Tag Archives: Sadler’s Wells

BRB Triple—Shadows of War: La Fin du Jour, Miracle in the Gorbals, Flowers of the Forest, Birmingham Royal Ballet, October 2014

This triple bill is aptly titled, starting as it does with the bouncy laziness of a summer’s day in the 1930s before World War II, and ending with David Bintley’s excellent Flowers of the Forest, whose two parts contrast light with darkness, to music by Arnold and Britten. The hedonism of La Fin du Jour …

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BRB Triple: E=mc2, Tombeaux, Still Life at the Penguin Café, Birmingham Royal Ballet, Sadler’s Wells, October 2013

After a 20-minute delay caused by computer problems — oh, for the days when stage equipment at Sadler’s Wells could be operated by hand — this excellent triple bill of David Bintley ballets proved well worth the wait. In the first, Bintley uses Einstein’s equation E=mc2, expressing the equivalence of energy E and mass m, …

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Grand Tour/ Faster/ The Dream, Birmingham Royal Ballet, BRB, Sadler’s Wells, October 2012

The Grand Tour, a charming ballet by Joe Layton based on Noël Coward’s 1930s transatlantic trip on a liner, is to music by Coward himself, adapted and orchestrated by Hershy Kay. It’s a colourful ballet with lovely designs by John Conklin, well lit by Peter Teigen, and in this cast the most striking performer was …

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Grosse Fuge/ Lyric Pieces/ Take Five, Birmingham Royal Ballet, BRB, Sadler’s Wells, October 2012

This triple bill, titled Opposites Attract, concludes with Hans van Manen’s fine 1971 ballet Grosse Fuge to orchestral music by Beethoven, but in the meantime we are treated to two more recent works with music of a lighter texture. The programme starts with David Bintley’s Take Five to jazz music created by the Dave Brubeck Quartet. This is fun. Lighting …

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BRB Triple: Checkmate, Symphonic Variations, Pineapple Poll, Birmingham Royal Ballet, Sadler’s Wells, October 2011

The tranquil centre of this triple bill is Symphonic Variations, one of Frederick Ashton’s greatest ballets. He produced it in spring 1946 as something of an antidote to the recent war, providing a wonderful serenity to the mystical calm of César Franck’s music. Yet for the dancers this serenity is a great challenge. The six of …

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A Midsummer Night’s Dream, English Touring Opera, Sadler’s Wells, London, March 2010

While much of the music and action is on a rather ethereal level, an excellent contrast was created in this production by the interaction between Tytania and Bottom as a priapic ass.

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Review — Cyrano, Birmingham Royal Ballet, at Sadler’s Wells, November 2009.

it’s rather remarkable to turn into dance a story about a man who is good with words, but I think Bintley has succeeded.

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Quantum Leaps, Birmingham Royal Ballet, BRB at Sadler’s Wells, November 2009 — Powder, E=mc2, and The Centre and its Opposite

E = mc2, was the main focus of the evening for me … a new work by artistic director David Bintley, in four movements

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