Dance Theater Reviews: Best Shows & Critic Recommendations

Review: THE NUTCRACKER, Royal Albert Hall
by Franco Milazzo - January 02, 2025

When I first saw The Nutcracker, I was convinced one of these things must be true: either someone had spiked my drink, the cast were all on drugs or we were all in some kind of baffling nightmare. No other explanation seemed plausible to my young mind....

Review: THE NUTCRACKER at the the Artscape Theatre Centre Is a Lush, Festive Treat
by Jaime Uranovsky - December 24, 2024

In December 2022, I had the honour of seeing Veronica Paeper and Cape Town City Ballet’s THE NUTCRACKER. The same talented production team returns this season to stage this timeless ballet again. The result is just as beautiful as when I watched it two years ago. While this year’s production takes ...

Review: ALVIN AILEY at New York City Center is Doing its Best Work
by Lora Strum - December 20, 2024

There is no better time to be had than what The Alvin Ailey Dance Theatre offers audiences at its five-week residency at the New York City Center. The show, which consists of a rotating roster of new, returning and classic works, should be mandatory holiday viewing. It is White Christmas or The Rock...

Review: STEP AFRIKA! MAGICAL MUSICAL HOLIDAY STEP SHOW at Arena Stage
by Roger Catlin - December 29, 2024

What did our critic think of STEP AFRIKA! MAGICAL MUSICAL HOLIDAY STEP SHOW at Arena Stage?...

Review: NUTCRACKER, London Coliseum
by Vikki Jane Vile - December 13, 2024

It has been some time coming. For nearly 15 years English National Ballet enthusiastically performed Wayne Eagling’s Nutcracker, a traditional but rather staid production with a fuzzy narrative and lacking opportunity for the company to shine....

Review: LITTLE WOMEN BALLET at Wilshire Ebell Theatre
by Amanda Callas - December 13, 2024

Little Women Ballet is the world premiere of a charming new ballet at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre in Mid-Wilshire.  This is a lavish, romantic, nostalgic, family-friendly night of dance that is not to be missed....

Review: CARLOS ACOSTA'S NUTCRACKER IN HAVANA, Southbank Centre
by Gary Naylor - December 12, 2024

Carlos Acosta's touring show is a delightful Christmassy treat...

Review: MATTHEW BOURNE'S SWAN LAKE: THE NEXT GENERATION, Sadler's Wells
by Franco Milazzo - December 12, 2024

Even 30 years after he created it, Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake is still his defining production. Just why hasn’t he yet surpassed this masterpiece?...

Review: Kyle Abraham Explores His Ouroboros
by Lora Strum - December 11, 2024

The one constant in life is change. Humankind is destined, and doomed, to cycle through periods of denial, discomfort, exploration, adaptation, and integration to return to a similar starting point after a period of transformation. Kyle Abraham’s latest work, Dear Lord, Make Me Beautiful, explores n...

Review: RUINATION, Royal Ballet and Opera
by Franco Milazzo - December 08, 2024

In a season where theatres are filled with the usual hoary horde - here a Christmas Carol, there a Nutcracker or Messiah - the Royal Opera House deserves praise and maybe even a standing ovation for bringing back its Yuletide hit from 2022. Ben Duke’s Ruination (a co-production between the Royal Bal...

Review: BALLETX at Kennedy Center
by Michela Dwyer - December 07, 2024

What did our critic think of BALLETX at Kennedy Center?...

Review: Holiday Favorite THE NUTCRACKER at The Academy Of Music
by Scott Serio - December 07, 2024

What did our critic think of holiday favorite THE NUTCRACKER at The Academy Of Music?...

Review: NAC Dance's Presentation of Les Grands Ballet Canadiens' THE NUTCRACKER
by Courtney Castelino - December 07, 2024

What did our critic think of NAC Dance's Presentation of Les Grands Ballet Canadiens' THE NUTCRACKER?...

