The Red Shoes, Sadler's Wells review - the ultimate stage movie

★★★★★ THE RED SHOES, SADLER'S WELLS The ultimate stage movie

Matthew Bourne's love letter to the cinema returns, in even sharper focus

Matthew Bourne’s tally of hits is such that many of his dance-drama interpretations of old ballets and films were labelled “classic” as soon as they appeared. Yet The Red Shoes, Bourne’s 2016 tribute to the 1948 film, is arguably the one that most rewards repeat viewings. Thickly layered with entertaining detail, you can see it again and again and still find new things to love.

Acosta Danza, Sadler's Wells review - a dose of Cuban sun

★★★ ACOSTA DANZA, SADLER'S WELLS  A dose of Cuban sun

Carlos Acosta's Cuban troupe are looking fine on their second time out

Second album, second novel, second tour programme – the follow-up is always tricky. But the timing couldn’t be better for Acosta Danza, the Havana-based dance company which made its UK debut in 2017. These 20 young Cubans, handpicked by Carlos Acosta and bursting with talent, can’t know how badly the UK needs a shot of their sunny optimism right now.

Natalia Osipova: Pure Dance, Sadler's Wells review - a great ballerina branches out, again

★★★ NATALIA OSIPOVA: PURE DANCE, SADLER'S WELLS A great ballerina branches out, again

This off-piste excursion is no vanity project

Sometimes a dance talent arrives that causes the ground to shift and alters the landscape. Natalia Osipova is one such. Not content to be queen of all she surveys at the Royal Ballet, she is hungry for new territory.

Dada Masilo's Giselle, Sadler's Wells review - bold, brutal, unforgiving

★★★ DADA MASILO'S GISELLE, SADLER'S WELLS Bold, brutal, unforgiving

Startling cultural retread of the romantic ballet, set in a South African village

The most arresting thing about Dada Masilo’s contemporary South African take on Giselle is Masilo herself. Tiny and boyishly slight, she inhabits her own fast, fidgety, tribal-inspired choreography with the intensity of someone in a trance.

Alvin Ailey, Programme C review - black, beautiful, brilliant

★★★★ ALVIN AILEY, PROGRAMME C America's No.1 rounds off a triumphant visit

America's No.1 rounds off its triumphant visit with a diddly-doo-wop

The Ailey company is that rare thing – a dance legend that’s even better than you remember. While no one forgets their first encounter with America’s No.1 touring troupe and its unique mix of ballet, modern, jazz, street, and all-round athletic fabulousness, repeat viewings only increase one’s respect.

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, Sadler's Wells review - Still more Revelations

★★★★ ALVIN AILEY AMERICAN DANCE THEATRE, SADLER'S WELLS Still more Revelations

America's favourite dance ticket shows us how it's done

There is no equivalent of the Ailey phenomenon. This is a modern dance company with a New York square named after it. It’s a dance company that has performed at the inauguration of two presidents. Its calling card, Revelations, a suite of dances first performed in 1960, is the most-watched modern dance work anywhere, ever.

Matthew Bourne's Romeo and Juliet, Sadler's Wells review - heart-stopping drama

★★★★ MATTHEW BOURNE'S ROMEO AND JULIET, SADLER'S WELLS Heart-stopping drama

The plot isn't perfect, but this bad romance still packs a punch

Your first thought on hearing there's a new Matthew Bourne Romeo and Juliet might well be 'doesn't it exist already?' So obvious does this marriage of high drama, lush iconic score, and Britain's premier dance maker seem that you might well be forgiven for assuming it had happened years ago. In fact, the show Bourne presented at Sadler's Wells this week is brand new this year.

Ballet Flamenco Sara Baras, Sadler's Wells review - storming opening to flamenco festival

★★★★ BALLET FLAMENCO SARA BARAS, SADLER'S WELLS Storming opening to flamenco festival

Sara Baras confirms flamenco as a dynamic and innovative force

Crowned queen of the percussive heel and the trouser suit, Sara Baras has the audience on its feet long before the final number of her show Sombras (Shadows). The Spanish superstar is a familiar presence at Sadler’s Wells, having fronted its annual two-week flamenco festival several times before. She’s a natural headliner with her big, glossy theatrics. Her current offering, though, is a thing of deep contrasts: light and dark, sound and silence, conviviality and yes, loneliness. There are moments when she almost has you believe it’s just you and her in the room.

San Francisco Ballet, Liang/Marston/Pita, Sadler's Wells - elemental, ethereal and kitschy, too

★★★ SAN FRANCISCO BALLET, LIANG/MARSTON/PITA, SADLER'S WELLS Elemental, ethereal and kitschy, too

Visiting company mixes moods and climates in varied and variable mixed bill

Sun, snow, and some unadorned silliness danced to the music of Björk: no one can accuse San Francisco of casting an insufficiently wide tonal (or climatic) net in this second of four programmes on view from San Francisco Ballet as part of their Sadler's Wells season (continuing to June 8). Having largely thrilled to their all-Shostakovich opener, I found this line-up more of a literally mixed bag.

'I wrote a letter to Björk in Icelandic and it did the trick': Helgi Tomasson on an intervention that saved a ballet

The artistic director of San Francisco Ballet heralds its all-new season at Sadler's Wells

Visits from major foreign ballet companies are always news, but a two-week London season by one of America’s “big three” is something to get excited about. San Francisco Ballet doesn’t rest on its laurels. Eight of the 12 pieces offered in the coming Sadler's Wells season were premiered by the company only last year.