Ballet News | Straight from the stage – bringing you ballet insights

BALLET STAR TAMARA ROJO LAUNCHES GLOBAL ‘BIG DANCE’ IN LONDON   Dancers from English National Ballet, led by their Artistic Director, Tamara Rojo, were joined today at their Kensington Studios by young dancers from Chingford Foundation School, to launch the BIG DANCE PLEDGE, to be performed by thousands of people all over the world this [...]

Famous love story Queensland’s first Super Star The Newman Government is delivering on a key Arts for All Queenslanders election commitment, with the announcement of the first Super Star project. Arts Minister Ian Walker said Queensland would be home to an exclusive season of the ballet Romeo and Juliet, featuring internationally acclaimed dancers.   “This [...]

Alina’s Gala | Alina Cojocaru’s signed pointe shoes auctioned for her charity, Hospices of Hope Only Alina Cojocaru could open her Gala with the Rose Adage from The Sleeping Beauty. The music alone sends shivers of fear into the most professional of professional ballet dancers : not Cojocaru. Her supreme technicality aided by wonderfully smooth partnering from [...]

Ballet News Limited Edition Collection | No.2 For my second collection of exclusive illustrations by Berenice Bercelli I have chosen drawings focusing on famous pas de deux’s that highlight some of the defining ballet moments so far during 2013. These illustrations are not prints – they are handmade and come in limited numbers, so it’s essential to [...]

ENGLISH NATIONAL BALLET TO PERFORM AT CORONATION FESTIVAL English National Ballet will take part in three Gala performances in the grounds of Buckingham Palace as part of the Coronation Festival in July. The Company will perform Tempus  a specially commissioned piece paying tribute to Her Majesty The Queen  and the incredible era of change during [...]

BREAKING BALLET NEWS | CORONATION FESTIVAL GALA ARTISTS REVEALED The Royal Warrant Holders Association today (Tuesday 30th April 2013), confirmed the names of artists that will take part in three magnificent Gala performances within the Gardens of Buckingham Palace this summer. The Galas form part of the Coronation Festival – a unique public event hosted by [...]

English National Ballet’s Tamara Rojo Announced In Principal Casting For Swan Lake At Royal Albert Hall   Wednesday 12 June – Saturday 23 June 2013 Tickets: £19.50 – £65             Box Office: 020 7838 3100                                                                                                     The Principal Casting for English National Ballet’s Swan Lake at the Royal Albert Hall this June will include: Tamara [...]

Ballet News Reviews | English National Ballet’s Ecstasy & Death Ecstasy & Death Petite Mort | Le Jeune Homme et la Mort | Etudes English National Ballet London Coliseum 18th April 2013 Opening in silence, with six men partnering six foils, Jiri Kylian’s Petite Mort premiered with aplomb. Marize Fumero and Vadim Muntagirov mastered everything. The choreography is demanding and requires [...]

TAMARA ROJO : Second Edition of the Santander Bank Foundation Award for Anglo-Hispanic Relations The Principal dancer and Artistic Director of English National Ballet will receive the award on June 5th at the Spanish Embassy in London.   – The jury distinguished Tamara Rojo as a beacon of Spanish culture in the United Kingdom that combines both talent [...]

English National Ballet’s Tamara Rojo profiled I recently announced that Tamara Rojo will be profiled on The South Bank Show. Over an hour, the documentary attempts to get under the skin of English National Ballet’s latest Artistic Director, Tamara Rojo, as she takes on the dual role of artistic head and principal dancer. The programme comprises [...]

Happy Ballet Easter Happy Easter Ballet Newsers! If you have time over the holidays you might like to follow some of these links to features that perhaps you missed over the last week or so. First of all, there is Andre Uspenski’s wonderful photography book charting the dancer’s day at The Royal Ballet. Then there [...]

ENGLISH NATIONAL BALLET TO PREMIERE LE CORSAIRE English National Ballet will premiere a new production of Le Corsaire (The Pirate), one of the great 19th Century classics, in October 2013.  English National Ballet will be the first UK company to perform the complete work which will open in Milton Keynes.  The production will tour Southampton, [...]

Tim Minchin, Alison Balsom,   David Hare, Alfie Boe, Tamara Rojo, Paula Rego and Tracey Emin – new line up   for The South Bank Show is revealed The most respected arts programme in the world, The South Bank Show, returns to Sky Arts on 18   April with a great line-up of in-depth interviews, showcasing [...]

Ballet News Reviews | Dancers – Behind the scenes with The Royal Ballet There are, from my experience as a commissioning editor, just a couple of exceptional ballet photographers. I can count them on the fingers of one hand and I’d still be able to pour the tea. By exceptional I mean a photographer who goes beyond the capabilities of their camera, [...]

English National Ballet Collaborates with the Royal College of Music   Choreographics, A Letter To … 3-4 May 2013                                                                                                     English National Ballet dancers turn choreographers when five of them get a chance to create new works in collaboration with students from the Royal College of Music. In a new partnership, Choreographics, A Letter [...]

Royal Academy of Dance’s Phyllis Bedells Bursary winner is announced Sixteen-year-old Briton Daniel Harrison has won the Phyllis Bedells Bursary ballet competition, held on Sunday 17 March 2013 at Royal Academy of Dance (RAD) headquarters. Named after Miss Phyllis Bedells, founding member and Vice-President of the RAD, this year’s internationally-recognised competition attracted 34 candidates, including [...]

Young British Dancer of the Year 2013 – results announced The final of the 2013 Young British Dancer of the Year competition was held on Saturday 9 March at the Linbury Studio Theatre, the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. The winners were: First:  Chisato Katsura (The Royal Ballet School) Second: Isabelle Brouwers (English National Ballet School) Third:  [...]

Peter Schaufuss’ Midnight Express rolls into the London Coliseum in one month In one months’ time, Peter Schaufuss’ Midnight Express will debut in the UK at the London Coliseum, with performances April 9-14. Based on the 1977 book and subsequent 1978 film by Billy Hayes, this reinterpretation of the critically acclaimed drama will star SERGEI [...]

LEGENDARY DANCER NICOLAS LE RICHE TO STAR ALONGSIDE TAMARA ROJO IN LE JEUNE HOMME ET LA MORT  Ecstasy and Death London Coliseum 18-21 April 2013 Petite Mort by Jiří Kylián Le Jeune Homme et la Mort by Roland Petit Etudes by Harald Lander   Legendary French dancer Nicolas Le Riche, Étoile of the Paris Opera [...]

ENGLISH NATIONAL BALLET ANNOUNCES WINNER OF THE EMERGING DANCER COMPETITION 2013 English National Ballet is pleased to announce Nancy Osbaldeston as winner of the Emerging Dancer Competition 2013. Laurretta Summerscales won the People’s Choice Award. Both dancers are former pupils of English National Ballet School.   The Competition, held last night (4 March) at Southbank [...]