1,004 stories by "Judith Mackrell"
Star ballerina and choreographer passionately committed to dance in CubaWhen Alicia Alonso was 20, and launched on a dancing career in New York, her future seemed assured. She had just been …
Lin Hwai-min has spent 46 years tackling revolt, repression and rice in his fast-changing homeland. Now he is handing over his dance-theatre juggernaut to a former slipper seller
It's a hot,…
As he takes his celebrated Shostakovich Trilogy to London, the choreographer explains how he was inspired by the Russian composer's political risks
Alexei Ratmansky says he's been making da…
It is the 'Persian Romeo and Juliet' " a hokey old work full of paper beards, corny wedding tunes and lots of camels. So why has the great cellist teamed up with choreographer Mark Morris to…
Sadler's Wells, LondonDriven by an immersive techno score, this visceral performance by Sharon Eyal's L-E-V dance company was irresistibly intenseLove Chapter 2 is an extension of OCD Love, …
With its culture of discipline, control and pecking orders, the dance world has always been plagued by claims of bullying and sexual exploitation. But old hierarchies are being challengedBal…
Sadler's Wells, London A virtuoso ensemble wring nuanced emotions from a triple bill that teams two emerging choreographers with a Twyla Tharp classicDavid Bintley has never made a particula…
The astonishingly expressive performer, who can conjure both charged stillness and whirling energy, is taking on his final major stage roleWhen Akram Khan was complimented by Mikhail Baryshn…
Audiences tweeted their love after live cinema screenings of the Royal's current production " but others hate the gothic set and costumesAs the Royal Ballet dance the final performances of t…
Royal Opera House, LondonThere are superlative performances " and the world's most glamorous black tutu " in Liam Scarlett's new take on the classicFundamentally, what I want from a producti…
Hans Christian Andersen's fables have inspired countless ballets. Few people know, however, that he was a failed dancer himself. Judith Mackrell reportsBy the time Hans Christian Andersen wa…
Barbican, LondonDance and spoken word combine in an evocative retelling of Kane's violent play about rape, madness and abuseHorrors haunt the text of Crave, the 1998 play by Sarah Kane in wh…
Sadler's Wells, LondonRelentless waves of words wash over the beautiful island in Formosa, the farewell work by visionary choreographer Lin Hwai-minIt will be an epochal moment when Lin Hwai…
The choreographer on staging Crave with an all-female cast and the struggle of performing with Merce Cunningham's companyJulie Cunningham might have been precision-engineered to dance the re…
Matthew Bourne is the latest choreographer to refuse to work in Russia. But if more British artists follow suit it might just make life harder for LGBT artists who oppose Putin' Jonathan Jon…
Barbican Pit, LondonA programme of MacMillan's early works by his former ballerina Viviana Durante is brimming with tricksIn the early 1950s, Kenneth MacMillan saw little in the world of bal…
Queen Elizabeth Hall, LondonOutfitted in Vivienne Westwood, the fleet-footed outsiders in Holly Blakey's subversive new piece are in thrall to their own imageStyled by the Vivienne Westwood …
Sadler's Wells, LondonWilliam Forsythe's new work blends classical steps and disco bounce to a smooth poppy beat " and the dancers are clearly enjoying themselvesWilliam Forsythe's new work …
Sadler's Wells LondonAlston's latest programme is a touching testament to his half century in the rigorous pursuit of purity in movementFifty years ago Richard Alston was a fierce, skinny bo…
Royal Opera House, LondonA revelatory tribute to Leonard Bernstein features designs by Erdem and a set by Edmund de Waal, with the music of Chichester Psalms and SerenadeThere's a kinetic ki…
Sadler's Wells, LondonDisabled and non-disabled performers tackle political correctness and prejudice with mischievous humourIt's always great to witness the buzz that choreographers get fro…
Sadler's Wells, LondonCrystal Pite, Emily Molnar and Sharon Eyal deliver a triple bill of new works that range from hazardous to poignantTamara Rojo's all-female programme She Said was part …
Wilton's Music Hall, LondonFrom gibbering witches to cascading horror, this darkly hectic dance adaptation is beautifully executedAs the choreographer of Dracula, The Odyssey and other dark …
Hackney Showroom, LondonSally Marie's highly physical work explores women's experience of their bodies with raunchy energy, tenderness and rage, but communicates less than it couldAs the #Me…
When the iconoclastic choreographer reinvented herself as a film-maker at the turn of the 70s, she opened up a new world of possibilities for her artWhen Yvonne Rainer made the switch from c…
