NNB: A Tale About Swan Lake, original fairytale magic

Grete Sofie Borud Nybakken, Erik Murzagaliyev and Joakim Visnes in A Tale About Swan Lake

Joakim Visnes as Siegfried in Cina Espejord's A Tale About Swan Lake

Norwegian National Ballet in Cina Espejord's A Tale About Swan Lake

Grete Sofie Borud Nybakken as Odette and Erik Murzagaliyev as Nøkken in A Tale About Swan Lake

Grete Sofie Borud Nybakken and Erik Murzagaliyev in A Tale About Swan Lake

By Maggie Foyer, 11 November 2024

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“a story interwoven with Nordic folklore, subtly changing the traditional characters we know so well”

Reviewed at Oslo Opera House, Stage 2, Oslo on 9 November 2024

A Tale About Swan Lake (Cina Espejord)

Norwegian National Ballet

Katja Ebbel, Set Designer

Martin Dauchez, Costume Designer

Paul Vidar Sævarang, Lighting Designer

Norwegian National Ballet School

Norwegian National Ballet 2

Grete Sofie Borud Nybakken, Dancer

Erik Murzagaliyev, Dancer

Joakim Visnes, Dancer

International Draft Works: an opportunity for discovery

Deborah Weiss, 9th April

An interesting mix of classical, contemporary, hip-hop and cultural choreography graced the stage at the Linbury Theatre for International Draft Works 2025.

***11

Jo Strømgren's The Basement: dark and eccentric humour at its best

Maggie Foyer, 26th May

Strømgren’s choreography is remarkably eloquent with emotionally charged movement in a fast-paced performance with a serious message.

****1

Music for extended wind quintet

Aksel Tollåli, 21st February

The Oslo Chamber Academy served up a wonderful selection of German, French and Czech chamber music for winds, not to mention an array of unexpected sonorities.

****1

Simon Steen-Andersen's bizarre opera Buenos Aires

Aksel Tollåli, 18th September

Simon Steen-Andersen’s genre-bending opera Buenos Aires tackles fascinating questions about human communication and the very nature of opera and music. Sadly, these questions sometimes got lost in unecessarily strange stage antics.

**111

Russian nonsense rhymes from Moscow's Studio for New Music in Oslo

Aksel Tollåli, 15th September

The Studio for New Music is a Russian contemporary music ensemble, and is the ensemble-in-residence of the Moscow Conservatory. At this concert at the Oslo Opera House, their first in Norway, they presented a programme of Russian music, ranging from Stravinsky’s 1914 song cycle Pribaoutki to Vladimir Tarnopolski’s 2001 piece Chevengur for soprano and chamber ensemble.

***11

Return to the Forest is a magical experience at Sadler’s Wells East

Maggie Foyer, 28th May

Gregory Maqoma’s immersive Return to the Forest delighted a captivated audience at Sadler’s Wells East with a superlative creative team and skilful dancing.

*****

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Maggie Foyer

Maggie Foyer danced with PACT, the State Ballet Company in Johannesburg and Kinetika Contemporary Dance in South Africa. After graduating from the R.A.D., she taught at the Central School of Ballet in London and the Royal Swedish Ballet School. She has MA degrees in Education and Literature and is an associate lecturer in Humanities at the Open University. She has written for Dance Europe, The Dancing Times, Dance Magazine, Danza International, various dance websites and has contributed programme notes for companies including The Royal Ballet and Dutch National Ballet. She is a member of the Critics’ Circle and the National Dance Awards Committee.

Norwegian National Ballet: A Tale About Swan Lake, original fairytale magic