Our calendars are filled to the brim this week, with plenty of quality dance shows to see over the next few days - with even more to look forward to next week! In addition to much-anticipated shows by Scottish Ballet, New Art Club, Ballet Ireland and more, there's also the excitement of Sadler's Wells' new season, and the announcement of the National Dance Awards shortlists. Definitely a week to enjoy!
Scottish Ballet: 3 & 4 November
Sadler's Wells
Tickets & details: www.sadlerswells.com/show/Scottish-Ballet-Double-Bill
Trailer: bcove.me/5das7m4o
Scottish Ballet, recently touring in Los Angeles, return to London for the first time in two years, bringing modern ballet classic Song of the Earth, choreographed by Kenneth MacMillan, and a new work by contemporary ballet choreographer Jorma Elo. Song of the Earth, the final piece performed by Darcey Bussell on leaving Royal Ballet in 2007, fuses one of Mahler's song cycles with eighth century Chinese poetry.
Scottish Ballet is Scotland's national dance company, with an extremely diverse repertoire covering the full spectrum of works all the way from classical ballet to contemporary dance, performing works by choreographers including Richard Alston, William Forsythe, Stephen Petronio, Siobhan Davies and Hans van Manen. They have just announced (1 November) that Christopher Hampson will be taking over from Ashley Page as Artistic Director - this is a very exciting time for them!
New Art Club, Big Bag Of Boom: 4 November
The Place
Tickets & details: www.theplace.org.uk/10604/whats-on/new-art-club.html
There are two types of dance audiences: those who love New Art Club, and those who haven't seen them yet. Not only are Tom Roden and Pete Shenton the funniest people in dance, but this performance is a collection of their "greatest hits", accompanied by special guest Peter Kay, and followed by a disco. Don't miss - and make sure you buy your ticket before it sells out!
Royal Ballet, Manon: 3 - 26 November
Royal Opera House
Tickets & details: www.roh.org.uk/whatson/production.aspx?pid=16853
Video excerpt with Carlos Acosta & Tamara Rojo: www.youtube.com/watch?v=91VUOM_iza8
If you haven't seen any full-length ballets before, then Manon is an excellent place to start: I saw it for the first time earlier this year and ended up seeing it five times.
As this is a late addition to the programme, this is a wonderful opportunity to see several of the Royal Ballet dancers debuting in the lead roles: Lauren Cuthbertson and Sergei Polunin are not to be missed (8 & 15 November), while the amazing Marianela Nuñez partners the less amazing Nehemiah Kish on 5 & 9 November, and Sarah Lamb performs with the lovely Rupert Pennefather on 3 & 11 November.
Worth Seeing
Reel Lives With Akram Khan: 2 November
The Place
Tickets & details: www.theplace.org.uk/10572/whats-on/reel-lives-with-akram-khan.html
Aerowaves director John Ashford will be asking Akram Khan to discuss and explore the films and filmed dance which have most inspired him throughout his illustrious career. Essential viewing for fans of his work to understand him better as a choreographer, or for those who are new to his work.
Ballet Ireland, Scheherazade & 1001 Arabian Nights: 6 November
Unicorn Theatre
Tickets & details: www.unicorntheatre.com/balletireland
'Scheherazade & 1001 Arabian Nights' sees sought-after choreographer Morgann Runacre-Temple (Cloud Dance Festival: Trouble & Desire, March 2010) creating an exciting new piece for Ballet Ireland. Don't miss this. Seriously.
CDF Corner
Platform AD: 3 - 5 November
Actors' Church (St. Paul's Church), Covent Garden
Details: www.antiquedances.co.uk/page11.html
Tickets: www.seetickets.com/Tour/PLATFORM-A-D-AT-THE-ACTORS-CHURCH-COVENT-GARDEN
The latest edition of Holly Noble's platform at Actor's Church (St Paul's Church) in Covent Garden is jam-packed-full of Cloud Dance Festival alumnae, with James Finnemore performing his solo Patriot (Firefly, July '11), Exquisite Corpse | Dance Theatre (also Firefly) performing a new work, Diciembre Dance Group (5 festivals) replacing James Wilton (Hush, July '10), the newly-renamed AD Dance Company (also Hush) performing their latest work FAWN and Beyond Repair Dance (June '07, July & December '08). Also performing is Steward Kennedy Dance Company.
Also happening:
4 November: National Dance Awards nominations
The Critics' Circle announces their shortlists for the National Dance Awards on 4 November; the winners will be announced in January 2012. You can read about each of the nominated artists and companies on their website www.nationaldanceawards.com/dance/index.htm, and you can get live updates from their Twitter account @NatDanceAwards. Expect lots of excitement, and possibly a few tears.
Also on 4 November: Live debate chaired by The Arts Desk and Dance UK on the future of dance, at 1.15pm.
The Riflemaker Gallery in Soho
Details: www.theartsdesk.com/dance/dance-faces-its-question-time-theartsdesks-live-debate
Discussing topics such as "As great changes happen in the British arts economy, what lies ahead for dance?" "What are the questions to ask about what we will watch in future, what we will create for others to see, what we will perform, what we will pay for?", this debate will be chaired by Ismene Brown of The Arts Desk with panel members including Tamara Rojo (Royal Ballet principal dancer), Alastair Spalding (artistic director & chief executive of Sadler's Wells Theatre), Arlene Phillips OBE (Hot Gossip founder, West End choreographer & TV judge), Caroline Miller (director of Dance UK) and Val Bourne (founder & artistic director for 28 years of Dance Umbrella)
14 Nov: Sadler's Wells opens booking for their spring season.
Website: www.sadlerswells.com
Hot tickets will include:
27 - 29 January: Ivan Putrov. Last seen collaborating with the Pet Shop Boys on 'The Most Incredible Thing', this show will feature "a host of star dancers including The Royal Ballet’s Sergei Polunin; the production traces the development of the male dancer through a combination of seminal and rarely performed works".
5 February: Russell Maliphant. This will be a preview of his follow-up to the enormous success of Afterlight, called The Rodin Project, which is inspired by Rodin's works.
6 - 9 March: Nederlands Dans Theater 2. Easily one of the best contemporary dance / modern ballet companies in the world, this programme will be a continuation of NDT's 50th anniversary celebrations. NDT2 is the "youth" branch of NDT, exclusively for dancers aged 17 - 23. They are truly amazing.
26 – 28 April: Scottish Ballet. No more waiting two years for Scottish Ballet to return: this programme will feature their production of A Streetcar Named Desire.
6 June – 9 July: Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch: World Cities 2012. This is part of a month-long celebration of Pina Bausch's work, co-produced with the Barbican Centre.
15 – 19 May: Rambert Dance Company. In 2012, Mark Baldwin will be celebrating 10 years as artistic director of Rambert Dance Company, and as part of these celebrations, Rambert will be reviving his reinterpretation of Nijinsky's L'après-midi d'un faune.