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Jonathan Gray

Jonathan Gray

Jonathan Gray was born in Wales and studied at The Royal Ballet School, Leicester Polytechnic and Wimbledon School of Art. He was a member of the curatorial department of The Theatre Museum, London, from 1989 until 2005, and was editor of Dancing Times from 2008 until its closure in 2022.

Author:Jonathan Gray

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Gemma Coutts in Annabelle Lopez Ochoa’s Gentleman Jack © Colleen Mair

Northern Ballet’s Gentleman Jack: brave but bland at Sadler’s Wells

By Jonathan Gray, 19 May 2026

A bold choice for Northern Ballet, Gentleman Jack is beautifully danced but doesn’t go far enough in celebrating difference, individuality and freedom.

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Gemma Coutts in Annabelle Lopez Ochoa’s Gentleman Jack © Colleen Mair

Northern Ballet’s Gentleman Jack: brave but bland at Sadler’s Wells

By Jonathan Gray

Momoko Hirata as Kitri and Mathias Dingman as Basilio in Carlos Acosta's Don Quixote © Johan Persson

Acosta's Don Quixote for BRB: polished but not quite enough panache

By Jonathan Gray, 23 April 2026

Carlos Acosta's Don Quixote for Birmingham Royal Ballet returned to Sadler's Wells with polished but low-key interpretations across the board.

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Momoko Hirata as Kitri and Mathias Dingman as Basilio in Carlos Acosta's Don Quixote © Johan Persson

Acosta's Don Quixote for BRB: polished but not quite enough panache

By Jonathan Gray

Roseanna Leney as Mary with Scottish Ballet in Sophie Laplane’s Mary, Queen of Scots © Andy Ross

Scottish Ballet’s Mary, Queen of Scots: some riveting performances

By Jonathan Gray, 05 March 2026

Sophie Laplane's Mary, Queen of Scots has a lot going for it, visually stunning with a pleasing score, but simplistic and overly rapid storytelling brings it to an underwhelming conclusion.

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Roseanna Leney as Mary with Scottish Ballet in Sophie Laplane’s Mary, Queen of Scots © Andy Ross

Scottish Ballet's Mary, Queen of Scots: some riveting performances

By Jonathan Gray

Marcelino Sambé as Pierrot in Glen Tetley's Pierrot Lunaire © Camilla Nervi

Pierrot Lunaire revival at The Royal Ballet: highly expressive performances

By Jonathan Gray, 10 February 2026

The Royal Ballet marks the centenary of the birth of Glen Tetley with a revival of his greatest work, Pierrot Lunaire, not seen at the Royal Ballet and Opera for nearly 20 years.

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Marcelino Sambé as Pierrot in Glen Tetley's Pierrot Lunaire © Camilla Nervi

Pierrot Lunaire at The Royal Ballet: highly expressive performances

By Jonathan Gray

Sangeun Lee as Aurora with English National Ballet in Sir Kenneth MacMillan's The Sleeping Beauty © Isabella Turolla

ENB’s The Sleeping Beauty: disappointing cuts skew the story

By Jonathan Gray, 27 November 2025

English National Ballet's revival of the Tchaikovsky classic The Sleeping Beauty, disappoints at the Mayflower Theatre in Southampton.

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Sangeun Lee as Aurora with English National Ballet in Sir Kenneth MacMillan's The Sleeping Beauty © Isabella Turolla

ENB’s The Sleeping Beauty: disappointing cuts skew the story

By Jonathan Gray

Breaking Bach at Edinburgh International Festival © Tommy Ga-Ken Wan

Rhythmical kinship: Kim Brandstrup on Breaking Bach

By Jonathan Gray, 31 October 2025

Choreographer Kim Brandstrup talks about his remarkable collaboration with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, and a group of professional hip-hop dancers and students from Camden’s Acland Burghley School.

