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An awesome and ridiculous film that leaves you thrilled beyond the point of your natural endurance
2012
Theatre
The show has suddenly become quite wonderful, and the galvanising factor is the terrific stage debut of Melanie C
Blood Brothers
Music
The British pop music industry may be eating itself but if Muse are the pick of what it can offer the world in 2010 then British music is in rude health indeed
Muse
I was smitten by both Gilberts enormous luxuriant moustache and the intelligence and nuance of this highly entertaining play
I totally recommend Babbo to anyone who is looking for really good and traditional Italian food
Always been a fan but never seen them live. I was ecstatic to be part of this epic event. WOW!
London,
Sarah Frater's rating
Reader rating
Description: Four international choreographers, including the company's Ballet Master, Peter Martins, are performed in this thrid programme of the London residency.
Trains: Tube: Leicester Square/Charing Cross 
, Tube / Bus: 3, 6, 9, 11, 12, 13, 15, 23, 24, 29, 53, 77a, 88, 91, 139 
Phone: 0871911 0200
Website: www.eno.org
Email: access@eno.org
Worse than wooden: the Zakouski duet is the dance equivalent of MDF
New work is the backbone of New York City Ballet. George Balanchine created umpteen new ballets for the troupe he founded, with an astonishing 21 of them for City Ballet’s landmark Stravinsky Festival in 1972.
Balanchine’s co-director Jerome Robbins also churned out ballets for the company, as has the troupe’s current director Peter Martins, who additionally commissions independent dance makers to produce what we hope will be the classics of the future.
They have to come from somewhere, and you’ll want to know if they were among the quartet in City Ballet’s Four Voices programme at the Coliseum last night.
The first two, Carousel by Christopher Wheeldon and Zakouski by Martins, suffered from some of the dullest dancing in years. Neither qualifies as a modern classic but both would have considerably more appeal if they were danced with emotional shading and old-style charisma. The steps were performed but much of the big-sale Carousel felt flat, while the Zakouski duet was the dance equivalent of MDF. And as for the costume designers, they should be made to break rocks.
Danced with much more confidence was Russian Seasons by some-time Bolshoi director Alexei Ratmansky. It reminds you very much of Kenneth MacMillan’s Song of the Earth and although not in the same artistic league, its evocation of human love, loss and death is convincingly done. The drawback is the bonkers hats for the women, and what look suspiciously like leg-warmers for the men.
Gloom and angst were the dominant mood of In Vento by Mauro Bigonzetti, much of which was too stretch-and-grind for my taste. However, the 11 dancers made some interesting shapes, and all moved with allure. That said, no one can relax the search for the next modern classic.
Four Voices 20 and 21 March, then Ballet and Broadway 19, 20 and 22 March. Information: 0870 145 0200, www.eno.org.
Details are correct at the time of publication - please check with venue before booking.
I was in London for two performances of NYCB (last week). As a subscriber of 30 years, our company did itself, and NYC, proud. I can also assure you that NYCB dancers always give their all. Some of the ballets (especially those you are seeing this week) might need a couple of viewings in order to appreciate them. Also, our style of dancing is -- well -- not the Royal Ballet's (a company I admire and see whenever I can in London). When I attended the gorgeous Coliseum (orchestra), my seat-mates were extremely impressed by NYCB. Sure, there are some duds here and there, but that's certainly the case with everything in the arts (i.e. loved the performances of
the actors -- especially Janet McTeer -- in "God of Carnage, " but the play
needs a rewrite. Not so with several other excellent plays I saw there last week -- get thee to the Old Vic immediately! Ditto to the Donmar.
- Deborah Broide, NYC, USA
I think anybody paying more than the £35 upper circle seats we found would feel distinctly miffed at "the foremost ballet company in the world". As a novice (but enthusiastic) dance fan I found Carousel sweetly charming and technically well-choreographed. The two dancers in Zakouski (act 2) didn't seem to realise this was the performance night and not a step-through. Even to my eyes it looked as though they couldn't give a damn. The audience reserved their loudest applause for the violinist. "In Vento" by contrast was visually stunning. Haunting music and brilliant lighting that melted the fluid dancers in and out of view. The brilliantly named French soloist Benjamin Millepied, seemed to be made of liquid and moved beautifully, as did his colleagues. The final act of Russian Seasons had distractingly awful costumes but was engaging enough. It was getting a little long for the audience around us and you can't help feeling they should ditch act 2 to give this part of the show the attention it deserves.
- Robert Stone, Hertford UK