Review: A VERY SWING OUT HOLIDAY at The Joyce Thrills
by Marina Kennedy - December 06, 2024

An exhillerating dance show is yours to enjoy.  'A Very Swing Out Holiday' is now being performed at The Joyce through December 15th and it is ideal for this season....

Review: CINDERELLA, Royal Ballet and Opera
by Vikki Jane Vile - December 04, 2024

This year’s festive crowd pleaser from the Royal Ballet does not feature a growing Christmas tree nor a Kingdom of Sweets. Instead, an alternative is offered in the form of Frederick Ashton’s 1948 Cinderella, revived eighteen months ago after a lengthy absence and seen again now for the festive seas...

Review: GEORGE BALANCHINE’S THE NUTCRACKER® at Kennedy Center
by Emily Berger - December 01, 2024

What did our critic think of GEORGE BALANCHINE’S THE NUTCRACKER® at Kennedy Center?...

Review: THE PICNIC, Sadler's Wells
by Louise Penn - November 29, 2024

Billed as a 'weird and wonderful gathering', Eva Recacha's full-length work The Picnic is inspired by the painting The Garden of Earthly Delights by Hieronymus Bosch, dating from the 15th century.  The Picnic is about pleasure, power, privilege, passion, playfulness and partying. It is as hedonisti...

Review: NOBODADDY - TEAĊ DAṀSA, Sadler’s Wells
by Matthew Paluch - November 28, 2024

Teaċ Daṁsa return to Sadler’s Wells with Michael Keegan-Dolan's latest work: NOBODADDY (Tríd an bpoll gan bun). The title is a dark character that features in the poems of William Blake, but the blurb confirms that Dolan's reading is one of “an ode to the peacemakers and the bringers of good things”...

Guest Review: THE NUTCRACKER SUITE by Dorrance Dance Turns NY City Center into a Jazz Haven
by Marina Kennedy - November 27, 2024

New York City Center was transformed into a golden age jazz club this weekend as Dorrance Dance’s 'The Nutcracker Suite' took the stage from Friday, November 22, through Sunday, November 24....

Review: INTIMATE FRIENDS OF FLAMENCO at GALA Hispanic Theatre
by Emily Berger - November 23, 2024

The final show of the XX Fuego Flamenco Festival runs through November 23...

Review: MADDADDAM, Royal Ballet And Opera
by Franco Milazzo - November 15, 2024

Whether on the news or on Netflix, dystopia seems the theme of the year. With a disturbing score from Max Richter, Wayne McGregor’s enthralling and infuriating interpretation of Margaret Atwood’s Maddaddam trilogy is a panoramic work that peers into a future which is all too plausible and none too p...

Review: GALLIM BRINGS NEW YORK PREMIERE OF 'WONDERLAND' to The Joyce Theater
by Christina Pandolfi - November 15, 2024

'Wonderland' was originally presented as a half-evening work in 2010, but this is the first time it will be seen by New York audiences in its full-length version....

Review: BALLET BLACK: HEROES, Royal Ballet And Opera
by Matthew Paluch - November 08, 2024

Ballet Black return to the Royal Ballet and Opera's Linbury Theatre with their current double bill Heroes. It's a quick night with around one hour of dance, but an unsuccessful one choreographically. ...

Review: STORIES, Peacock Theatre
by Franco Milazzo - November 07, 2024

Smashing together tap dance and film noir, Romain Rachline Borgeaud’s Stories is wrapped around an immersive form of storytelling. Is the world ready for tap noir?...

Review: THE RITE OF SPRING/COMMON GROUND[S], Sadler’s Wells
by Matthew Paluch - November 07, 2024

Sadler’s Wells advertise The Rite of Spring / common ground[s] bill as “iconic” and I'm tempted to agree. It's rare that a programme can be so satisfying - two works so different yet complimentary, both steeped in power and intention. It's a night not to be missed that's for sure. ...