Breaking Bach at Edinburgh International Festival © Tommy Ga-Ken Wan

Rhythmical kinship: Kim Brandstrup on Breaking Bach

By Jonathan Gray

Aurora Chinchilla and Joe Parkinson in Aurora's Wedding, after Marius Petipa © 2025 The Royal Ballet School. Photography by ASH

The Royal Ballet School: a triumphant display of excellence throughout

By Jonathan Gray, 12 July 2025

It was a wonderful, heartening afternoon – it’s no wonder nearly all the 2025 graduates have gained contracts with several major ballet companies.

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Aurora Chinchilla and Joe Parkinson in Aurora's Wedding, after Marius Petipa © 2025 The Royal Ballet School. Photography by ASH

The Royal Ballet School: a triumphant display of excellence throughout

By Jonathan Gray

Ballet du Capitole in Ángel Rodríguez' Sémiramis © David Herrero

Ballet du Capitole’s double bill: a glorious musical feast

By Jonathan Gray, 24 October 2024

The conducting of Jordi Savall thrills during the Ballet du Capitole's double bill of ballets by Gluck.

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Ballet du Capitole in Ángel Rodríguez' Sémiramis © David Herrero

Ballet du Capitole’s double bill: a glorious musical feast

By Jonathan Gray

Julija Stankevičiūtė in Angelin Preljocaj's Le Parc © Martynas Aleksa

Lithuanian National Ballet: tremendous in Preljocaj's Le Parc

By Jonathan Gray, 15 June 2024

Le Parc but is masterful in evoking the sensuous world of the 18th century and it's a major achievement for the Lithuanian National Ballet.

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Julija Stankevičiūtė in Angelin Preljocaj's Le Parc © Martynas Aleksa

Lithuanian National Ballet: tremendous in Preljocaj's Le Parc

By Jonathan Gray

Léonore Baulac as Lise and Simon Valastro as Widow Simone in Ashton's La Fille mal gardée © Benoite Fanton

La Fille mal gardée in Paris could offer more spark and animation

By Jonathan Gray, 15 March 2024

Paris Opera Ballet tackles a British classic with aplomb but needs to delve deeper into the quintessentially British humour and charm.

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Léonore Baulac as Lise and Simon Valastro as Widow Simone in Ashton's La Fille mal gardée © Benoite Fanton

La Fille mal gardée in Paris could offer more spark and animation

By Jonathan Gray

Francesca Hayward as Manon with The Royal Ballet in Kenneth MacMillan's Manon © Foteini Christofilopoulou

Manon: The Royal Ballet's magnificent revival

By Jonathan Gray, 17 January 2024

Kenneth MacMillan’s 50 year old ballet, Manon, holds up a mirror to our own times.

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Francesca Hayward as Manon with The Royal Ballet in Kenneth MacMillan's Manon © Foteini Christofilopoulou

Manon: The Royal Ballet's magnificent revival

By Jonathan Gray

Katja Khaniukova as Giselle and Laura Hussey as Berthe in Mary Skeaping's Giselle © Laurent Liotardo

Mary Skeaping's Giselle makes a welcome return to the Coliseum

By Jonathan Gray, 11 January 2024

English National Ballet dance an old classic in a new light.

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Katja Khaniukova as Giselle and Laura Hussey as Berthe in Mary Skeaping's Giselle © Laurent Liotardo

Mary Skeaping's Giselle makes a welcome return to the Coliseum

By Jonathan Gray

Grete Sofie Borud Nybakken and Simon Regourd in Swan Lake Act 2 © Erik Berg

Norwegian National Ballet: strong and harmonious, especially the corps

By Jonathan Gray, 09 November 2023

Norwegian National Ballet return to the classics with surprising ease.

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Grete Sofie Borud Nybakken and Simon Regourd in Swan Lake Act 2 © Erik Berg

Norwegian National Ballet: strong and harmonious, especially the corps

By Jonathan Gray

Lorenzo Trossello, Erina Takahashi and Gareth Haw in David Dawson's Four Last Songs © Laurent Liotardo

English National Ballet's Our Voices signals a new, exciting era

By Jonathan Gray, 21 September 2023

English National Ballet appears refreshed and revitalised under its new artistic director.

