Last night, 8 June 2019, The Royal Ballet celebrated the centenary of the birth of its most famous ballerina, Dame Margot Fonteyn, who was born on 18 May 1919. A performance of The Firebird, currently in a triple bill, was followed by a gala of extracts from ballets representing some of Fonteyn’s most celebrated roles. Another dame, Dame Darcey Bussell, also appeared on stage … [Read more...] about Photos and full programme of Margot Fonteyn, A Celebration with The Royal Ballet
Matthew Ball
The Royal Ballet in Japan and Los Angeles – dates and casting
The Royal Ballet tours to Japan and Los Angeles this summer, presenting signature work from the Company’s repertory, a world premiere by Wayne McGregor and community engagement projects. Tokyo, Bunka Kaikan Carlos Acosta’s Don Quixote, 21 – 26 June Yokohama, Kanagawa Kenwin Hall Royal Ballet Gala, 29 – 30 June Los Angeles, The Music Center Dorothy Chandler Pavilion Kenneth … [Read more...] about The Royal Ballet in Japan and Los Angeles – dates and casting
Photo Album: first look at The Royal Ballet’s new triple bill
The Firebird / A Month in the Country / Symphony in C The curtain has just gone up on The Royal Ballet's latest triple bill and here are the first photos. The flash of a firebird, a family sent into a spin and a classical ballet explosion. Michel Fokine's The Firebird with Igor Stravinsky's music is a ground-breaking classic of the early 20th-century that draws on the story, … [Read more...] about Photo Album: first look at The Royal Ballet’s new triple bill
Photo Album: first look at tonight’s premiere of Medusa with The Royal Ballet
Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui new work, Medusa, opens at The Royal Ballet this evening, together with revivals of Christopher Wheeldon's Within the Golden Hour and Crystal Pite's ballet exploring the refugee crisis, Flight Pattern. Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui’s Medusa is his first work for The Royal Ballet. Medusa Choreography: Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui Music: Henry Purcell Electronic … [Read more...] about Photo Album: first look at tonight’s premiere of Medusa with The Royal Ballet
Matthew Ball in Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake
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...] about Matthew Ball in Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake
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...] about Interview: For The Royal Ballet’s Yasmine Naghdi it’s “Ready, Steady, Go”!
Photo Album: first photos of tonight’s triple bill with The Royal Ballet
Two contrasting ballets from Wayne McGregor and George Balanchine return with a world premiere by Alastair Marriott. The classical and the contemporary meet in this programme of three complementary works. Alastair Marriott's new ballet to a commissioned score from Dario Marianelli marks the centenary of the ending of World War I in October 2018. The Unknown Soldier imagines … [Read more...] about Photo Album: first photos of tonight’s triple bill with The Royal Ballet
Photo Album – 40th anniversary performances of Kenneth MacMillan’s Mayerling
Kenneth MacMillan’s darkly dramatic masterpiece, Mayerling, opens The Royal Ballet’s 2018/19 Season. Featuring one of the most technically demanding male roles in classical ballet, Mayerling is based on the true story of the deaths of Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria and his teenage mistress Mary Vetsera which shocked the world in 1889. Kevin O’Hare, Director of The Royal … [Read more...] about Photo Album – 40th anniversary performances of Kenneth MacMillan’s Mayerling
Ivan Putrov is once again swimming Against the Stream with a new project at The London Coliseum
Ivan Putrov, former principal of The Royal Ballet who conceived and produced the Men in Motion galas starting in 2012 — which he continues to produce — has a new venture. Against the Stream, a one-off gala performance, will celebrate some of ballet’s greatest pioneers. The evening will celebrate some of the remarkable choreographers who took ballet to new heights by daring to … [Read more...] about Ivan Putrov is once again swimming Against the Stream with a new project at The London Coliseum
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