DANCE
IT HAS been a strong year for dance, both ballet and modern, but to my surprise some of the bolder modern pieces made the biggest impact on me.
Under tamara Rojo, the English National Ballet continues to shine brightly indeed and I’ll watch Akram Khan’s dazzling reinvention of Giselle for them any chance I get.
Similarly, I can’t get enough of Pina Bausch’s electrifying The Rite of Spring – which was part of the ENB triple bill She Persisted. I also was thrilled to go behind the scenes of the creation of their new blockbuster Cinderella by Christopher Wheeldon.
The ENB’S delightful version of Manon in the spring was like a dreamy watercolour next to the Royal Ballet’s equally excellent oil painting which glittered darkly and dangerously this autumn.
The Royal delivered a gleaming Don Quixote – the perfect showcase for yasmine Naghdi’s glorious technique. It was matched by Natalia Osipova as a devastating Juliet to David Hallberg’s Romeo, just one of three RB lead pairs which also included the divine Francesca Haywood – who even shines on screen in the disastrous new film of Cats.
Osipova revived her solo show Pure Dance at Sadler’s wells too, which was a little uneven with some imperious moments. Sadler’s also hosted the San Francisco
Ballet for a series of show-stopping programmes, especially the Shostakovich Trilogy.
The Royal wrapped up the year with a hugely popular sell-out Sleeping Beauty, which piled on the nostalgia but I found a little fusty, and a frolick-some Coppelia.
The Royal Opera House Linbury Theatre consistently offers exciting modern pieces and visiting foreign companies. A highlight was August’s celebration of Merce Cunningham’s legacy which included a new piece by Pam Tanowitz.
The excellent Birmingham Royal Ballet continues to impress. Momoko Hirata swept me away in a flawless, traditional Giselle. I loved their bold new piece A Brief Nostalgia during a spectacular mixed bill which included the utterly sensational The Suit with Ballet Black. I can’t
wait to see what the BRB does next year under Carlos Acosta.
His Acosta Danza company toured with their show Evolution, which was probably my favourite night of the entire year. A deliriously delicious collection of pieces included the bewitching Faun and crowd-pleasing Rooster set to the Rolling Stones. Elsewhere, Northern Ballet’s
Dracula is a proper gothic treat. Their new ballet about Queen Victoria was ambitious but ultimately a little unsatisfying. However, Three Short Ballets was packed with beautiful choreography.
The treat of the year came in August when the Bolshoi grandly swept into town. I sat in on classes, watched rehearsals and chatted with stars of the ballet superpower. On stage, their Spartacus was suitably bombastic, and comedic hidden gem A Bright Stream was an absolute delight.who knew the Russians could be so playful?