Dance Direct Blog. News, Reviews & Advice About Dance

Central School of Ballet’s renowned graduate performing company Ballet Central will commence its annual nationwide tour at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London on Friday 2 March. Under the artistic direction of Christopher Marney, Ballet Central’s diverse range of dance and theatre will perform in 20 towns and cities in England and Wales across a five month period. This season’s breadth of repertoire is testament to the distinguished choreographers that support the young dance company.  Continue reading Ballet Central announces 2018 nationwide tour

National Dance Company Wales’s new UK tour will run from 8 February to 13 May, following its ambitious and successful staging of P.A.R.A.D.E. National Dance Company Wales’ new Spring programme, Terra Firma, will tour for 16 dates to towns and cities across the UK, starting its journey in the Welsh capital. It will also visit Austria and Germany as part of National Dance Company Wales’ ambition to tour internationally. Continue reading National Dance Company Wales’s new UK tour

DanceXchange, the esteemed Birmingham dance house, has recently announced its latest performance season which runs from 8 February until 26 April. The season is packed full of inspiring and stimulating dance, demonstrating the venue as a huge contender as one of the leading dance houses in the UK. The season is almost a prelude to the dance yet to come in 2018, as DanceXchange builds up to the award-winning Birmingham International Dance Festival. The event will run from 1 – 24 June, offering even more dance to its enthusiastic audiences.  Continue reading DanceXchange’s Spring season

Dance Umbrella, in partnership with The Space, is to release its digital interview series My Dance DNA in its entirety. My Dance DNA brings together five of the UK’s top choreographers with five leading cultural figures and commentators chosen by each artist to discuss their influences, inspirations and Desert Island Dances.   Continue reading Dance Umbrella’s My Dance DNA available online

Back in 2017, Strictly Ballroom announced its West End run following huge theatrical success at a regional level. The West Yorkshire Playhouse revival of the much-loved show debuted last Christmas, starring Sam Lips and Gemma Sutton. As an iconic story it was well received news that the production would be transferring to London, providing southern audiences with the same treat as that of those in Yorkshire. Continue reading Strictly Ballroom

A £35million redesign is on the cards for Theatre Royal Drury Lane in London, with planning permission requested that will see its capacity reduced from 2,200 to 2,000, a new restaurant created, and the public areas restored to designs from 1812. The major revamp at the West End venue will also see ramps and lifts added to every level of auditorium to improve disabled access, as well as new offices as part of the multimillion-pound redevelopment. Continue reading Theatre Royal Drury Lane set for redesign

Back in 2017, Leicester City Council secured £3million to refurbish Leicester’s Haymarket Theatre, which has been disused since 2007. As well as staging theatre, concerts and comedy, this will see it become home to the National Training Theatre, which will offer training in partnership with Leicester College from autumn 2018. Ambitious plans for the 70s theatre look set to succeed, and the major £3 million council investment got underway in November.  Continue reading Leicester’s Haymarket Theatre’s reopening

Ballet Theatre of Queensland saw in its 80th anniversary year in 2017 with a production of Cinderella in January. Directed and choreographed by the company’s artistic director, Tim Brown, it was held at the Queensland Performing Arts Centre. At the time it was the latest production for the youth dance company, which offers professionally staged performance opportunities for talented young Queensland dancers.  Continue reading Ballet Theatre of Queensland’s 80th anniversary

Dance Hub Birmingham has announced the dance practitioners and organisations who have been successful through the first round of its Developing Practice Grants and Artistic Commissions funding applications. Dance Hub Birmingham has invested in three artistic commissions, which will see new work created in Birmingham and the West Midlands, and confirms support for four dance practitioners as part of the Developing Practice programme. Continue reading Dance Hub Birmingham announces first Artistic Commissions and Bursaries