From the category archives:

Ballet History

Time Has Told Me: Reconstructing Ballet

by Linda on August 27, 2010

Last month I attended the opening night of Laurencia by the Mikhailovsky Ballet. This Chabukiani ballet, very popular with audiences in the Soviet era and a vehicle for Russian virtuoso performers, had been dropped out of repertory somewhere around the seventies. For a while all that was left of it were selected extracts performed in [...]


The Bolshoi Ballet

by Linda on August 12, 2010

New chapter in our ongoing series of Ballet History articles, Linda looks at what the Bolshoi is made of: Bolshoi means big, an adjective that perfectly describes this ballet company. As the recent London season proves, they are bold, stylish and know how to put on a show.  They are also resilient, having lived through [...]


One Step Closer

by Linda on March 29, 2010

As the Royal Ballet’s founder choreographer, Sir Frederick Ashton is to them what Bournonville represents to the Royal Danish Ballet. He nurtured Ninette de Valois‘s young company and gave it an identity through pieces created to help develop its dancers. Ashton’s creations for the Royal Ballet shaped the English style of ballet, combining classical purity [...]


The Royal Danish Ballet

by Linda on March 5, 2010

Tradition and heritage are strong words but they fit The Royal Danish Ballet like a glove. They are one of the oldest classical dance troupes in Europe and direct descendants of the Bournonville lineage. With a repertoire that also includes the most prominent choreographers of the 20th century, the Danes have much to be proud [...]


Golden Years

by Linda on December 13, 2009

The Royal Ballet’s Sleeping Beauties have just drawn to a close, giving way to the usual Christmas special of Nutcrackers. Notice anything in common? Both are Petipa ballets, both are amongst the safest for box office purposes, with blockbuster works such as Swan Lake and The Sleeping Beauty, their lavish costumes, orchestral music and vast [...]


A Man For All Seasons

by Emilia on October 19, 2009

First of all, I am a great charlatan, although one of brilliance; second, I’m a great charmer; third, I’ve great nerve; fourth I’m a man with a great deal of logic and few principles; and fifth, I think I lack talent; but if you like, I think I’ve found my real calling — patronage of [...]


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