Birmingham Royal Ballet at Sadler’s Wells: Arcadia, Le Baiser de la Fée and ‘Still Life’ at the Penguin Café. 4 November 2017, evening performance

Birmingham Royal Ballet’s triple bill at Sadler’s Wells was a delightful and varied evening of dance. The programme opened with Ruth Brill’s interesting 2017 work Arcadia, danced to John Harle’s stunning saxophone accompaniment. Tyrone Singleton, a sinuous and predatory representation of the god Pan, weaves in and out of shadows cast on the stage against a background of huge arching trees, lurking and watching three nymphs. Through the influence of the goddess Selene (the elegant Delia Mathews) he is reformed, shows more respect, and becomes a better leader. This wishful topical narrative seemed a little forced, but Atena Ameri’s stylish designs and Peter Teigen’s lighting were highly effective, and the Chorus performed their bouncy choreography with energy.

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The Royal Ballet in Balanchine’s Jewels, live transmission at Phoenix Picturehouse Tuesdays 11th & 18th April 2017

The Royal Ballet present George Balanchine’s brilliant evocation of the sparkle of emeralds, rubies and diamonds in his full length ballet Jewels at the Royal Opera House, showing in live transmission at Oxford’s Phoenix Picturehouse.

Balanchine’s glittering ballet was inspired by the beauty of the gem stones he saw in the New York store of jewellers Van Cleef & Arpels. He went on to make history with this, the first abstract three-act ballet, first performed in 1967 by New York City Ballet.  Jewels was performed in full by The Royal Ballet for the first time in 2007, using costume designs from the original NYCB production and new set designs by Jean-Marc Puissant.

Each of the three movements draws on a different stone for its inspiration and a different composer for its sound. The French Romantic music of Fauré provides the impetus for the lyricism of Emeralds.  The fire of Rubies comes from Stravinsky and the jazz-age energy of New York. Grandeur and elegance complete the ballet in Diamonds, with the splendour of Imperial Russia and Tchaikovsky’s opulent Third Symphony.  Each section salutes a different era in classical ballet’s history as well as a distinct period in Balanchine’s own life. Through it all, Balanchine displays his genius for combining music with visionary choreography.  Jewels is a masterclass in the many luminous facets of classical ballet and indeed of The Royal Ballet itself, the intensity of the soloists and the precision of the entire Company.

Performances:  Tuesday 11th April 7.15pm, and Encore repeat showing Tuesday 18th April 12.00

Venue:  Phoenix Picturehouse, 57 Walton Street, Oxford OX2 6AE

Tickets:  Tuesday 11th screening Adult £22, Child £10, Student or Retired £17.50, Family x4 £64

Tuesday 18th screening Adult £17.50, Child £10, Student or Retired £15, Family x4 £55

Book online for Tuesday 11th screening here and Tuesday 18th screening here

 

Fabulous Beast Dance Theatre: The Rite of Spring + Petrushka, Oxford Playhouse, 15th April 2014 – Emily Romain reviews

It seems there comes a point in every choreographer’s career when one decides to tackle The Rite of Spring.  To create one’s own Rite of Spring, in the shadow of such heavyweights as Nijinsky, Bausch and MacMillan, is brave to say the least. Michael Keegan-Dolan’s The Rite of Spring for his company Fabulous Beast Dance Theatre is not only brave in this regard: it is daring in its deviance from the traditional narrative and in some of the striking, and dare I say, more outlandish decisions, which are also a feature of the second piece in the performance, Petrushka.

 

Fabulous Beast Dance Theatre at Oxford Playhouse 15 April 2014 – Maggie Watson reviews

I expected a weird and unusual performance from Fabulous Beast Dance Theatre in their Stravinsky double bill and was not disappointed. It is difficult to take on two of Diaghilev’s most iconic ballets, and the double bill was a mixed bag of drama, dance and sheer theatricality that could excite, shock, annoy, amuse and very occasionally go on for a little too long.

 

The Rite of Spring – A Centenary Celebration of the Music and the Ballet – 20th February 2013

In a year of significant musical anniversaries, here is one of particular dance interest – the centenary of the shocking premiere of Igor Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring by Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes in Paris.  Dr Susan Jones sends information of a special event celebrating this groundbreaking work at St Hilda’s College with guest speakers Dame Monica Mason and Jane Pritchard and a concert performance of the score in Stravinsky’s version for two pianos…