birmingham Royal Ballet
Q&A When did you start dancing? I started dancing at 8 years old and then I joined the Royal Ballet School full time at 14 Why did you start dancing? I’m not sure why… I was probably influenced through films and TV. Which dancer inspired you most as a child? As a child Carlos Acosta and Michael Flatley. I love Irish dancing! Which dancer do you most admire? Even … [Read more...] about Introducing… Brandon Lawrence, Birmingham Royal Ballet
Maggie Smith portrait added to the National Portrait Gallery collection
The National Portrait Gallery, London, has unveiled its most recent commissioned portrait, a painting of Dame Maggie Smith by James Lloyd. The large (six feet by three) oil painting shows the actress in jacket and trousers sitting in a bare studio on a draped chair which is placed on an intriguing trompe-l’oeil platform. The sittings began in 2011 and took place at the … [Read more...] about Maggie Smith portrait added to the National Portrait Gallery collection
Billy Connolly, star of Dustin Hoffman’s film Quartet, on old age
Billy Connolly stars in Dustin Hoffman's movie adaptation of Ronald Harwood's stage play Quartet. The film, set in a retirement home for opera singers, with British stalwarts Maggie Smith, Pauline Collins and Tom Courtenay, is an amusing but thought-provoking look at old-age and ageing. Connolly, who turns 70 in two months' time, spoke to the Toronto Sun about old age with … [Read more...] about Billy Connolly, star of Dustin Hoffman’s film Quartet, on old age
Dustin Hoffman to make directorial début with film about retired opera singers
Dustin Hoffman will make his directorial debut with a film about retired opera singers. The Hollywood Reporter said yesterday that Hoffman is scheduled to begin shooting "Quartet" in London later this week. The film, based on Ronald Harwood's tender play, is funded by the BBC, and will star Billy Connolly, Tom Courtenay, two-time Academy Award winner Maggie Smith, Pauline … [Read more...] about Dustin Hoffman to make directorial début with film about retired opera singers