PRESS RELEASE   24 April 2024   BIRMINGHAM ROYAL BALLET’S ASSISTANT DIRECTOR  SWAPS STAGE FOR THE BOXING RING     Image: Dominic Antonucci - credit Tyrone Singleton     Dominic Antonucci, Assistant Director with the city’s acclaimed Birmingham Royal Ballet, will be swapping the stage for the boxing ring next month courtesy of TV’s well-known football and boxing presenter Gary Newbon MBE.   The event will take place at Cleary’s Boxing Gym in Leamington Spa on 5 May with three rounds of ‘sparring’ with Lewis Williams, a promising upcoming heav ..read more

Dieter Graefe, heir to the rights of John Cranko’s ballets, has died on Saturday, April 20th, at his home in Stuttgart. He was ballet secretary and administrative director at Stuttgart Ballet, first with John Cranko and then with Marcia Haydée. In his will, Cranko had named the long-time friend and collaborator as heir to his estate and the rights to his ballets. Since then, Graefe has licensed Cranko's works outside Stuttgart and Munich. After Cranko's early death in 1973, Graefe was entrusted with the temporary management of the Stuttgart Ballet together with ballet mistress Anne Woolliams ..read more

Very suddenly at the age of 80   https://slippedisc.com/2024/04/sudden-death-of-a-much-loved-english-maestro/   Not really ballet news I know, but I thought forum members would wish to know.    ..read more

Julia Rausing was a great patron and benefactor of the arts and of Royal Opera House. Sad news. Short thread here from the ROH.        Further information:-  https://www.civilsociety.co.uk/news/philanthropist-julia-rausing-dies-aged-63.html ..read more

From 23 November "In a crumbling house full of dinosaur bones and fossils, three adopted sisters – Pauline, Petrova and Posy – are learning who they are and what they want to be.   Under the watchful eyes and guidance of their guardian Sylvia, Nana, and some unlikely lodgers, they fight to pursue their individual passions. But in a world that wasn’t built for women with big ambitions, can they forge a future, keep their family together, and even learn a dance or two along the way?   Katy Rudd (The Ocean at the End of the Lane) returns to the National Theatre to direct this spect ..read more

It's news. I'm not entirely sure why it happened though. 353 is not 500, but hey.    Five hundred dancers gathered outside the famous Plaza Hotel in New York City to break the world record for most dancers on pointe at the same time. The dancers come from many U.S. states and countries around the world   Link to official AP YouTube channel.              ..read more

Very surprised to see the list on Facebook before any press release or the usual notification to sponsors. Here are just the first few categories to whet appetites for 'debate':   The Dance Section of the Critics’ Circle is pleased to announce the short-listed nominations for the National Dance Awards (#NDA24). The qualifying period for performances was between 1st January and 31st December 2023. The short-listed nominees are taken from nominations made by the members of the Dance section of the Critics’ Circle. In total there were 311 companies, choreographers, performers and other creat ..read more

   PRESS RELEASE 17 April 2024 CARLOS ACOSTA’S BRB2 BEGINS SECOND UK TOUR WITH A NEW GLOBAL COHORT OF FIRST-CLASS  EMERGING BALLET DANCERS   ALL 2023 BRB2 MEMBERS TO JOIN BRB COMPANY AS ARTISTS           In Spring 2023, Birmingham Royal Ballet’s (BRB) Director, the world-renowned Carlos Acosta, launched BRB2 - a new initiative through which BRB pro-actively seeks out some of the best young ballet graduates from across the globe. Announced today, after 12 months with BRB2, all five original members ..read more

PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   Changing perceptions of the creative and artistic  potential of people with learning disabilities in the UK and beyond.   ANJALI DANCE COMPANY APPOINTS BRITISH DANCE ARTIST AND CHOREOGRAPHER GARY CLARKE IN BRAND NEW COMPANY CHAMPION ROLE     Following the appointment last year as Artists in Residence at their new home at Déda, the Creative Centre for Dance, Contemporary Circus and Outdoor Performance in Derby, Anjali Dance Company is delighted to announce acclaimed British Dance Artist and Choreographer Gary Clarke as i ..read more

  I'm sorry the link I provided before, didn't work. So for half an hour ago the new season for RDB was revealed!  For me the coming season looks much better than this one. The information can be found on the website of the RDB, but I can say that we'll see 3 works of Balanchine in one set (Serenade, Symphony in C and 4 Temperaments) , "Folk tale" of Bournonville, "Blood wedding" (full time ballet by Eukene Saques, our solist), "Sleeping beauty", "The Nutcracker", "Don Quixote", "The Great Gatsby"(choreography of Arthur Pita!), Ballet de Luxe - excerpts from Bournonville's and Petipa ..read more