Mitten wir im Leben sind, De Keersmaeker, Queyras, Rosas, Sadler's Wells review - Bach-worthy genius

Outwardly austere, inwardly vibrant life-and-death journey through the six Cello Suites

All Bach is dance, a teacher once told me. The justifiable exaggeration switched on a light; leaping to the Brandenburg Concertos followed. This great work of kinetic art is of a different order. Choreographer and performer Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker represents the pure but vibrant mastery of the Cello Suites in the way that the soul moves with them, responsive to every hyper-dance form, key and modulation.

She Persisted, English National Ballet, Sadler's Wells review - a must-see triple bill

★★★★ SHE PERSISTED, ENGLISH NATIONAL BALLET Must-see triple bill

ENB hit another high with a storming Rite of Spring

She does indeed persist, that remarkable Tamara Rojo. Dismayed by the fact that, in 20 years as a dancer, she had never performed a ballet made by a woman, she mounted a triple bill called She Said, featuring only work by and about women.

Victoria, Northern Ballet, Sadler's Wells - A queen re-instated, once again

★★★ VICTORIA, NORTHERN BALLET, SADLER'S WELLS The real Empress of India leaps from page to stage

The real Empress of India leaps from page to stage

Given that the life of Queen Victoria spanned the best part of a century, the first task for any biographer is to hack a path through the mountain of facts. It ought to help that the queen was a prolific diarist. Too bad for choreographer Cathy Marston that Victoria’s youngest daughter got there first.

The Thread, Russell Maliphant & Vangelis, Sadler’s Wells review – an inspiring marriage of old and new

★★★★ THE THREAD, RUSSELL MALIPHANT & VANGELIS, SADLER'S WELLS An inspiring marriage of old and new

Divergent worlds made to co-exist with apparent ease

In The Thread Russell Maliphant attempts what, at first sight, appears a foolhardy project – the juxtaposition of contemporary and traditional Greek dance. The two genres seem poles apart, the one being collective and in unison, the other more individualistic and expressive. But by slowing the pace and emphasising the similarities, Maliphant has created an unlikely dialogue that enriches them both

Bon Voyage, Bob, Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch, Sadler's Wells review - interminable ennui

★★★ BON VOYAGE, BOB, TANZTHEATER WUPPERTAL PINA BAUSCH, SADLER'S WELLS At three and a half wearisome hours, this feels like a marathon

At three and a half wearisome hours, this feels like a marathon

It's a decade since Pina Bausch sadly died, and during that time her company has kept her memory alive by revisiting her amazingly rich legacy. Inevitably, though, the time would come for them to embark on a new phase; but how? The unique mix of dance and visual theatre that Bausch developed with them over 36 astoundingly creative years is so distinctive that any attempt to follow in her footsteps would most likely seem like a pastiche.   

Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake, Sadler's Wells - vivid, enchanting

★★★★★ MATTHEW BOURNE'S SWAN LAKE, SADLER'S WELLS Endlessly inventive update of classic Tchaikovsky production

Refreshed classic production delights with energy, storytelling and live Tchaikovsky

The Matthew Bourne Swan Lake has become a classic. And – lest that word conjure up dusty tomes and a niggling sense of obligation – this is definitively not the old-but-worthy, improving-but-dull kind of classic.

Formosa, Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan, Sadler’s Wells review - perfect in every detail

★★★★★ FORMOSA, CLOUD GATE DANCE THEATRE Perfect in every detail

A glorious fusion of athletic dance, creative visuals and intoxicating sound

Whatever you do in the next couple of days, be sure to grab a ticket for this wonderfully atmospheric production. A glorious fusion of athletic dance, creative visuals and intoxicating sound, the piece pays tribute to the island of Taiwan, named Formosa ("beautiful") by Portuguese sailors in the 16th century, and home to Cloud Gate Dance Theatre.

Sutra, Sadler’s Wells review – a masterpiece 10 years on

★★★★★ SUTRA, SADLER'S WELLS A masterpiece 10 years on

Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui joins the Monks from the Shaolin Temple for a tour that continues to wow audiences the world over

Sutra is back, 10 years after its premier at Sadler’s Wells. This is, in fact, the fourth time it has returned to London and such is the amazing popularity of this beguiling show that, in the past decade, it has been performed more than 200 times in 66 cities in 33 countries. 

Richard Alston, Mid Century Modern, Sadler's Wells review - a master choreographer clocks up 50 years

★★★★★ RICHARD ALSTON, MID CENTURY MODERN, SADLER'S WELLS A master choreographer clocks up 50 years

The music man of British contemporary dance takes stock

It took Richard Alston 10 years to start making dances to music. Until the late Seventies he preferred silence, or a Rolodex of scores that he swapped and switched. In this you might say he was a typical product of the time. The fact is more remarkable in relation to his later and more lasting status, for few would deny that Alston has for many years been the most musically astute choreographer working in Britain.