In the October roundup, I referred to "a month of shows"; this is typically March and November of each year, and there's a very good chance that this November will see you spending most of your free time (bank balance / credit cards / overdraft permitting) in a theatre - we certainly will be! There's a great diversity of shows on, and if you're new to the Royal Ballet, this should be the month to change that!
The Place
4 Nov: New Art Club
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 some special guests, and followed by a disco. Don't miss - and make sure you buy your ticket before it sells out!
9 - 12 Nov: Darshan Singh Bhuller Caravaggio: Exile and Death
Tickets, details & trailer: www.theplace.org.uk/10607/whats-on/darshan-singh-bhuller.html
Darshan Singh Bhuller's career has seen him as a member of London Contemporary Dance Theatre, Assistant to the Director of Richard Alston Dance Company and Artistic Director of Phoenix Dance Theatre, also choreographing for Irek Mukhamedov and The Fall. His latest work, Caravaggio: Exile and Death, is a dance theatre exploration of Caravaggio's life and art.
The Place is currently displaying an exhibition of highly atmospheric photos of this work - make sure you have time to see them.
25 & 26 Nov: bgroup
Tickets & details: www.theplace.org.uk/10679/whats-on/bgroup.html
bgroup's latest work is a collaboration between choreographer Ben Wright and author David Charles Manners. bgroup performed in last year's Dance Umbrella and Dance3, while Ben Wright has twice been a Place Prize semi-finalist, and has won a Jerwood award.
Sadler's Wells
3 & 4 Nov: Scottish Ballet
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, and despite their name, their repertoire is extremely diverse, 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.
15 - 19 Nov: Rambert Dance Company
Tickets & details: www.sadlerswells.com/show/Rambert-Dance-Company-2011
Rambert is one of the country's best-loved contemporary dance companies, always presenting diverse and exciting programmes. This triple bill includes Mark Baldwin's latest work "Seven for a secret, never to be told" and a new work by Javier De Frutos "inspired by the life and work of Tennessee Williams". The third piece is Merce Cunningham's RainForest - beware the silver pillows!
Rich Mix
17 Nov: Katie Green Matters of Life And Death
Tickets & details: www.richmix.org.uk/whats-on/event/matters-of-life-and-death/
A rare opportunity to see work by the acclaimed emerging choreographer Katie Green, whose recent successes have included receiving Buxton Fringe Festival's Best Dance Production Award.
Royal Ballet ~ Royal Opera House
3 - 26 Nov: Manon
Tickets & details: www.roh.org.uk/whatson/production.aspx?pid=16853
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.
19 - 30 Nov: Asphodel Meadows / Enigma Variations / Gloria
Tickets & details: www.roh.org.uk/whatson/production.aspx?pid=17621
A friend recently asked if this triple bill would be suitable for her nephew, who's never watched dance, and the unanimous response was "Yes, yes and yes".
'Asphodel Meadows', the highlight of this triple bill, was choreographed by rising star Liam Scarlett, still only a First Artist within the company. 'Enigma Variations', choreographed by Frederick Ashton, is a celebration of Elgar's music, while Kenneth MacMillan's 'Gloria' is a response to the horrors and futility of war.
Cloud Dance Festival Corner
3 - 5 Nov: Platform AD
Actor's Church, Covent Garden
Tickets & details: www.antiquedances.co.uk/page11.html
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 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.
6 Nov: Ballet Ireland 'Scheherazade & 1001 Arabian Nights'
Unicorn Theatre
Tickets & details: www.unicorntheatre.com/balletireland
'Scheherazade & 1001 Arabian Nights' sees sought-after choreographer Morgann Runacre-Temple creating an exciting new piece for Ballet Ireland. Don't miss this. Seriously.