Cinderella, Sadler's Wells review - Matthew Bourne puts Cinderella through the Blitz

★★★★ CINDERELLA, SADLER'S WELLS Matthew Bourne puts Cinderella through the Blitz

Prokofiev's dark glitterball of a ballet score with added air raid sirens

Even if Matthew Bourne were never to choreograph another step, he could fill theatres in perpetuity by rotating old stock. Cinderella, made in 1997, was the follow-up to his break-out hit Swan Lake but, never quite happy with it, he reworked it in 2010, replacing the musicians in the pit with a custom-made recording of an 82-piece orchestra.

Bolshoi's controversial Nureyev ballet opens – to ovations and bans

BOLSHOI'S CONTROVERSIAL NUREYEV BALLET OPENS Creator Kirill Serebrennikov, under house arrest, denied permission to see his own ballet

Creator Kirill Serebrennikov, under house arrest, denied permission to see his own ballet

Nureyev, the most notorious new production at the Bolshoi Ballet’s modern history, premiered last night in Moscow to a 15-minute standing ovation and exclamations of official approval even by Putin’s press secretary – but the ballet’s creator and director languished under house arrest, refused permission to see his own ball

The Nutcracker, Royal Ballet review - superb start to the festive dance season

★★★★★ THE NUTCRACKER, ROYAL BALLET Superb start to the festive dance season

Tchaikovsky's grand and gorgeous classic gets the five-star treatment

For some people, the festive season starts with The Nutcracker. And as it happens, this year the opening night of Sir Peter Wright’s production for the Royal Ballet was also the performance beamed live to hundreds of cinemas around the UK and many more around the world. There’s confidence for you. A global relay on the first night without so much as an edit button.

Sylvia, Royal Ballet review - Ashton rarity makes a delicious evening

★★★★ SYLVIA, ROYAL BALLET Marianela Nuñez and Vadim Muntagirov sparkle as arcadian lovers

Marianela Nuñez and Vadim Muntagirov sparkle as arcadian lovers

On paper, the appeal of a Sylvia revival is questionable. If even the choreographer (Frederick Ashton) wasn't sure his 1952 original was worth saving for posterity, do we really want to watch a 2004 reconstruction posthumously pieced together from rehearsal tapes? Especially given that, with its arcadian setting, it totters delicately on the dividing line between delightfully arch and camp as the Queen Mother's curtains?

Triple Bill, Royal Ballet review - Arthur Pita's 'Wind' is a howling success

★★★★ TRIPLE BILL, ROYAL BALLET Arthur Pita's 'Wind' is a howling success

Not one, but two new works hit the sweet spot

Of all the stories Arthur Pita could have chosen to wrangle for his new narrative ballet, he chose one about wind, perhaps the trickiest element of all to represent on a live stage. Tricky because of course you can’t see wind, you can only see its effects. Tricky, too, because – in extremis, as this is – it does mad things to hair-dos, costumes, and the ability of the cast to keep a grip on props and even dance the steps.

Kenneth MacMillan: A National Celebration, Programmes 2 & 3, Royal Opera House review - abhorrent to sublime

★★★★ KENNETH MACMILLAN: A NATIONAL CELEBRATION From abhorrent to sublime

One choreographer, many faces: two works of genius and a torrid muddle

The choreographer Kenneth MacMillan was a man of many modes and moods, and it’s tempting to wonder how many more he might have revealed had he not been felled by a heart attack at the age of 62.

Michael Clark Company, Barbican Theatre review - bad boy of dance comes good

★★★★ MICHAEL CLARK COMPANY, BARBICAN Bad boy of dance comes good

Not what was promised, but ballet's prodigal son delivers

If there were an arts award for loyalty, the Barbican Theatre would surely win it for having kept faith with Michael Clark. It’s no secret that the bad-boy image that has clung to Clark since his punk extravaganzas in the 1980s had consequences in his personal and creative life, forcing frequent "early retirements".

Kenneth MacMillan, Royal Opera House review - a sprite proves merciless

★★★ KENNETH MACMILLAN, ROYAL OPERA HOUSE Celebrating a legacy

Celebration opener recovers MacMillan's uneasy 1960 Stravinsky collaboration

There are different ways of celebrating a great artist’s legacy, and I suppose they have to coexist. One approach is raptly to admire his or her acknowledged masterpieces, the equivalent of making straight for Guernica or the Mona Lisa.

Fierce: the Birmingham festival which reaches out to Europe and beyond

FIERCE The Birmingham festival which reaches out to Europe and beyond

The new artistic director of the international showcase of live art and performance says what's coming

Since its inception in 1997 Fierce, Birmingham’s International Festival of Live Art & Performance, has championed the work of performance makers not often seen in Britain. The pantheon of body artists under Mark Ball’s era as director included the likes of Franko B, Ron Athey and Kira O’Reilly. Under the helm of previous director duo Laura McDermott and Harun Morrison came experimental European choreographers and theatre-makers such as Eva Meyer-Keller, Kate McIntosh and Lundahl & Seitl.