The Royal Ballet keeps the Cunningham flame aglow

By Graham Watts, 15 October 2019

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“a slice of vintage Americana given a modern twist”

Reviewed at Royal Opera House: Linbury Theatre, London on 11 October 2019

Cross Currents (Merce Cunningham)

Monotones II (Sir Frederick Ashton)

Everyone Keeps Me (Pam Tanowitz)

The Royal Ballet

Sir Frederick Ashton, Set Designer

Merce Cunningham, Costume Designer

John B. Read, Lighting Designer

Clifton Taylor, Lighting Designer

Fay Fullerton, Costume Designer

Orchestra of the Royal Opera House Covent Garden

Joseph Sissens, Dancer

Romany Pajdak, Dancer

Julia Roscoe, Dancer

David Donnelly, Dancer

Téo Dubreuil, Dancer

Gina Storm-Jensen, Dancer

Robert Clark, Piano

Anna Rose O'Sullivan, 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

Liam Francis Dance Company in Alchemy: an absorbing London debut

Daniel Pratt, 7th November

Liam Francis Dance Company at The Place brings an instinctive and intelligent debut for a choreographer in-step with what it is to be a dance artist now.

*****

NYCB's winter season begins with Peck's brand new “sneaker ballet”

Ivy Lin, 27th January

The NYCB dancers are very at-home in this idiom, and they threw themselves wholeheartedly into this ballet. It was never less than watchable, but the music cried out for more avante-garde choreography than Peck provided.

****1

‘The Future Bursts in’ with Dance Umbrella

Sarah Kirkup, 24th October

Amala Dianor and CNN Ballet de Lorraine channel the US choreographer in two UK premieres and a Cunningham classic, all brilliantly performed.

****1

NYCB does Cunningham ... and Balanchine

Ivy Lin, 5th October

Judging by the enthusiastic audience reactions to this program one might have to rethink the modern/ballet divide. Maybe there’s only two types of dance – good dance and bad dance.

****1

Merce Cunningham's centennial kicks off at The Joyce

Ivy Lin, 17th April

Despite the uneven performances, the evening offered a painful reminder: the future of Cunningham's opus is fragile and delicate. With his own company disbanded, his future is in the hands of dancers who are not trained in his technique and did not have the good fortune of working directly with the great choreographer.

***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.