Natalia Osipova's absorbing Pure Dance at Sadler's Wells

By Graham Watts, 24 October 2019

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“the Valse Triste... was danced with a palpable intensity of feeling”

Reviewed at Sadler's Wells Theatre, London on 23 October 2019

The Leaves are Fading (Antony Tudor)

Left Behind (Jason Kittelberger)

Flutter (Iván Pérez)

In Absentia (Kim Brandstrup)

Six Years Later (Roy Assaf)

Ave Maria (Yuka Oishi)

Valse triste (Alexei Ratmansky)

Natalia Osipova, Dancer

David Hallberg, Dancer

Jason Kittelberger, Dancer

Jonathan Goddard, Dancer

Drama/no drama from New York Theatre Ballet at Judson Church

Carla Escoda, 10th April

Anthony Tudor and Merce Cunningham provided the lighter fare in a mixed bill that featured two world premieres from Kevin Iega Jeff, a veteran of the Chicago dance scene, and Julian Donahue, a newer voice.

****1

A Tudor gem and magnificent beasts: New York Theatre Ballet forges on

Carla Escoda, 28th March

New York Theatre Ballet's long tradition of presenting condensed story ballets with exquisite production values continues despite the challenges of the current environment. Carnival of the Animals is paired with Tudor's Little Improvisations.

*****

American Ballet Theatre's legacy works: vintage or dated?

Ivy Lin, 17th October

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.

****1

Star dancers choosing questionable dances?

Chantal Nguyen, 27th August

Natalia Osipova and David Hallberg's combined star power transcend this mixed bag of contemporary and classical dance.

****1

Frontier / The Dream: Washington Ballet

Hilary Stroh, 25th May

Space-Age Ballet Frontier premiered to honour JFK.

***11

Ballet San Jose

Terez Rose, 16th November

Change is in the air at Ballet San Jose, and Saturday night’s star-studded gala to welcome new artistic director José Manuel Carreño proved this in a big way.

****1

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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.

Tour de force: Natalia Osipova's absorbing Pure Dance at Sadler's Wells