A dazzling night at the 7th Iván Nagy International Ballet Gala 2023

Hungarian National Ballet in The Kingdom of the Shades from La Bayadère

Liza Gulyás, Máté Vincze Bertalan, Hungarian National Ballet Institute in Milongueando en el 40

Yourim Lee and Motomi Kiyota Diana and Actaeon pas de deux

Hungarian National Ballet in Hans van Manen's Five Tangos

By Jonathan Gray, 30 May 2023

Loading, please wait...

See full listing

“with bravura and showstopping tricks, it had the audience roaring its approval”

Reviewed at Hungarian State Opera: Auditorium, Budapest on 27 May 2023

Hungarian National Ballet

Paul Connelly, Conductor

Tamás Solymosi, Director

Jacopo Tissi, Dancer

Gergely Leblanc, Dancer

Lili Felméry, Dancer

Inés Furuhashi-Huber, Dancer

Miyu Takamori, Dancer

Valerio Palumbo, Dancer

Gergö Ármin Balázsi, Dancer

Yourim Lee, Dancer

Alejandro Virelles, Dancer

Acosta's Don Quixote for BRB: polished but not quite enough panache

Jonathan Gray, 23rd April

Carlos Acosta's Don Quixote for Birmingham Royal Ballet returned to Sadler's Wells with polished but low-key interpretations across the board.

***11

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

International Draft Works at the Linbury brought much to delight

Amanda Jennings, 16th April

The Royal Ballet's International Draft Works proved to be an excellent opportunity to see dancers and budding choreographers from around the world.

****1

Scottish Ballet’s Starstruck: plenty of pzazz in Glasgow

Kathy Elgin, 16th April

Christopher Hampson’s newly updated Starstruck is thoroughly entertaining with sexy solos, classical pas de deux and lines of perfectly-timed Broadway hoofing.

****1

More reviews...

Jonathan Gray

Jonathan Gray was born in Wales and studied at The Royal Ballet School, Leicester Polytechnic and Wimbledon School of Art. He was a member of the curatorial department of The Theatre Museum, London, from 1989 until 2005, and was editor of Dancing Times from 2008 until its closure in 2022.