Christopher Marney on reviving London City Ballet

Christopher Marney, Artistic Director of London City Ballet

London City Ballet outside Sadler's Wells in 1988

Jane Sanig as Swanhilda with London City Ballet in Coppélia

Jasiah Marshall

Kate Lyons, London City Ballet's rehearsal director, with Juan Gil

Ayça Anil, a dancer with the new London City Ballet

By Deborah Weiss, 31 October 2023

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“I want to take this in a new direction, but I absolutely respect what has come before”

Deborah Weiss, 1st October

The Artistic Director of Sadler’s Wells talks candidly about his unwavering love for encouraging new dance, his visions for the future – and how much of himself he sees in Mick Jagger.

Cosmopolitan commonwealths: Natalia Olczak on Early music in Poland

Lawrence Dunn, 20th March

The young Polish harpsichordist with the Cohaere Ensemble talks about the Early music scene in Poland, her investigations into music of 18th-century Danzig, one of Europe’s most cosmopolitan cities.

Rare symphonies: Masaaki Suzuki returns to Singapore

Nahoko Gotoh, 19th March

Renowned Japanese conductor returns to the Singapore Symphony Orchestra to perform unusual music from Johann Wenzel Kalliwoda – an influence on Robert Schumann, who described him as “unique in the world of symphonies”.

Medieval survivors: Irini Bilini Moraiti on Early music in Greece

Lawrence Dunn, 18th March

Medieval music specialists Irini Bilini Moraiti and Dimitris Kountouras talk about their distinctive approaches to Early music in Greece, and the survival of old music through oral traditions.

Opera in the blood: Speranza Scappucci

Mark Pullinger, 17th March

The Royal Opera’s Principal Guest Conductor explains her passion for opera, her journey into the pit and how good conductors share the attributes of football managers.

Pure agilità: Aya Wakizono returns to Tokyo

Nahoko Gotoh, 13th March

The Japanese mezzo soprano is returning to the New National Theatre, Tokyo for her role debut in Massenet’s Werther. We talk about her love for Rossini, and expansions into later Romantic opera.

Deborah Weiss

Deb joined Bachtrack in 2022 and commissions reviews and writing on ballet and dance. She was Royal Ballet School-trained and is a former principal dancer for companies including London Festival Ballet (now English National Ballet) and Bayerisches Staatsballett. She has been writing for more than 30 years – publications have included Dancing Times, DanceTabs, Dance for You and Dance Europe. She also interviews for Voices of British Ballet, an oral archive of people who have worked in the industry in the UK. In addition to her writing, since 2016 she has been facilitating programmes that support victims of domestic abuse. Deb is passionate about her rescue dog, Bruce, and daughters (not in that order), swims a mile at least five days a week and is an avid reader.