BalletBoyz, ‘The Talent’, Richmond Theatre

It’s a Wednesday night, it’s freezing cold and Richmond Theatre is buzzing. Not buzzing with the fine chink of champagne glasses and cash registers, but with chatter, bustle and genuine excitement.

Bolshoi & ENB: The acid test

Two ballet companies, opposite pins on the globe. Whereas English National Ballet is in the midst of a re-brand, Bolshoi Ballet is on the verge of combustion, grappling under the weight of its own paranoia.

So, where do these two companies find themselves in 2013? And what does it tell us about the future of the art form at a crucial time in both their economic survival?

Flirting with Fidel

‘This is a tale, then, of artists and poets, dancers and architects-bewildered, always in conflict, trying to keep alive standards which they knew were essential, but which were also suspect, not to say dangerous.’

It happened one night at the ballet…

Emma Livry in the title role of the Taglioni/Schneitzhoeffer La Sylphide. Paris, 1862

Some people quaff champagne at Port Hercule when they’re in Monaco. I took a tumble and ended up in A&E. So, firstly, apologies for the break in posts. Blame the principality of Monaco for their uneven road surfaces. I do, daily.

Performance & Protest: Gaza activists sabotage Sadler’s Wells

Batsheva Ensemble, Deca Dance. Credit: Sadler’s Wells

I could start the post with a predictable intro about “art imitating life”, but I’m not going to. The fact is hundreds of civilians are needlessly dying as we speak, both in Gaza and Tel Aviv. The whys and wherefores aren’t important here. For eloquence on the crisis, read Alex Thompson’s blog. The dead permeate through his words. I’m not a political activist – I’m an armchair observer.  My politics are my own, and anyway, here they’re irrelevant. We have Twitter for that…

Tamara Rojo dances Gangnam Style

Yes, you did read that correctly. Anish Kapoor has roped in Tamara Rojo to dance Gangnam Style in protest against censorship.

Monday Moves: dancing without sight

When dancers from Brazil’s ballet school for the blind performed at the closing ceremony of the Paralympic Games in London with two of Royal Ballet’s leading stars, Twitter reverberated in awe. I was one of them.