Reading Time: 3 minutesThis week Edinburgh's residents were treated to a night of glitz and glamour straight from the set of Strictly Come Dancing. Following their hit show in 2023, Nadiya Bychkova and Kai Widdrington bring us a look behind the scenes of what goes into the showstopping dances through the ages.
Reading Time: 2 minutesSmashed by Gandini Juggling at the Peacock Theatre was an absolute revelation, redefining the art of juggling and creating a spellbinding experience. From the moment the show began, I was transported into a world where juggling transcended its traditional circus roots and emerged as a true performing arts act.
Reading Time: 3 minutesImagine yourself sitting inside Sadler's Wells, enveloped in absolute darkness and serenity. A baritone voice begins to hum Shubert’s art songs filled with suspense and sorrow. Suddenly, your hearing becomes extraordinarily sharp, almost as keen as a beast's. You hear someone coughing, someone sighing, and another zipping up their jacket. You feel a bit annoyed: is the audience always this loud and noisy? This sensation creates awareness and alienation: you belong to a group sharing the same state—the audience—yet it is you who feels that such state is disturbing, preventing you from enjoying the show. You are alone.
Reading Time: 4 minutesWe’ve all been there: having been to the bathroom and nabbed your favourite drink at the bar you’re all set to slink into the auditorium, only to be met with a sign declaring: “Tonight, XXX will be played by YYY”.
Reading Time: 2 minutesSince September 2023, Sadler’s Wells’ Making Moves programme has engaged nearly 800 young people from 48 youth and school groups across the country, inspiring them to develop their own choreographic works. The programme provides participating groups with digital toolkits produced by professional dance artists connected with Sadler’s Wells. For its inaugural year these dance artists were Alesandra Seutin, Dannielle “Rhimes” Lecointe, Jordan Douglas and Oona Doherty.
Reading Time: 3 minutesIntense, sensual, poignant. Dangerously intriguing, A Streetcar Named Desire has continuously lured its audience for more than half a century. Years ago, Scottish Ballet transformed this Tennessee Williams classic into a ballet piece blending traditional ballet techniques with contemporary choreography and a modern jazz orchestra (scored by Peter Salem and performed by the Scottish Ballet Orchestra). Several years later, it revisits Sadler's Wells under the direction of Nancy Meckler and choreography by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa.
Reading Time: 2 minutesWalking into the minimalist theatre space, I was unsure what to expect as I selected my seats ahead of the performance for the Kontemporary Korea Double Bill.
Reading Time: 2 minutesDevised, directed and choreographed by Matthew Bourne, and presented by New Adventures, Martin McCallum and Marc Platt, this show is an entertaining and beautiful interpretation of Tim Burton’s classic 1990 film.
Reading Time: 4 minutesWe sat down with Lucy Glover who is Executive Producer and Lucy Bennett who is Co-Artistic Director of StopGap Dance Company.
Reading Time: 2 minutesSince Kenneth MacMillan's Romeo and Juliet in 1965, no Shakespearean play has even been transcribed into ballet. This is somewhat in conceivable: how can you translate the epitome of Shakespearean language into sole physicality while still retain the substantial qualities of his plays? Choreographer Christopher Wheeldon took this challenge in 2014 together with composer Joby Talbot, successfully transforming The Winter's Tale into another in-house Shakespearean repertoire of the Royal Ballet. Now, a decade later, Wheeldon revisits this masterpiece with some upgraded technologies, but preserves the essence of this tragicomedy.