'She was revolutionary': Tanztheater Wuppertal's new director on the legacy of Pina Bausch

'SHE WAS REVOLUTIONARY' The legacy of Tanztheater Wuppertal's Pina Bausch

Bettina Wagner-Bergelt talks violence and taped music in a monumental early masterpiece

Ten years on from the death of its founder-choreographer, the Pina Bausch company finds itself at a crossroads, unwilling to limit itself to endless revivals of hits such as Café Muller or Rite of Spring, yet equally unwilling to relinquish the back catalogue altogether.

English National Ballet 70th Anniversary Gala, Coliseum review - a fine celebration

★★★★★ ENGLISH NATIONAL BALLET 70TH ANNIVERSARY GALA, COLISEUM A fine celebration

ENB raises a toast to its past and future in an evening of nostalgia and high style

Just when you thought Christmas was well and truly over, along comes another box of delights. And there isn’t a disappointment in it. If it were nuts, there’d be nothing but cashews; if chocolates, there wouldn’t be a single disgusting lime-cream. It would be all Ferrero Rochers, gift-wrapped. English National Ballet’s 70th birthday party opened and closed with class, in every sense.

Onegin, Royal Ballet review - vivid and intelligent dance drama

★★★★ ONEGIN, ROYAL BALLET Vivid and intelligent dance drama

The production may feel old-fashioned, but Cranko's graphic dance images still have power to startle

It’s no surprise that audiences love John Cranko’s Onegin, with its vividly economical narrative (close to Tchaikovsky’s opera), attractive decors by Jürgen Rose, and intelligent drama. True, it feels a tad old-fashioned – although that, as my neighbour observed, is part of the charm. Performers love it too, for the meaty roles it gives to its principals and the emotional swoop of their dances.

Resolution 2020, The Place review - new dance for a new decade

★★★ RESOLUTION 2020, THE PLACE New dance for a new decade

You take your chances with this annual bran tub of novice choreography

Resolution! is an annual programme at The Place (home of London Contemporary Dance School), devoted to showcasing new choreographers. Over the past 30 years several have gone on to make it big, so there’s a reasonable chance that, somewhere among this year’s selection of 81 wannabes lurks a Wayne McGregor, a Hofesh Schechter or a Kate Prince waiting to be discovered.

Le Corsaire, London Coliseum review - hugely entertaining

★★★★ LE CORSAIRE, LONDON COLISEUM Hugely entertaining

Don't mind the plot. ENB dance up a storm in this exuberant pirate caper

It’s unlikely that Lord Byron would recognise much about Le Corsaire. Beyond the characters’ names and the Ottoman location, there is little trace of the 1814 bestselling verse-novel on whose fame the ballet hitched a ride. Its plot is very silly indeed – a tale of abducted slave girls and piratical derring-do with added 19th-century ballet tropes of poisoned flowers and opium-induced dreams, not to mention a shipwreck in the final three minutes.

Best of 2019: Dance

BEST OF 2019: DANCE In a year dominated by big names and big companies, delights were off-piste

In a year dominated by big names and big companies, delights were found off-piste

For dance lovers, it was a year of heavy hitters. There were visits from two of America’s biggest and best, both the Alvin Ailey company and San Francisco Ballet bringing generous programmes of new work. The mighty Bolshoi’s summer programme at Covent Garden brought us Spartacus, that Soviet-era mega-fest of militarism and machismo. More intimate but just as heavily hyped was the new Matthew Bourne, Romeo + Juliet, which toured the country before settling into the August holiday slot at Sadler’s Wells.

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.

Radio & Juliet/Faun/McGregor + Mugler, London Coliseum review - a fashion faux pas

★★★ RADIO & JULIET/FAUN/MCGREGOR + MUGLER, LONDON COLISEUM A fashion faux pas

Wayne McGregor fails to shine in ill-advised bling fest

A pas de deux is normally an opportunity for two dancers to express the pinnacle of their skill and the choreographer's art. In the case of McGregor + Mugler, the duet receiving its world premiere as part of a Russian-sponsored triple bill, it became an opportunity for a big-name designer to strut his stuff.

Svetlana Zakharova, Modanse, London Coliseum review - impeccably chic but soul-less

★★ SVETLANA ZAKHAROVA, MODANSE, LONDON COLISEUM Chic but soul-less

The Bolshoi star looks great but delivers zero emotion in new ballet about Coco Chanel

What price a pair of seats at the ballet? If you’re talking the latest starry Russian import then, with a few perks thrown in, you might not see much change from £800. And yet the size of the first-night crowd queuing for Modanse, a double bill starring the Bolshoi prima Svetlana Zakharova and a bunch of her pals, apparently required the erection of crush barriers along St Martin’s Lane.