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Lorenzo Trossello, Erina Takahashi and Gareth Haw in David Dawson's Four Last Songs © Laurent Liotardo

English National Ballet's Our Voices signals a new, exciting era

By Jonathan Gray

Carlos Acosta in George Balanchine's Apollo © Tristram Kenton

Carlos at 50: still igniting the stage

By Jonathan Gray, 26 July 2023

Carlos Acosta proves that he is still one of the world's greatest dancers, performing to packed houses and adoring audiences.

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Carlos Acosta in George Balanchine's Apollo © Tristram Kenton

Carlos at 50: still igniting the stage

By Jonathan Gray

Taeryeong Kim as Kitri in Carlos Acosta's Don Quixote © ASH

Brimming with talent: The Royal Ballet School Summer Performance

By Jonathan Gray, 16 July 2023

A balance of classical, contemporary and folk dance, showed off the versatility of The Royal Ballet School's students at every stage of their training and the results were extremely pleasing.

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Taeryeong Kim as Kitri in Carlos Acosta's Don Quixote © ASH

Brimming with talent: The Royal Ballet School Summer Performance

By Jonathan Gray

Students of the Hungarian National Ballet Institute in Little Sleeping Beauty © Attila Nagy

New kids on the block: Hungarian National Ballet Institute prepares for Little Sleeping Beauty

By Jonathan Gray, 13 June 2023

Europe’s newest ballet school – attached to Hungarian State Opera in Budapest – prepares a version of Tchaikovsky and Petipa’s classic, designed expressly for young dancers.

Students of the Hungarian National Ballet Institute in Little Sleeping Beauty © Attila Nagy

New kids on the block: dancing Little Sleeping Beauty

By Jonathan Gray

Royal Ballet Flanders in Jermaine Spivey's Extant © OBV/Filip Van Roe

Royal Ballet Flanders: it's either bemusing or brilliant!

By Jonathan Gray, 03 June 2023

Three linked works of contemporary ballet provoke a very mixed response.

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Royal Ballet Flanders in Jermaine Spivey's Extant © OBV/Filip Van Roe

Royal Ballet Flanders: it's either bemusing or brilliant!

By Jonathan Gray

Hungarian National Ballet in The Kingdom of the Shades from La Bayadère © Attila Nagy

A dazzling night at the 7th Iván Nagy International Ballet Gala 2023

By Jonathan Gray, 27 May 2023

Three complete ballets and a sprinkling of divertissements made for a highly enjoyable gala.

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Hungarian National Ballet in The Kingdom of the Shades from La Bayadère © Attila Nagy

A dazzling night at the 7th Iván Nagy International Ballet Gala 2023

By Jonathan Gray

Tom Pye with the Cinderella Palace set at the ROH Production Workshop in Thurrock, January 2023 © Andrej Uspenski

Cinderella man: Tom Pye on designing sets for Covent Garden

By Jonathan Gray, 13 March 2023

Tom Pye has drawn inspiration from the magical fairytale illustrations of Edmund Dulac and Arthur Rackham with his new set designs for Frederick Ashton's Cinderella.

Tom Pye with the Cinderella Palace set at the ROH Production Workshop in Thurrock, January 2023 © Andrej Uspenski

Cinderella Man: Tom Pye on designing sets for Covent Garden

By Jonathan Gray

Patrik Holeček and Alina Nanu as Onegin and Tatiana in Onegin © Serghei Gherciu

Pushkin in Prague: a fine revival of Onegin by Czech National Ballet

By Jonathan Gray, 09 February 2023

Powerful performances by the four leading dancers brought dramatic weight to this tremendous revival of John Cranko's Onegin by Czech National Ballet.

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Patrik Holeček and Alina Nanu as Onegin and Tatiana in Onegin © Serghei Gherciu

Pushkin in Prague: a fine revival of Onegin by Czech National Ballet

By Jonathan Gray