Worth the sacrifice? Ballett am Rhein's Sacre offers mixed results

Gustavo Carvalho and Futaba Ishizaki in Jerome Robbins' The Cage

Jack Bruce and Maria Luisa Castillo Yoshida in Demis Volpi's The Thing with Feathers

Ensemble Ballett am Rhein in Marcos Morau's Le Sacre du printemps

By Vikki Jane Vile, 30 May 2023

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“she has a brutish overconfidence that borders on the obnoxious”

Reviewed at Opernhaus, Düsseldorf on 28 May 2023

The Cage (Jerome Robbins)

New Work (World premiere) (Demis Volpi)

Sacre (World premiere) (Marcos Morau)

Ballett am Rhein

Vitali Alekseenok, Conductor

Jean Rosenthal, Set Designer

Ruth Sobotka, Costume Designer

Silvia Delagneau, Costume Designer

Max Glaenzel, Set Designer

Thomas Lempertz, Costume Designer

Futaba Ishizaki, Dancer

Sara Giovanelli, Dancer

Gustavo Carvalho, Dancer

Understatement and spectacle at New York City Ballet

Carla Escoda, 26th February

Jerome Robbins' Dances at a Gathering and George Balanchine's Diamonds make a study in contrasts. With lots of debuts in the former and seasoned leads in the latter.

*****

Irresistible: Justin Peck’s The Wind-Up premieres at NYCB

Carla Escoda, 29th January

Never has Justin Peck seemed more compositionally assured, and paradoxically freer, than in his latest ballet, breaking the mold of past work that mostly celebrated the camaraderie of his generation.

****1

Dutch National Ballet's opener in New York: meandering and unfocused

Ivy Lin, 20th November

Dutch National Ballet returning to New York after more than 40 years should have been thrilling. The opening program, whilst beautifully danced, was somewhat muted.

***11

London City Ballet at the Linbury: joy and sorrow at its best

Deborah Weiss, 19th November

London City Ballet move into a new venue with absolute confidence and gravitas in a quadruple bill that says everything about their future and success.

*****

The Australian Ballet in Melbourne: three prismatic worlds

Ruth Ridgway, 4th October

In its triple bill Prism, The Australian Ballet gives the audience three different dance and sound worlds as well as showcasing fleet, athletic and precise dancing.

****1

Contrasting splendors at New York City Ballet: Robbins and Balanchine

Carla Escoda, 30th September

A sublime Robbins-Balanchine pairing at New York City Ballet, it was Robbins’ Goldberg Variations that came off best.

*****

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Vikki Jane Vile

Vikki Jane Vile has been reviewing dance for over ten years, specialising in Ballroom and Ballet. In 2018, she became a member of the Critics' Circle for Dance. Vikki writes for BroadwayWorld and previously Dancing Times, LondonDance.com and CultureWhisper. She also prides herself on being a Strictly Come Dancing connoisseur since its inception and has appeared on BBC radio and several podcasts as an expert on all things Strictly. Having lived in London for ten years, she is now based in Germany and adapting to the Berlin dance scene.