FIREDANCE REIGNITE 2023, Karen Hauer and Gorka Marquez, New Theatre Oxford, 5th March 2023 – Susie Crow reviews

Karen Hauer and Gorka Marquez, much admired and loved Strictly Come Dancing professional dancers, are the latest to bring a Strictly spin-off commercial dance show to Oxford. Produced and directed by Stuart Glover, with nimble choreography by Nathan Clarke, FIREDANCE REIGNITE 2023 is an updated version of an already successful show which combines sizzling dancing with spectacular fire performance. Crashing percussion and sudden flares, dancers in rippling silk skirts swirling and shooting upwards like flames in the darkness, heralded an action-packed show. A simple narrative of two dancers from rival houses meeting at the Festival of Fire and forging a passionate connection provides a minimal excuse for a succession of dances which combine a range of latin styles and lyrical barefoot contemporary, set to a playlist of great and familiar songs. A small ensemble of dancers including two expert fire performers switched and recombined and changed costumes to bring variety and visual drama to a simple black stage setting.

 

Coppélia, Varna International Ballet, New Theatre, Oxford. Monday 30 January 2023 – Maggie Watson reviews

The Varna International Ballet dancers are youthful, energetic and engaging. On Monday, they danced Coppélia, one of the three great nineteenth century ballets that they brought on a three-day touring visit to Oxford (the others being Giselle and The Nutcracker; they are also presenting Swan Lake at some venues). This is a very hard working company and orchestra delivering performances to a terribly demanding schedule: they were in Darlington the previous week, and opened in Ipswich immediately after Oxford, in a tour that takes in 23 theatres in about ten weeks.

Monday evening’s show was an opportunity to see a version of Coppélia with choreography credited to Alexander Gorsky and Gergana Karaivanova that is markedly different from the more familiar English productions. Gone were most of the mime sequences, the traditional national dances and some of the corps de ballet set pieces. Other changes included the introduction of a tricky pointe solo for the dancer playing the doll, and the substitution of a more visibly virtuosic repertoire for the variations in the third act; there were a great many fouetté turns! These choices distanced the ballet from its origins at the end of the French romantic era, and gave it a very different flavour.

I did not feel that the production was true to the style of the original ballet, but it was bright and cheerful, fully costumed (the women in gauzy romantic tutu skirts lit with bright colours), and staged with a projected background, but otherwise a full set. The illustrated programme included an article about the composer Léo Delibes by Philip Ashworth, and brief biographies with photographs of the soloists, who had trained in a range of schools and styles. It is unsurprising, given the rigours of touring, that overall the quality of the dancing was somewhat variable, but there was lovely upper body movement to be seen in some of the corps de ballet dancers’ ports de bras, and the best of the soloists delivered buoyant grand allegro, strong pointe work and dynamic pirouettes.

The company played to a good house and the enthusiastic applause demonstrated that, post-pandemic, there is an audience eager for full-length classical ballets in Oxford.

Maggie Watson

5th February 2023

 

Varna International Ballet, New Theatre Oxford, 30th January – 1st February 2023

Founded in 1947 and currently celebrating their 75^th anniversary, the critically acclaimed Varna International Ballet comes to the UK for the very first time. Renowned for its award-winning soloists and magnificent corps de ballet, the company has been delighting audiences for decades at home in Bulgaria and abroad with its performances of the highest quality. At Oxford’s New Theatre the company will present its productions of three well-loved classics, Coppélia, Giselle and The Nutcracker.

Daniela Dimova Artistic Director

Peter Tuleshkov Music Director and Chief Conductor

‘We are thrilled to be bringing our highly talented company of dancers and musicians to the UK for the very first time. We can’t wait to perform for British audiences and to bring these magical ballets to life on stage.’  Daniela Dimova

Monday 30th January 7.30pm: Coppélia

Every toy has a story, especially in this charming comedy of errors, a witty combination of antics and abracadabra, set in a doll maker’s workshop. This light-hearted tale of mistaken identity and confused lovers follows mischievous Swanilda, her impetuous suitor Franz and the eccentric toymaker Dr.Coppelius as they are brought to life by sparkling choreography and the animated score of Delibes. Coppélia is perfect for first-time ballet goers, families and everyone in between.

Tuesday 31st January 7.30pm: Giselle

The most poignant of all classical ballets is filled with dramatic passion in a chilling and heart-rending tale of love, treachery and forgiveness from beyond the grave. The moving story of delicate Giselle and her aristocratic but duplicitous lover Albrecht is set to a glorious score by Adolphe Adam. From the visual splendour of the rustic villagers happily gathering the harvest at the start of the story to the eerie moonlit forest haunted by beautifully drifting spirits, this production is unforgettable.

