1,004 stories by "Judith Mackrell"
Coliseum, LondonWhen, in 1950, Alicia Markova founded what would become English National Ballet, she not only ran the company, but was also its lead ballerina. So there's nothing new in Tama…
Rich with emotional subtleties, this apprentice ensemble launched by BalletBoyz Michael Nunn and William Trevitt bring energy and delicacy to the world of male dancingReading on a mobile? Wa…
At the tail end of the 1960s, four giants of the New York avant-garde fell under the spell of the great French artist Marcel Duchamp. The results caused shockwaves. In the runup to a new Bar…
Sadlers Wells, LondonMatthew Bourne has already branded his imagination on two of the great Tchaikovsky ballets, reinventing a dark, Dickensian Nutcracker and a feral Swan Lake. But in tackl…
Royal Opera House, LondonKenneth MacMillan's career-long mission to push ballet into new and often difficult terrain was reflected in the range of music he used and in the unpredictable stor…
Sadler's Wells, LondonGuilherme Botelho, choreographer and director of Alias, has admitted to being a "keen runner and a big fan of Charles Darwin", and it is clear that both enthusiasms hav…
Lilian Baylis TheatreYolande Yorke-Edgell runs her small modern dance company in a distinctly different style from the current mainstream. It is her own choreography that opens and…
With his quicksilver fluency and remarkable range " from B-boy dance to balletic grace " the former So You Think You Can Dance runner-up deserves to win this timeLast week, the nominations w…
Sadler's Wells, LondonPina Bausch's influence on contemporary dance theatre has always been a given. But in the wake of this summer's intensive Bausch season, we're more than usually attuned…
The Place, LondonCharlotte Vincent's new work about physical and sexual politics revolves around the anxious, quizzical presence of a 12-year-old girl. As Leah Yeger observes the behaviour o…
Batsheva Ensemble: Deca Dance | Wayne McGregor: FARBatsheva Ensemble: Deca Dance, BirminghamBatsheva has become one of the world's most effective nurseries for new talent. For its UK debut t…
Barbican, LondonDoes it matter that Michael Clark's latest work has no real title? Probably not, as his choreography tends to be one long work in progress. This latest piece, with music by S…
Platform, LondonOn one level, 50 Acts is Wendy Houstoun's personal contribution to the voice of grumpy middle-age. From the frustrations of an unreliable memory to the aggravation of a world…
From its work with film star Emily Blunt to its super-wealthy founder, few contemporary dance companies enjoy more success than New York's Cedar Lake or attract more controversy Continue re…
Sadler's Wells, LondonSasha Waltz has orchestrated some of the most extraordinary spectacles on the modern dance stage: the giant fish tank that housed her floating, spinning dancers in Dido…
Sadler's Wells, LondonSan Francisco Ballet are one of the world's most generous and resourceful promoters of new work. But by opening their (long overdue) UK season with a classic …
PlayhouseAnd Then, One Thousand Years of Peace is a huge, ambitious monolith of a work. First created by Angelin Preljocaj for the Bolshoi Ballet in 2010, it takes inspiration from the visio…
Assembly HallBritain has apparently become a nation of dancers, or at least a nation addicted to TV dance shows. The finale of this short, entertaining production sees the entire audience ge…
Dance companies have embraced social media like few others arts organisations " and even the founder of Twitter is a ballet fan. Judith Mackrell visits San Francisco Ballet to find out what …
Purcell Room, LondonLearning a craft depends on skills passed down through the bodies and memories of others " and at first sight, this Cambodian circus show is simply an innocent celebratio…
Lean, linear and unashamedly sexy, with a gaze like a 'young Joan Crawford' ... Watch the Royal Ballet's outgoing director, who joined as a dancer in 1958, in actionReading this on a mobile?…
Royal Opera HouseThe second half of Monica Mason's tenure as director of the Royal Ballet has been invigorated by a rare concentration of ballet making, with no less than seven choreographer…
Sadler's Wells, LondonWhen Play Without Words was premiered back in 2002, it raised British dance theatre to a new pitch of sophistication. A study of sex and class in early 1960s London, it…
Sadler's Wells, LondonThe Pina Bausch world tour has steamed into its final destination, Hungary; and out of all the travelogue works we've seen, Wiesenland is surely the one most likely to …
With London audiences having had an unprecedented chance to see 10 of her pieces side-by-side, Pina Bausch's surreal, seductive world has divided opinion. I found the journey revelatory " di…
