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

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, [...]

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 [...]

London Coliseum to host tribute to Vaslav Nijinsky Russian Ballet Icons Gala and Dinner 2013   Grand annual gala to celebrate the life and work of the legendary dancer   The Russian Ballet Icons Gala 2013, a grand gala evening dedicated to Vaslav Nijinsky will be held on the 10th March 2013 on the stage [...]

English National Ballet announces Vadim Muntagirov in new star ranking Lead Principal  English National Ballet has awarded Vadim Muntagirov with a new Lead Principal title. This dancer accolade has been awarded to Vadim in recognition of his exceptional dance ability. Vadim Muntagirov said: “I am very happy to be promoted and thank you to Tamara [...]

Ballet News Reviews | English National Ballet’s The Nutcracker The Nutcracker English National Ballet London Coliseum Wednesday 12th December 2012 Party guests and puppets, magic, snow and glitter.  All the elements are there for the taking in The Nutcracker. Wayne Eagling’s production for English National Ballet brings a nephew from Military school (Vadim Muntagirov), a [...]

All Aboard! Peter Schaufuss’s Midnight Express Rolls into the London Coliseum 9th-14th April   Olivier and Evening Standard award winning dancer, director and choreographer Peter Schaufuss today announces the production’s UK debut.   The dance world’s most original choreographer partners with its most outspoken young star in an adaptation of Billy Hayes’s smash hit book.   Midnight [...]

NEW ENGLISH BALLET THEATRE Makes its London debut with SYNERGIES July 4th-8th Peacock Theatre, London WC2 as part of the Sadler’s Wells Spring/Summer 2012 season   New English Ballet Theatre, the brainwave of former ballet dancer, Karen Pilkington-Miksa, is one of the UK’s most innovative performance companies, infusing neoclassical ballet with collaborations in art, music, [...]

English National Ballet announces Tamara Rojo as its new Artistic Director This morning the news has been officially released that Royal Ballet Principal dancer Tamara Rojo has been appointed Artistic Director of English National Ballet. Is this the worst-kept secret in ballet ? In part, yes; due to an inadvertently premature tweet from a broadcaster that was picked [...]

English National Ballet’s Emerging Dancer & People’s Choice Award On Monday evening, this year’s Emerging Dancer competition organised by English National Ballet was judged by, among others, Arlene Phillips. The winner of both the Emerging Dancer and People’s Choice Award was Yonah Acosta. The nominees were : Yonah Acosta Don Quixote (Gorsky), Diana and Acteon (Petipa) Barry [...]

English National Ballet celebrates the legacy of the Ballets Russes in a season of heritage pieces and new work at the London Coliseum   Beyond Ballets Russes, London Coliseum Call 0871 911 0200 Book online for Programme One and Programme Two Tickets £10 – £67   Programme 1 22 – 27 March L’après-midi d’un faune, Faun(e), [...]

Russian Ballet Icons Gala and Dinner 2012 | Tribute to Anna Pavlova Celebrating a centenary of Anna Pavlova making her home in London, at Ivy House Sunday 4 March 2012, 7.00pm, The London Coliseum Box Office: 0871 911 0200 I can’t recommend this ballet Gala to you highly enough.  No matter how expensive you feel [...]

English National Ballet | The Nutcracker reviewed | Debut by Venus Villa & Yonah Acosta The Nutcracker English National Ballet London Coliseum Boxing Day, 26th December 2011 Based on E. T. A. Hoffmann’s novel written in 1816, The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, The Nutcracker ballet was originally conceived as an entertaining add-on to follow [...]

English National Ballet | The Nutcracker Back in October I published The Nutcracker casting for English National Ballet’s new production.  Ballet News favourites Venus Villa and Yonah Acosta take centre stage in December : Casting in order of Clara, Nephew/Prince, and the Nutcracker * Monday 26 December 2:30pm (F) Venus Villa, Yonah Acosta and Laurent Liotardo F [...]

Ballet Business| Dancing on paper | Choreography Central As part of the Ballet News Choreography Central series of in-depth features going backstage to find out who & what brings ballet to life, today’s subject answers the question : how do you write movement, in this case ballet, and what are the practical applications of being able to do so ? What is Benesh Movement Notation (BMN) ? [...]

Flawless and English National Ballet collaborate on a new production for 2012 English National Ballet & Flawless Time is of the essence HMV Apollo Hammersmith 1 – 2 June 2012 UK Tour 9 June – 8 July 2012 The UK’s national ballet company English National Ballet and World Dance Champions Flawless will come together in [...]

DUTCH NATIONAL BALLET’S NUTCRACKER & THE MOUSE KING LIVE IN CINEMAS ACROSS THE UK THIS CHRISTMAS Ballet fans across the UK and Ireland can watch a special matinee performance of Nutcracker & the Mouse King from the Dutch National Ballet broadcast live by satellite to cinemas on Friday 30 December 2011 at 1pm.  Choreographed by Wayne [...]

Natalia Osipova & Ivan Vasiliev quit the Bolshoi There has been much wailing and nashing of teeth since Bolshoi Ballet dancers Natalia Osipova and Ivan Vasiliev announced that they are leaving their newly refurbished theatre for new creative challenges at the Mikhailovsky Theatre in St Petersburg. I’ve read the words ‘earth-shattering’ and ‘defection.’ Why ? Well, for starters [...]

Cupcakes & Conversation with Hannah Grennell, Aspirant, Dutch National Ballet What motivates you at 8am on a Monday morning ? What motivates me is basically class. I enjoy the physicality of ballet and how focused it is. I find that in a company, class isn’t just class; it is the warm up at the start [...]

Ballet, Ballet, Ballet. Oh, and Cupcakes. And maybe a little Christmas glitter thrown into the mix. Here’s a host of my favourite treats which I hope will inspire you if you are heading out to the ballet this Christmas season or anywhere else! First up is this beautiful gold sequin dress from new find Mint Velvet, a company [...]

English National Ballet hosts fundraising event at Queen Elizabeth Hall with Chelsea Ballet Schools on Friday 25 November 2011  English National Ballet is delighted to present an enchanting pre-Christmas extravaganza with star dancers and children from Chelsea Ballet Schools performing highlights from The Nutcracker. Nutcracker Suities Friday 25 November 2011 Queen Elizabeth Hall, Southbank Centre [...]