Wednesday 1st February 2.30pm and 7.30pm: The Nutcracker

This most famous of fantasy ballets for all the family, set to Tchaikovsky’s magical score, begins as night falls on Christmas Eve. As snowflakes fall outside, the warm glow of the open fire sends flickering shadows across the boughs of the Christmas tree and all the presents beneath. When midnight strikes we are swept away to a fairy-tale world where nothing is quite as it seems, toy dolls spring to life, the Mouse-king and his mouse-army battle with the Nutcracker Prince and we travel through the Land of Snow to an enchanted place where the magic really begins…

Venue: New Theatre, 24-26 George St, Oxford OX1 2AG

Tickets: From £24.15 to £61.65 plus transaction fee of £3.80 Book online here

 

Final Edition: Richard Alston Dance Company, New Theatre Oxford, 22nd January 2020 – Marcus Bell reviews

In celebration of its 25^th and last season of work, the Richard Alston Dance Company is embarking on an international farewell tour. The kind of endeavour you might normally associate with the break-up of a major band, or with Cher – who is perennially on her last tour, and I think has been saying farewell since at least the beginning of the last century, as is the whim of an eternal being. The scale feels only a bit different for Alston and his dancers. Final Edition: Oxford [1] is a culmination of many lives at work together, expanding the practices of modern, postmodern, and contemporary dance in the United Kingdom.

Because of his eponymous title the Etonian has a claim to canonical status and this tour could have become an overwrought monument to privilege and ego. Instead, what we witnessed in Oxford’s New Theatre on Wednesday night was a homage to a history of dance, branded, and shaped by Alston, advanced by collaborator Martin Lawrance, and most importantly, pulled off with immense style, presence, and love by a company of extraordinary dancers.

 

Final Edition, Richard Alston Dance Company, New Theatre Oxford, 22nd January 2020

Richard Alston Dance Company’s Final Edition tour is part of their last season, the 25th no less, before the company sadly ceases to operate in April 2020.  Determined to go out with colours flying the Company has put together an exciting celebration of its unflagging creativity, with new works by Sir Richard Alston and Martin Lawrance, and also key works revived from the Company’s history, a richly diverse mix of dance and music.  Don’t miss their last visit to Oxford’s New Theatre because afterwards they really will be gone!

Final Edition includes: Red Run, set to Heiner Goebbel’s powerful music, evokes a terrain of shadows across which the dancers travel in nomadic clusters. Alston’s new Voices and Light Footsteps, is set to the sensuously expressive music of Monteverdi, genius of the Baroque.  Mazur, a duet to Chopin played live, offers an intense outpouring of longing for the composer’s beloved homeland.  Martin Lawrance’s new dance A Far Cry is set to Elgar’s impassioned Introduction & Allegro, and Isthmus (2006) to the intricate and delicate sounds of Japanese Jo Kondo.

‘The moment it ended I longed to see it again – immediately.’ ★★★★★ Culture Whisper

Performance:  Wednesday 22nd January, 7:30pm

Venue:  The New Theatre, 24-26 George St, Oxford OX1 2AG

Tickets:  From £19.90, book online here or in person at the Box Office

Find further information about Richard Alston Dance Company here

 

BURN THE FLOOR with Kevin Clifton and Graziano Di Prima, New Theatre Oxford, 24th May 2019

A must for lovers of ballroom and theatrical dance, iconic show BURN THE FLOOR comes to Oxford’s New Theatre for one night only.  In the past two decades BURN THE FLOOR has revolutionised Ballroom style. Combining jaw-dropping choreography by director Jason Gilkison and ground breaking moves, the show brings its now famous, infectious and rebellious energy to the stage every single night.  Go to see it for jaw-dropping choreography and ground-breaking moves starring Strictly Come Dancing favourite Kevin Clifton, and the new Italian heartthrob, Graziano Di Prima.  Johannes Radebe – currently a professional dancer on Strictly Come Dancing, previously  on Dancing with the Stars South Africa, rejoins the Burn the Floor company.

“Burn The Floor is the show that ignited a spark in me and changed me forever as a performer. Through Broadway, West End and touring all over the world this show has ripped apart the rule book and shaped me as the dancer I am today.” – Kevin Clifton

From seriously romantic Waltz, to a futuristic Foxtrot, the passion of the Tango and Paso Doble cut right through. You will revel in the emotional power of the Cha Cha, the Samba and Jive, and be left breathless by the smoking, irresistible Rumba.

With Kevin headlining this electrifying production, along with lights, costumes and eclectic live music, it will have you leaping out of the seat to join in.  Don’t miss your chance to experience the pure dance joy of Burn the Floor.

