A lively evening of pure dance from San Francisco Ballet

By Graham Watts, 07 June 2019

Loading, please wait...

See full listing

“Yuan Yuan Tan is an elegant dance titan at the centre of this dream world”

Reviewed at Sadler's Wells Theatre, London on 5 June 2019

Bespoke (Stanton Welch)

Hummingbird (Liam Scarlett)

Hurry Up, We're Dreaming (Justin Peck)

San Francisco Ballet

John Macfarlane, Set Designer

Holly Hynes, Costume Designer

Yuan Yuan Tan, Dancer

Luke Ingham, Dancer

Joseph Walsh, Dancer

Dores André, Dancer

Mathilde Froustey, Dancer

Royal Ballet Sinfonia

Cordula Merks, Violin

Natal'ya Feygina, Piano

Houston Ballet: a hugely entertaining Cinderella

Carla Escoda, 24th February

Stanton Welch's Cinderella has mostly worn well at Houston Ballet, anchored by a delightful rewriting of the central love story and packed with marvellous, witty details.

****1

Stanton Welch's zany, imaginative Nutcracker for Houston Ballet

Carla Escoda, 9th December

Stanton Welch's 2016 production of The Nutcracker for Houston Ballet is a wild and dazzling ride, even for those who think they've had enough of this warhorse of a ballet.

****1

Visions of Classical (Re)Vision in San Francisco

Jaime Robles, 11th February

“Your love affair with ballet, your time with ballet, is short,” explains Welsh about his ballet Bespoke, “Eventually you lay down, and dance keeps moving. It’s a bittersweet thing.”

****1

No Greek tragedy: the Australian Ballet has fun in Sylvia

Chantal Nguyen, 13th November

The Australian Ballet is impressive in this light, entertaining story ballet: a winner of an evening.

****1

Unbound Festival continues with superb dancing

Jaime Robles, 24th April

Benjamin Freemantle danced the opening solo, gorgeously, in the role of the grandfather as a dreamy young Adonis.

****1

Smuin: Dance Series 1

Terez Rose, 1st October

Smuin Contemporary American Ballet presents a trio of works ranging from the sublime to the eclectic in the company’s 2016-17 opening program.

****1

More reviews...

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.