As the Pina Bausch around-the-world-in-ten-shows season draws to an end, the phenomenon that is Big Dance 2012 finally kicks off, with almost everyone who's involved in dance somehow participating. And there are a few more graduate shows, for those with an eye to the future...


Royal Ballet: Birthday Offering, Month In The Country & Les Noces - to 7 July
Royal Opera House
Tickets & details: www.roh.org.uk/productions/18562

Bronislava Nijinska's Les Noces is widely acclaimed to be one of the finest works of ballet of the 20th century, and it's entirely worth missing the rest of the triple bill to watch this piece alone. Les Noces retains much of the primitivism and raw energy of her brother Nijinsky's Rite of Spring and consequently has far more impact in its depiction of a Russian bride and groom preparing for their wedding.

Often imitated and referred to throughout the years, from Pina Bausch to Javier De Frutos's The Most Incredible Thing, consider Les Noces to be part of your essential dance watching. The other two works on the programme are Ashton's Birthday Offering and Month In The Country, best suited to those who like their ballet defiantly classical. Pretty, but not even in the same league as Les Noces


Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch: Wiesenland - 8 & 9 July
Sadler's Wells
Tickets & details (returns only; keep watching the website): www.sadlerswells.com/show/Pina-Bausch-World-Cities-2012-Wiesenland
Duration: 2 hours 40 minutes (1 interval)

It seems hard to believe, but there's only one work left in the current Pina Bausch programme, although if you're one of the many who completely missed out on a ticket, there's hope in store with Sadler's Wells's recent announcement that Tanztheater Wuppertal will be returning on an annual basis.

Back to the present, Wiesenland is Pina Bausch's 2000 Hungarian work, "taking inspiration from Hungary’s folklore, churches, museums, the suburbs of Budapest and the horizons of Transylvania."


Big Dance: 7 - 15 July
Across the entire country
Details: www.bigdance2012.com

There will be hundreds if not thousands of events taking place over the week of Big Dance, involving almost everybody who currently works in dance. When we've figured out what the highlights are, we'll update this with their details.


Graduate Shows

Rambert School: Home Grown - 4 & 5 July
Lilian Baylis Studio, Sadler's Wells
Details & tickets: www.rambertschool.org.uk/2012/05/home-grown-lilian-baylis-studio/

Details are still unavailable, however expect a mixture of student choreography and repertoire from wellknown choreographers. Past graduate shows have been of a high standard, so we expect this will be much the same.


Ballet Central & Central School of Ballet: 6 & 7 July
Bloomsbury Theatre
Tickets & details: www.thebloomsbury.com/event/run/1688
Trailer: youtu.be/ekq0Le83ovg

Ballet Central is Central School of Ballet's touring company of final year students, wowing audiences around the country, and for these final performances, they will be reuniting with the rest of their year for two days of performances.

Ballet Central's 2012 tour features new works from Mikaela Polley (Rambert Dance Company), Sharon Watson (Phoenix Dance Theatre) and Sara Matthews, as well as revivals by Matthew Hart, the late David Fielding, and Ballet Central's founder, the late Christopher Gable. This exciting programme of ballet, contemporary, jazz and narrative dance will also feature live accompaniment by Musical Director Philip Feeney.


London Contemporary Dance School: 6 - 13 July
The Place
Tickets & details: www.theplace.org.uk/14137/whats-on/london-contemporary-dance-school-graduation-performances.html

It's hard to go far without noticing past graduates of London Contemporary Dance School - for example, Dancing Times's current Dancer of the Month is LCDS graduate Liam Riddick - and so it's pretty definite that more than a few of this year's graduates will be making their names known in the next few years. With seven performances over the next week and a half, the programmes will probably consist of a mix of student choreographies, collaborations with Wimbledon School of Art graduating students (bungee ropes, wall-to-wall elastic and rung-heavy sets will likely feature in one or more pieces) and recent LC3 works.

Make a note of the dancers and choreographers who catch your eye, and check back in a year or so... you'll be pleasantly surprised!