Articles by Julie Taylor

Matthew Bourne’s Play Without Words is exactly that, a narrative conveyed through movement rather than speech. Bourne was inspired by Joseph Losey’s film The Servant, starring Dirk Bogarde. Harold Pinter wrote the screenplay and the brooding ambiguity of the film triggered the idea of this intimate dance theatre piece.

Akram Khan’s work is always characterised by a strong narrative and in his latest piece, DESH, he tells his own personal story and in doing so delivers his best work yet. Desh, means homeland and Khan returns to Bangladesh, the place of his father’s birth to examine the roots of his family’s culture.

Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui’s new work takes its inspiration and title from Japan’s foremost comic book or ‘manga’ artist, Osamu Tezuka, (1928-1989). Revered in Japan, Tezuka is often described as the East’s answer to Walt Disney, yet the work of this doctor turned animator is significantly more complex and sophisticated.

Cleopatra is a familiar cultural icon to us all whether our impressions are shaped by Shakespeare or Elizabeth Taylor.

If the number of bare male chests exposed on the stage at Sadler’s Wells this week is meant to suggest a symbolic baring of the male psyche then the Dutch National Ballet (DNB) underwent a good deal of soul searching in their celebration of Hans Van Manen’s work. Their resident choreographer has created 120 ballets in his sixty year career and in this programme DNB performs five.

It’s not often I leave a dance performance with a smile on my face, but it’s impossible not to feel uplifted by the UK debut of Dunas. This is not only an intriguing, thought-provoking collaboration of the best of flamenco and contemporary dance. It is quite simply refreshing, inspiring fun.

Sergei Diaghilev, founder of the Ballets Russes Company, was an extraordinary talent who revolutionised ballet and opera through his innovative use of music, design and choreography. The Diaghilev Festival at the Coliseum celebrates his achievements with three programmes of lost and more familiar work showcasing Russian star performers and dancers from the Kremlin Ballet Theatre.

What do you get if you combine a Hans Christian Andersen fairytale with the choreography of Javier De Frutos and music from electronic pop duo the Pet Shop Boys? The answer may not be the most incredible thing but it is certainly a well produced, slick, enjoyable thing.

The UK premiere of the Centaur and the Animal is a dark piece of experimental equestrian theatre which combines elements of dance, dressage, music and poetry. Four magnificent horses perform under the direction of world renowned French rider, horse trainer, and director Bartabas, alongside his co-choreographer Ko Murobushi a master of Japanese Butoh.

American Ballet Theatre’s second programme at Sadler’s Wells transports us across the globe and through time beginning with a visit to the 19th century Russian Imperial Court and ending in wartime America. This is a mixed experience in more ways than one. Things get off to a tentative start with Balanchine’s Theme and Variations.

Ditch the February blues and treat yourself to a thrilling performance of some of the finest flamenco you may ever witness with a visit to see Aida Gomez and her company perform Carmen. Gomez is one of Spain’s most celebrated dancers. She was the youngest ever Director of the Spanish National Ballet and her talent and that of her company is unmistakable.

The American Ballet Theatre return to the stage of Sadler’s Wells this week with two mixed programmes of 20th and 21st century ballet. The first programme, of four one act pieces, explores the relationship between music and dance, beginning and ending with a UK premiere.Seven Sonatas choreographed by Alexei Ratmansky, ABT’s artist in residence and former Bolshoi director, opens the programme.

Upon discovering that Prokofiev had written the score for Cinderella during the second world war, Matthew Bourne was inspired to set his production of the classic fairytale in London during the Blitz, drawing heavily upon the influence of the films of the period. It was a brilliant move.

Wayne McGregor is a rare talent. Supremely intelligent and creative, he has forged a new language of dance, one which is uncompromising and always challenging, especially when he works with his own company Random Dance.

This performance of Iphigenie auf Tauris is the first time Pina Bausch’s company, Tanztheater Wuppertal, has appeared at Sadler’s Wells since her death in 2009 and in the world of modern dance it is the hottest ticket in town. Based on Christoph Willibald Gluck’s opera of the Greek myth Iphigenie auf Tauris was one of the first works she created for her company in the early seventies.

Originally created for The Royal Ballet and inspired by Shakespeare’s play, Romeo and Juliet is now established as one of Kenneth MacMillan’s most popular full-length works.

Vertical Road is Akram Khan’s latest contemporary ensemble work in which he focuses on spirituality and the question of faith. The Vertical Road of the title is the sacred road, the path of ascent, as opposed to the secular life of the horizontal road.

From the childhood moment when we are introduced to Cinderella we recognise the magical, transformative power of the shoe.

Last October Sadler’s Wells Associate Artist Russell Maliphant choreographed a 15 minute solo, Afterlight (Part One), for an evening at Sadler’s Wells celebrating the centenary of the founding of Diaghilev’s Ballet Russes.