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
Natalia Osipova
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 JuneYokohama, Kanagawa Kenwin Hall Royal Ballet Gala, 29 – 30 JuneLos 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 CThe 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.MedusaChoreography: Sidi Larbi CherkaouiMusic: Henry PurcellElectronic … [Read more...] about Photo Album: first look at tonight’s premiere of Medusa with The Royal Ballet
Behind the Scenes with Marianela Nuñez: “This is where the magic begins”
“This is Covent Garden.” The recorded announcement reverberates along the platform.I always feel that this is when my ballerina day starts… It’s been 20 years that I’ve come to this station and I just feel that this is where the magic begins, believe it or not — Covent Garden tube station.This is the opening of a delightful 30-minute BBC Radio 4 programme Behind the Scenes … [Read more...] about Behind the Scenes with Marianela Nuñez: “This is where the magic begins”
Photo Album: La Bayadère with The Royal Ballet – first night with Nuñez, Osipova and Muntagirov
Here are the first photos from the dress rehearsal of tonight's opening cast at The Royal Opera House of Natalia Makarova's La Bayadère.Solor is danced by Vadim Muntagirov, Gamzatti by Natalia Osipova, and Marianela Nuñez is Nikiya. This is also the cast that will be dancing when the ballet is transmitted live in cinemas on 13 November 2018.An iconic 19th-century Russian … [Read more...] about Photo Album: La Bayadère with The Royal Ballet – first night with Nuñez, Osipova and Muntagirov
Review: Manon at La Scala with Svetlana Zakharova and Roberto Bolle
While the role of Manon doesn’t represent the pinnacle of acting challenges, it is surely one of the most satisfying. For a dancer who can act it is a gift, with each scene offering a new state to convey: from the young girl playing at flirting, to becoming the joyfully passionate lover (in the first bedroom pas de deux), to the calculating social climber, to the knowingly … [Read more...] about Review: Manon at La Scala with Svetlana Zakharova and Roberto Bolle
Sneak peek of Don Quixote at La Scala – photos from today’s dress rehearsal
Rudolf Nureyev's Don Quixote returns again to La Scala with many of the company's newer Principals and Soloists making role debuts.Tomorrow night's cast - and that of this afternoon's dress rehearsal - will see Timofej Andrijashenko dance Basilio for the first time, and he will be dancing with Nicoletta Manni who is a house favourite in the role of Kitri.In the first … [Read more...] about Sneak peek of Don Quixote at La Scala – photos from today’s dress rehearsal
David Hallberg explains his injury: I felt a pop in my calf, and from then on a sharp pain
Mid-way through the first act, taking off for a jump, I felt a pop in my calf, and from then on a sharp pain inflicted by just stepping on it. I finished the act through sheer grit of determination but knew in my gut I couldn’t possibly continue. I am shattered and heartbroken... In an interview with David Hallberg for The Times on 1 March, he told Debra Craine: As defeated … [Read more...] about David Hallberg explains his injury: I felt a pop in my calf, and from then on a sharp pain
Photo Album: first look at The Royal Ballet’s triple bill by Tharp, Pita and Shechter
New work is as central to the repertory of The Royal Ballet as revivals of the classics. For Director of The Royal Ballet Kevin O’Hare, contemporary choreographers and dancers are ‘creating the classics of the 21st century’. In this mixed programme, O’Hare invites two choreographers to create new works for the Company – one making her long-overdue return, the other making his … [Read more...] about Photo Album: first look at The Royal Ballet’s triple bill by Tharp, Pita and Shechter