Performance:  Friday 24th May 7.30pm

Venue:  New Theatre, George Street, Oxford OX1

Tickets:  From £23.90 (transaction fee £3.65); book online here or from the Box Office

Find out more about the show here

 

BalletBoyz present Them/Us, New Theatre, Oxford, 23rd April 2019 – Maggie Watson reviews

BalletBoyz’ programme of two short works at the New Theatre on Tuesday showcased the hugely energetic talent of this all-male dance company. Them, a collaborative work between the dancers and composer Charlotte Harding, gave the cast an opportunity to display their considerable technical skills. Harding has worked with BalletBoyz before (she paired with choreographer Craig Revel Horwood for The Indicator Line), and this was an adventurous and exciting work built around the possibilities offered by a giant cuboid scaffold, which the dancers turned and manipulated about the stage. A prop, a piece of scenery, a climbing frame, or simply a space to dance in; it was all these things, and also a source of metaphorical and literal suspense as the dancers’ movement controlled, (or was controlled by) it. At one point, a dancer lay across its lower bar, and was lifted up, suspended like a rag doll; later, he gripped it with one hand and rose suspended in the air above the stage as the structure slowly turned over.

 

Ballet Boyz present Them/Us, New Theatre Oxford, 23rd April 2019

THE internationally lauded dance troupe BalletBoyz return to the New Theatre Oxford this Spring with Them/Us, an innovative double bill and a brand new collaboration from the company’s own critically acclaimed dancers and the Olivier Award-winning choreographer Christopher Wheeldon.  BalletBoyz are known worldwide for their ground-breaking live performances, films and TV appearances. The new productions are both set to original scores by world-class composers and asks where we see ourselves in relation to the “other”.

Marking a first for BalletBoyz, Them is the work of the company’s very own in-house talent, and set to a score by emerging composer Charlotte Harding. Us is inspired by the critically acclaimed Christopher Wheeldon duet featured in the company’s last show, Fourteen Days. With an extended score by cult singer/songwriter, Keaton Henson, Christopher Wheeldon develops this new work which explores the possibilities of before, during and after.

Christopher Wheeldon, choreographer for Us, said: “I’m relishing the opportunity to work with BalletBoyz again to create a new work that expands on my previous work with the company, Us. It’s a pleasure to be working with Keaton Henson once again after his music for Us inspired me to investigate a new style of movement.”

The current BalletBoyz Company includes: Sean Flanagan, Benjamin Knapper, Harry Price, Liam Riddick, Matthew Sandiford and Bradley Waller.

Performance:  Tuesday 23rd April 7.30pm

Venue:  New Theatre, George Street, Oxford OX1 2AG

Tickets:  £13.00 – £35.00 plus £3.65 transaction fee

Book online here or in person from the Box Office, or call 0844 871 3020

Running time:  1 hour 20 mins

 

Richard Alston Dance Company, New Theatre Oxford 7th February 2019 – Maggie Watson reviews

Richard Alston Dance Company opened their show at the New Theatre, Oxford with Martin Lawrance’s energetic and fast paced creation Detour, which was followed by six pieces by Alston himself. Lawrance leaves interpretation to the audience: according to the programme, he named his piece because he started with one idea, which changed as he worked, but he leaves it to the dance to reveal what those ideas were. Performed to a recorded marimba and percussion soundtrack, its zippy pirouettes and sharp split jetés interspersed with leaps into dramatic embraces displayed the company’s virtuosity, while suggesting an underlying theme of conflict.

Richard Alston’s own programme notes offer more clues to the thoughts, images, and circumstances that lie behind his dances.

 

Richard Alston Dance Company, New Theatre Oxford Thursday 7th February 2019

Richard Alston has been making dance for 50 years and launched his Richard Alston Dance Company 25 years ago. Both these anniversaries deserve celebrating with a special programme full of trademark lyrical choreography, new lively dances and revivals of successful works. With the announcement of the company closing in 2020, this tour will also be the penultimate chance to see a live performance by what is undoubtedly one of the world’s best dance ensembles.

Associate Choreographer Martin Lawrance will premiere his new work Detour set to Michael Gordon’s pulsing Timber with costumes by Jeffry Rogador and lighting by Zeynep Kepekli setting off Lawrance’s customary fast paced style and complicated patterns through space.

This piece will accompany a celebratory revival of Proverb, one of Alston’s most telling choreographies, to the serene and cool vocal work of Steve Reich washing over intricately complex dancing. Created in 2006 as part of Reich’s seventieth birthday celebrations at London’s Barbican, this is the first time the piece has been revived.

Culminating the evening will be Richard Alston’s exciting new work Brahms Hungarian. The hugely popular Brahms pieces, music that Alston had planned on choreographing to for years, will be played live onstage by RADC’s outstanding pianist Jason Ridgway. Full of passionate drive and joyful gusto, the dancers are carried along by fast steps and an abandoned fervour. Costumes are by award-winning designer Fotini Dimou with lighting by Zeynep Kepekli, both regular collaborators of Alston.

Performance:  Thursday 7th February 7.30pm

Venue:  New Theatre, George St, Oxford OX1 2AG

Tickets:  £13 – £26.90 Book online here

Find out more about the company here