The backdrops and projections in Heartbeat of Home, of which there are many, recalled to my mind a line from the opening scene of the Thornton Wilder play Our Town: “There’s some scenery for those who think they have to have scenery”. Likewise, there’s a story for those who would prefer dance and music shows like this one to have some narrative structure: in short, … [Read more...]
Reviews of Dance in London - Reviews of Dance at Sadler's Wells
If you are planning to visit London to see a Dance production on stage at one of the West End theatres, or in one of the many Off West End or Fringe venues, then maybe our Dance reviews section can be of help? Read one of the latest reviews or use the search button to find and view one of our previous reviews. We use a star rating system on our site.
BalletBoyz’ Them/Us at Sadler’s Wells
The first half of the show, a thirty-minute piece choreographed by the dancers is titled Them. It’s not boring because Balletboyz are fabulous dancers and for this reason, it’s enough to watch but the work itself feels shallow. It’s hard to work out what the point is except as a virtuoso display. The cube doesn’t add much either. Andrew Ellis, the lighting designer contributes occasional intense scenes of colour which are beautiful. The music composed by Charlotte Harding provides necessary substance to the work as it sweeps from gorgeous strings to strings with a driving beat which accompany the best section of dance, a virtuoso solo by dancer, Benjamin Knapper. Them has a running time of only 30 minutes which is just about right, not overlong.
Notwithstanding the limitations of Them the second half of the show, Us, after the interval is so satisfying you leave elated, amazed all over again by the impact of great contemporary dance when it happens in front of you again.
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Another Kind of Blue present the UK premiere of Flirt with Reality
There are two sections of such exciting poetic and visual beauty in Another Kind of Blue performed by this Netherlands-based contemporary dance company it’s unmissable. David Middendorp is the founding artistic director whose choreography and visual presentations teem with ideas and imaginative connections. He creates an incredible visual interplay between his … [Read more...]
Review of The Mother at Southbank Centre’s Queen Elizabeth Hall
Perhaps being a non-parent has a lot to do with not quite being able to connect with The Mother - all I could see at face value was a storyline moving at a pace that varied between that of a marriage procession and a glacier, and a revolve that revolved and revolved some more, and when it was done revolving, started revolving back the other way. If you want to … [Read more...]
TAO Dance Theater at Sadler’s Wells | Review
Tao Dance 4+9 starts with the audience in the dark. And that’s more or less how it finishes, too. If you’re the kind of person who doesn’t have any desire to know what’s going on for about an hour, while a group of four, and then nine (hence the title) dancers mosh and bounce around the stage in matte grey and black outfits. Well, I’ve got good news for you. Tao … [Read more...]
Beats on Pointe – Masters of Choreography at The Peacock Theatre
Returning to Sadlers Wells after a triumphant short run last year, Beats on Pointe is the ultimate mash-up of classical ballet and modern street dance. The opposing dance worlds collide in this high energy, colourful show. Produced by the Australian dance company, Masters of Choreography which was formed by Jennifer and Milo Masters in 2014, Beats on Pointe has been … [Read more...]
Israel Galván’s La Fiesta at Sadler’s Wells | Review
Israel Galvan’s La Fiesta is genuinely creative, transcending the categorising genre of Flamenco in its anarchistic deconstruction of rhythm and expectations in front of your eyes, to build it up to something different, something modern while acknowledging its root. It all starts with nine performers mixed in age and talents and a cafe background, summoning a … [Read more...]
Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake at New Wimbledon Theatre | Review
Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake, now nearly 25 years old, is as sharp, sexy and silly as ever. Though audiences might be somewhat less shocked than when this show, now a Christmas treat for families, opened, it doesn’t seem to have lost any of its edge, or indeed, darkness. Despite its Christmas associations and deeply romantic narrative, Swan Lake is a gloomy tale of … [Read more...]
Russell Maliphant & Vangelis – The Thread at Sadler’s Wells
The ending was thrilling, the dancers' bodies had become whirling tumblers on precipices thrown by Michael Hulls' clever lighting as Vangelis’s music brought a compulsive frenzy of rhythm and tune still resonating when walking away through the dark streets of Islington. Finally, the work was moving, the choreography was exciting, the dancing stunning but it turned out … [Read more...]
BalletBoyz’ Them/Us at Sadler’s Wells | Review
Us, the piece which constitutes the second half of this show is choreographed by Royal Ballet artistic associate Christopher Wheeldon and is unmissable contemporary dance. From the outset, the ensemble section is thrilling in its dynamism using repetition, pirouettes and intricate footwork. Designed by Katherine Watt the costumes of oversized grey tailcoats … [Read more...]