Dance Around London: April 2012

Jemma
By Jemma Last edited 144 months ago
Dance Around London: April 2012

Dance shows to see in the coming month


If you’ve ever fancied dancing with swords, then this may be your chance, (no, this is not an April Fool's joke) with Rapper Sword dancing workshops taking place at the Dert Festival, Cecil Sharp House after the main Rapperlympics tournament on Saturday in Soho. Workshops at Cecil House, 1 April, tickets £5.

The dazzling Eifman Ballet present Anna Karenina and Onegin in a four-night run at the Coliseum. The St Petersburg company are known for their lavish productions with psychological themes based on Russian classics, so expect passion and high drama at The Coliseum, 3- 7 April, £5- £55.

Bob Lockyer, described as "one of the great heroes of British dance", was director and producer of dance for the BBC for 40 years. He is being honoured on his 70th birthday by five exciting dance commissions for one night only, in A Celebration of Bob Lockyer.  With new pieces from Richard Alston and Mark Balwin, and bright new things from the Royal Ballet, Siobhan Davies Dance Company and The Royal Ballet School, it looks set to be a thrilling evening at The Place, 13 April, tickets £20.

Spring Loaded again packs The Place with promising artists. A double bill begins proceedings with Badlands, a dark love story by choreographer Robert Clark, and Darren Ellis's new Long Walk Home, depicting four women at different stages of their lives. Later Goddard Nixon and Jose Agudo present Fitcher’s Bird, a duet peppered with visions of the sub-conscious, in a dark journey towards freedom. More boundary crossing with dance, physical theatre, clowning and music and perhaps a few tears, with the sweet and poignant Agnes and Walter: A Little Love Story. Runs from 17 April- 23 June, The Place, tickets £15.

Royal Ballet of Flanders are taking on William Forsythe’s four-part ballet Artifact, the first work the choreographer created after becoming director of Ballet Frankfurt in 1984. A subversion of ballet’s physical principles, it nevertheless demands the technical prowess and exactitude the Royal Ballet of Flanders possess in spades, with sharp yet elastic choreography and an at times baffling narrative. See it at Sadler's Wells, 19- 21 April, tickets £15- £48.

Three raved-about choreographers, nurtured by Royal Ballet director Monica Mason, pay tribute to her efforts in her final season. She has commissioned Liam Scarlett, Christopher Wheeldon and Wayne McGregor to create work to accompany Wheeldon's 'Polyphonia'. With such diverse artists expect the eclectic, with modern classicism, lyrical musicality and the very edgy. Snap up the final tickets for the Royal Opera House, 5- 23 April, tickets £3- £42 .

Ballet Revolucion offer up an explosive and passionate fusion of ballet, contemporary dance, salsa, samba and hip hop. The show is performed to a live pop band, with choreography by Gonzalez Chavez (who, as unlikely as it sounds, performed alongside Mikhail Baryshnikov and Twyla Tharp before donning his salsa shoes and jazz hands). This production will definitely be a crowd pleaser at Sadler's Wells, 25 April- 19 May, tickets £15- £48.

Last Updated 28 March 2012