December 13, 2009

#bestdanceintheNoughties

These are off the top of my head… in outrage at the Times List!
  1. Akram Khan flew onto the scene bringing us brilliant contemporary fusion.
  2. Mark Morris V in 2002
  3. Matthew Bourne dominated the dance theatre world
  4. Restaging on Merce Cunninghams Ocean for the re-opening of the roundhouse
  5. Wayne McGregor for giving the RB a new direction
  6. Hofesh Shechter amazing contemporary talent to watch
  7. Blossoming of the Breaking Convention and all of Sadler’s Wells exciting festivals
  8. 2009 Dance Umbrella – best festival in years!
  9. Ballet Black – enough said
  10. Rosemary Lee, Common Dance – only choreography to make me cry http://bit.ly/6w7ZKx

    November 28, 2009

    Exciting December!

    December, December!  The lights, the rain, the shopping crowds.  But best of all the Nutcrackers!  Which ones will you be seeing?

    November 4, 2009

    The last few weeks in Dance

    October saw the London Dance scene go into overdrive with back to back premiers. Here’s a few of my favourites!

    Ye Gam Theatre Company, Jump, Peacock Theatre, 3 – 21 Nov 09 on Londondance.com

    Rosemary Lee, Common Dance, Greenwich Dance Agency, 29 Oct – 1 Nov 09 on Londondance.com

    Michael Clark Company, Swamp / Come, Been and Gone, Barbican, 28 Oct – 7 Nov 09 on Londondance.com

    ACE Dance and Music , Switch, Rich Mix, 28 & 29 Oct 09

    Mark Morris Dance Group, Prog1: Empire Garden / Bedtime / V, Sadler’s Wells, 27 – 31 Oct 09 on Londondance.com

    Morphoses – The Wheeldon Company, Continuum / Softly As I Leave You / Rhapsody Fantaisie, Sadler’s Wells, 23 & 24 Oct 09 on Londondance.com

    Levantes Dance Theatre, Room Temperature Romance, Barbican Pit, 13 – 24 Oct 09 on Londondance.com

    African Crossroads, Royal Opera House, 9 – 10 Oct 09 on Londondance.com

    Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan, Wind Shadow, Barbican, 6 – 10 Oct 09 on Londondance.com

    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

    November 1, 2009

    Reviews from 2007

    New Adventures, Matthew Bourne’s Nutcracker!, Sadler’s Wells, 13 Dec 07 – 20 Jan 08 on Londondance.com

    Strictly Come Dancing Semi-Final, BBC1, 15 December 2007 on Londondance.com

    Renegade Theatre, Cage, Queen Elizabeth Hall, 29 Nov – 1 Dec 07 on Londondance.com

    Jane Turner, Troop, Purcell Room, South Bank Centre, 6 Dec 07 on Londondance.com

    Royal Ballet, Jewels, Royal Opera House, 23 Nov – 7 Dec 07 on Londondance.com

    Michael Clark Company, Stravinsky Project, Barbican Theatre, 31 Oct-10 Nov 07 on Londondance.com

    Carlos Acosta with Guest Artists from Ballet Nacional de Cuba, Sadler’s Wells, 23-28 Oct 07 on Londondance.com

    Imagine: Bolshoi Boy , BBC1, 23 October 2007 on Londondance.com

    New Art Club, The Visible Men, The Place, Oct 07 on Ballet.co

    Isaac Julien & Russell Maliphant, Cast No Shadow, Sadler’s Wells, 3 & 4 Oct 2007 on Londondance.com

    Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Programme I: ‘Homage to Alvin Ailey ’, Sadler’s Wells, 4 – 15 Sep 07 on Londondance.com

    Bolshoi Ballet, Class Concert/ Elsinore/ In the Upper Room, London Coliseum, 13 & 14 Aug 2007 on Londondance.com

    Paco Peña, A Compás! To the Rhythm, Sadler’s Wells, 7 – 12 Aug 07 on Londondance.com

    Trafalgar Square Festival, Inspired by India, Trafalgar Square, 12 August 2007 on Londondance.com

    New Adventures, The Car Man, Sadler’s Wells, 10 Jul – 5 Aug 07 on Londondance.com

    Trafalgar Square Festival, Inspired by India, Trafalgar Square, 2 – 19 August on Londondance.com

    Stan Won’t Dance, Off the Wall, Southbank Centre Square, 20 & 21 July 2007 on Londondance.com

    Sweetshop Revolution, Dulce et Decorum, The Place, 17 July 07 on Londondance.com

    Falling Wide, Outsider Dancing, Toynbee Studios, 13 July 2007 on Londondance.com

    London Contemporary Dance School, Graduation Performances 2007, The Place, 7th July 2007 on Londondance.com

    Royal Ballet, Swan Lake screening, Canada Square Park, London, 31 May 2007 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