Dance lovers will be excited to know that Dance Reflections, a festival by the jewellery house Van Cleef & Arpels will be taking place in London at the Royal Opera House, Sadler’s Wells and Tate Modern for two weeks from March 9. The three venues are uniting to celebrate modern dance in its many forms with a series of performances, workshops and screenings.
Performances include work by American choreographer Lucinda Childs and pieces by Ola Maciejewska, inspired by the dance pioneer Loie Fuller. Fuller merged dance with special effects to capture the movement of fire, water and other natural elements, hiding her body under vast swathes of silk. She was the first person to use electric light on stage.
Maria Alexandrova in Raymonda. Photo Ksenia Orlova
Maria Alexandrova in Raymonda. (Photo Ksenia Orlova)
There will be opportunities to see rarely-performed dance styles such as the Polka Chinata, an Italian dance dating back to the early 20th century. Originally performed by two
men, it involves dancers whirling around in a crouching position, facing each other with arms interlocked.
A film series will also be shown in the Linbury Theatre (part of the Royal Opera House) offering a reflection on the history of modern dance and includes work by Merce Cunningham and Christian Rizzo.
If your taste is more for classical ballet rather than contemporary works, then you will not want to miss the Ballet Icons Gala on March 13 at the London Coliseum. This year’s gala celebrates the 150th anniversary of the birth of Sergei Diaghilev, impresario and legendary creator of the Ballets Russes.
The programme will include excerpts from the Ballets Russes’ repertoire, such as Petrushka, Scheherazade, L’Après-midi d’un Faune, Le Spectre de la rose and others. Scheduled to appear are many of the world’s best-known dancers, including Vadim Muntagirov, Marianela Nunez and
Natalia Osipova, all from the Royal Ballet; Ekaterina Krysanova from the Bolshoi Ballet and English dancer Xander Parish, who found fame with the Mariinsky Ballet.
