December, December! The lights, the rain, the shopping crowds. But best of all the Nutcrackers! Which ones will you be seeing?
November 1, 2009
Reviews From 2008
The Cholmondeleys and the Featherstonehaughs, Russian Roulette, Royal Vauxhall Tavern on Ballet.co
Cloud Dance Festival, Trilogy, Cockpit Theatre, Dec 08 on Ballet.co
Royal Ballet, Voluntaries/The Lesson/Infra, Royal Opera House, 13 – 26 Nov 08 on Londondance.com
Birmingham Royal Ballet, Stravinsky Programme, Sadler’s Wells, Nov 08 on Ballet.co
Batsheva Dance Company, Mamootot, Riverside Studios, Oct 08 on Ballet.co
The Place Prize Finals 2008, The Place, 17 – 27 Sep 08 on Londondance.com
Deloitte Ignite Open Weekend, Royal Opera House, 12 – 14 Sep 08 on Londondance.com
Matthew Bourne’s Dorian Gray, Sadler’s Wells, 2 – 14 Sep 08 on Londondance
Various, Watch this Space, National Theatre, 21st – 25th August 2008 on Londondance.com
Factoria Mascaro , The Garden of Wonders , Trafalgar Square, 21-24 August 2008 on Londondance.com
Akram Khan Company, Bahok, Sadler’s Wells, 11 – 14 Jun 08 on Londondance.com
Jonathan Lunn, Reading Room/Self-Assembly, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Jun 08 on Ballet.co
Havana Rakatan, Peacock Theatre, to 21 June 08 on Londondance.com
Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Myth, Sadler’s Wells, 16 & 17 May 08 on Londondance.com
Breakin’ Convention, Sadler’s Wells, 3 – 5 May 08 on Londondance.com
Springloaded, Mixed bill by Gary Clarke, Rashpal Singh Bansal and Sally Marie, The Place, May 08 on Londondance.com
Bounce, Insane in the Brain, Peacock Theatre, 27 Feb – 16 Mar 08 on Londondance.com
Fabulous Beast Dance Theatre, James Son of James, Barbican Theatre, 5 – 9 Feb 08 on Londondance.com
Sampled, Sadler’s Wells, 26 & 27 Jan 08 on Londondance.com
Rootless Company / Off the Map /Temporary Secret Event, Resolution!, The Place, 18 January 2008 on Londondance.com
New Adventures, Matthew Bourne’s Nutcracker!, Sadler’s Wells, 13 Dec 07 – 20 Jan 08 on Londondance.com
October 6, 2009
Dance Umbrella 2009
The Dance Umbrella 2009 festival officially opens today!
Dedicated in loving memory of Merce Cunningham (1919 -2009) it has made me think about the Dance Umbrella performances I’ve been to over the years and the pivotal movement, reached when watching Cunningham’s Ocean (Roundhouse 2006), which propelled me into a career within dance.
For me Ocean will be the piece I reflect on when watching new work – the benchmark for quality. Although not to everyone’s liking, I for one couldn’t bare the thought of watching a Cunningham work during dance history lectures, this inspirational work was the result of thinking big, achieving the unachievable and placing dance in the centre (literally!). With 14 dancers surrounded by 150 musicians who in turn were surrounded by an audience, this was truely a work of genius, with the reconstruction made possible by Dance Umbrella.
Dance Umbrella has also been key my dance education. The programming of so many exceptional international artist has given me the chance to travel the vast world of dance and soak up the performances that are on offer. The festival has given me access to some of my faverouite companies and choreographers such as Rosas, Jonathan Burrows, Mark Morris Dance Group, Scottish Ballet, Michael Clark Company, The Forsythe Company, The Cholmondeleys and The Featherstonehaughs, Vincent Dance Theatre, Charles Linehan Company, Rashpal Singh Bansal and Yolande Snaith Theatredance (to name but a few).
So as the 2009 festival kicks off I am happy to be attending the majority of performances on offer…
Cloud Gate Dance Theatre review
For more information on Dance Umberlla please see their website www.danceumbrella.co.uk
September 24, 2009
Conference
Conference, Exhibition and Reception
Continuity & Change in Dance Teacher Education
Saturday 24th October 2009
To celebrate the 10th anniversary of its Faculty of Education, the Royal Academy of Dance will be hosting a Conference, Exhibition and Reception at its headquarters in Battersea, London. The focus of the event will be on the histories and legacies of teacher education and training at the RAD and will provide an opportunity to reflect on past and present practices as well as speculating on the future of teacher education and training in the 21st Century.
Guest speakers include Miss Rachel Cameron, who is best known for her work with Tamara Karsavina and Professor David Carr (University of Edinburgh). There will also be lecture demonstrations led by the Academy’s Faculty of Education. Delegates will also have an opportunity to view a digital installation of previously unseen photographs from the RAD archives dating from 1949-2009. A drinks reception will conclude the day.
Places are limited. For more information and a booking form please visit our website or contact Clare Marie Thomas, Events and Marketing Officer on +44 (0) 207 326 8051 or email cthomas@rad.org.uk.
September 19, 2009
19th September 2009
Thank you to the Tweeters who’ve visited and RT’d my blog.. I will work on getting some interesting content up.
Libby
