Polunin is Rasputin: a titanic, totemic performance at the Palladium

By Graham Watts, 02 June 2019

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“this new full-length ballet is an unqualified success”

Reviewed at London Palladium, London on 1 June 2019

Rasputin (Yuka Oishi)

Sergei Polunin, Dancer

Johan Kobborg, Dancer

Alexey Lyubimov, Dancer

Elena Ilinykh, Dancer

Djordje Kalenic, Dancer

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

Graham Watts, 23rd October

Osipova has completely shaken away any inhibitions of classical training to dance more freely than ever before.

****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

Dance for Ukraine: a roster of major talent from around the world

Deborah Weiss, 18th February

A long list of stars and young hopefuls from every corner of the globe came together to support Ukraine in the second fund-raising gala of its kind.

****1

The Royal Ballet and McGregor: stunning dancing but nothing really new

Deborah Weiss, 18th April

An evening of ballets by Wayne McGregor, including the world premiere of Quantum Souls, proved to be a little too much of the same thing.

***11

Natalia Makarova's La Bayadère: a night to remember in Oslo

Vikki Jane Vile, 17th April

Norwegian National Ballet gives a marvellous rendition of Natalia Makarova's La Bayadère. Opening night in Oslo was a strong argument for its place in any season, displaying ballet escapism at its best.

****1

The Center Will Not Hold: Dorrance Dance thrills at Sadler's Wells

Daniel Pratt, 17th April

Dorrance Dance offer a compelling mix of genres in The Center Will Not Hold – high energy, full of surprises, top quality performances.

****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.