Category: dance

“The Prancing Elites hail from Mobile, Alabama, and they’re a forceful reminder that in the era of ‘just do you,’ it can be a radical – even dangerous – proposition to do just that. Wherever they go, the Elites, as they often call themselves, arouse visceral reactions from local residents, of both disgust and admiration.” (includes video)

“The strike was a defining political and social moment in recent British history; it changed the nation, and its repercussions are still being felt. But it is a complex and difficult subject to navigate in an abstract art form such as dance.” Even so, Rambert Dance Company artistic director Mark Baldwin gave it a go, and he writes here on how he went about it.

Gary Avis of London’s Royal Ballet has a daily routine “as strenuous as [that of] any professional rugby player: three hours of training each morning, five or six hour rehearsals in the afternoons and a three hour performance in the evening. Yet with a physique that sportsmen half his age would envy, he shows no sign of winding down.”

“At home, they told their parents they wanted to dance, but the idea was immediately squashed. Whitaker says that didn’t stop them from forging their mother’s signature on a permission slip, and sneaking out to attend ballet class.”

Well, one of them is playing young King Tommen on Game of Thrones – and the others are doing pretty well too.

“Big ballet companies grade their artists by rank, like the military, and out of the Royal’s six ranks, Cope is in the second. From the bottom.”

“A new film set in Iran celebrates freedom of expression through rhythm. Desert Dancer tells the true story of a group of friends who studied YouTube videos for tips on technique in a country where dancing in public is banned.”

No country, not even North Korea, is better than China at staging precise movements by huge numbers of people. “Whether the subject is military parades or world-record attempts, mass exercises or enormous performances, the images are frequently remarkable. … (Note: a few of these images can create a dizzying effect when viewed while scrolling, which is fun, but could be surprising.)”

Alastair Macaulay: “Both men are playing roles associated, in the film versions of these shows, with Gene Kelly; neither suffers from the comparison with that Hollywood legend. And each gives the most remarkable performance in his musical.”