“The spirit of Margot” celebrated in The Royal Ballet's Fonteyn gala

By Graham Watts, 10 June 2019

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“one famous British ballet Dame paying tribute to another”

Reviewed at Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London on 8 June 2019

The Firebird (Mikhail Fokine)

The Sleeping Beauty (Rose Adage) (Marius Petipa)

Nocturne (Sir Frederick Ashton)

The Wise Virgins (Sir Frederick Ashton)

Birthday Offering (Sir Frederick Ashton)

Ondine (Shadow pas de deux) (Sir Frederick Ashton)

Sylvia (Les chasseresses) (Sir Frederick Ashton)

Daphnis et Chloé (Mikhail Fokine)

Romeo and Juliet (Balcony pas de deux) (Sir Kenneth MacMillan)

Façade (Tango) (Sir Frederick Ashton)

Le Corsaire (Anna-Marie Holmes, Marius Petipa, Konstantin Sergeyev)

Apparitions (Ballroom scene) (Sir Frederick Ashton)

The Royal Ballet

Emmanuel Plasson, Conductor

Itziar Mendizabal, Dancer

Nehemiah Kish, Dancer

Marianela Núñez, Dancer

Beatriz Stix-Brunell, Dancer

Romany Pajdak, Dancer

Fumi Kaneko, Dancer

Sarah Lamb, Dancer

Ryoichi Hirano, Dancer

Zenaida Yanowsky, Dancer

Mayara Magri, Dancer

Anna Rose O'Sullivan, Dancer

Alexander Campbell, Dancer

Natalia Osipova, Dancer

David Hallberg, Dancer

Darcey Bussell, Dancer

Gary Avis, Dancer

Vadim Muntagirov, Dancer

Yasmine Naghdi, Dancer

Lauren Cuthbertson, Dancer

Matthew Ball, Dancer

Orchestra of the Royal Opera House Covent Garden

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An uplifting triple bill by American Ballet Theatre with three contrasting ballets. Especially entertaining were Tudor's Gala Performance and Agnes de Mille's Rodeo.

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A Diaghilev celebration from BRB2

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Carlos Acosta devises a programme of Ballets Russes highlights to celebrate Serge Diaghilev and to showcase the young dancers of Birmingham Royal Ballet’s junior company, BRB2.

****1

National Ballet of Japan’s new triple bill is full of bold challenges

Naomi Mori, 15th March

While National Ballet of Japan’s latest triple bill presents many challenges, one hopes these valuable masterpieces will be revived, enabling the company to develop its virtuosity and artistry.

****1

Ballet Nights: an intimate evening with star quality

Deborah Weiss, 29th September

Ballet Nights offers a wonderful variety of dancing and genres. Whatever your preference, there are quality performances to enjoy.

***11

BRB2 in Carlos Acosta's Classical Selection is full of vitality

Graham Watts, 25th April

With five founding dancers in BRB2, this inaugural dance salad was embellished with other ingredients including the addition of seven members from the main company.

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A showcase for Ukrainian ballet at Sadler's Wells

Graham Watts, 7th September

Ivan Putrov, who has enjoyed a long career based in London, brings dancers from his homeland for a special London gala.

***11

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Graham Watts

Graham Watts is a freelance dance writer and critic writing regularly for Dancing Times, Dance Europe, Danza Europa, and many more publications. He regularly writes features for Sadler’s Wells, London Coliseum and La Scala. Chairman of the Dance Section of the Critics’ Circle in the United Kingdom and of the UK National Dance Awards he has interviewed many of the greatest names in dance including Maya Plisetskaya, Vladimir Vasiliev, Boris Eifman, Alexei Ratmansky, Andris Liepa, Sir Peter Wright, David Bintley and Dame Gillian Lynne. When not involved in dance Graham is a keen fencer, and has captained the British Sabre team.