Obsidian Tear / The Invitation / Within the Golden Hour

By Cristina de Lucas, 02 June 2016

Loading, please wait...

See full listing

“The duets in The Invitation are forerunners of better known pas de deux in MacMillan’s repertory”

Reviewed at Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London on 31 May 2016

The Invitation (Sir Kenneth MacMillan)

Within the Golden Hour (Christopher Wheeldon)

Obsidian Tear (Sir Wayne McGregor)

The Royal Ballet

Orchestra of the Royal Opera House Covent Garden

Francesca Hayward, Dancer

Vadim Muntagirov, Dancer

Gary Avis, Dancer

Zenaida Yanowsky, Dancer

Yasmine Naghdi, Dancer

David Donelly, Dancer

Thomas Whitehead, Dancer

Olivia Cowley, Dancer

The Royal Ballet’s Mayerling: violent, feral, tortured dance

Graham Watts, 30th March

In this latest revival of Kenneth MacMillan’s Mayerling, The Royal Ballet presents a roster of powerful and vivid interpretations across the board.

****1

National Ballet of Japan's revival of Manon was devastatingly good

Naomi Mori, 19th March

National Ballet of Japan in Kenneth MacMillan’s Manon has been revived six years after its performances were cancelled because of the pandemic. Exceptionally good interpretations led the opening night performance.

****1

Ballet superstars in Frankfurt for a night to savour

Vikki Jane Vile, 30th November

For one night only, audiences in Frankfurt were treated to some world class ballet on the expansive stage of the Jahrhunderthalle.

****1

ENB’s The Sleeping Beauty: disappointing cuts skew the story

Jonathan Gray, 27th November

English National Ballet's revival of the Tchaikovsky classic The Sleeping Beauty, disappoints at the Mayflower Theatre in Southampton.

***11

Ballet Nights makes an impressive and unforgettable Scottish debut

Kathy Elgin, 4th July

Ballet Nights is more than an evening of party pieces: it showcases emerging talent alongside older favourites and, in the case of this first Scottish outing, has an eye to local tradition.

****1

Ballet Nights – Spring Into Summer a fascinating hotchpotch of dance

Graham Watts, 5th June

Ballet Nights 008 – Spring into Summer proved to be a judicious choice of quality and diverse repertoire.

****1

More reviews...

Cristina de Lucas

After a career in the legal field where she combined her job as an Attorney at Law with collaborative roles in various local and international cultural enterprises, Cristina de Lucas turned to dance research and criticism in 2009, when she moved to London. She obtained her doctorate from the Department of Dance at the University of Roehampton (London). Her fully-funded thesis focused on the confluence between dance and narrative in the repertory of the British choreographer Kenneth MacMillan. Her research has received several awards, such a full Vice-Chancellor scholarship and the 2014 SDHS Graduate Student Travel Grant. She also reviews dance and cinema, contributing regularly to several publications in Spain and UK.

Powerful performances in Kenneth MacMillan’s The Invitation at the Royal Ballet