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Dance

The best dance of 2021

By Teresa Guerreiro on 19/11/2021

This was the year when online dance came into its own, but post-lockdown stage performances continued to draw faithful audiences

Het Nationale Ballet, Sarcasmen. Photo: Hans Gerritsen

Review: Dutch National Ballet Hans van Manen Variations ★★★★★

Dutch National Ballet may well have won the battle of dance streaming with a collection of strong programmes showcasing its repertoire and excellent company. One highlight was this celebration of the grand old man of Dutch choreography, Hans van Manen.

WHERE

Online

Artists of the Royal Ballet in Christopher Wheeldon's Within the Golden Hour ©ROH 2019 Photo: Tristram Kenton

Review: The Royal Ballet, 21st Century Choreographers ★★★★★

The Royal Ballet returned to the stage after lockdown with a series of mixed bills. The programme of 21st-century choreographers was particularly interesting.

WHERE

Royal Opera House, Bow Street, Covent Garden, London WC2E 9DD

Rambert2 in Benoit Swan Pouffer's Note to Self. Photo: Camilla Greenwell

Review: Note to Self, Rambert live-stream ★★★★★

Rambert crowned a year of highly creative live-streams with Note to Self, a powerful and deeply moving insight into the devastating effects of creeping dementia choreographed by its new director, Benoit Swan Pouffer.

WHERE

Online

Matthew Bourne's The Midnight Bell, Liam Mower and Company. Photo: Johan Persson

Review: Matthew Bourne, The Midnight Bell ★★★★★

Matthew Bourne came back at the top of his game with The Midnight Bell, an acutely observed portrayal of lonely individuals seeking companionship in a 1930s Soho tavern.

WHERE

Sadler's Wells, Rosebery Avenue, London EC1R 4TN

Alessandra Ferri and Carsten Jung In L'Heure Exquise. Photo: Silvia Lelli 2021

Alessandra Ferri, L'Heure Exquise review ★★★★★

Alessandra Ferri continued her extraordinary later-life career with a mesmerising performance in Maurice Bejárt's little known chamber piece, L'Heure Exquise. Truly dazzling.

WHERE

Royal Opera House, Bow Street, Covent Garden, London WC2E 9DD

Natalia Osipova as Giselle, Reece Clarke as Albrecht in Giselle ˙© ROH 2021. Photo: Alice Pennefather

Review: The Royal Ballet: Giselle ★★★★★

The Royal Ballet breathed new life into the timeless Romantic ballet Giselle with an unforgettable reading of the lead roles by the Russian superstar Natalia Osipova as Giselle and home-grown Reece Clarke as Albrecht.

WHERE

Royal Opera House, Bow Street, Covent Garden, London WC2E 9DD

Yorke Dance Project, dancer Romany Pajdak in Robert Cohan's Conversations with Dancers. Photo: Pierre Tappon

Review: Yorke Dance Project, Past Present ★★★★★

Yorke Dance Project brought us a welcome reminder of contemporary dance at its purest and most engaging with two programmes dedicated to one of its key exponents, the late Robert Cohan, at the Linbury Theatre.

WHERE

Royal Opera House, Bow Street, Covent Garden, London WC2E 9DD

The best dance of 2021

This was the year when online dance came into its own, but post-lockdown stage performances continued to draw faithful audiences

Review: Dutch National Ballet Hans van Manen Variations ★★★★★

Review: The Royal Ballet, 21st Century Choreographers ★★★★★

Review: Note to Self, Rambert live-stream ★★★★★

Review: Matthew Bourne, The Midnight Bell ★★★★★

Alessandra Ferri, L'Heure Exquise review ★★★★★

Review: The Royal Ballet: Giselle ★★★★★

Review: Yorke Dance Project, Past Present ★★★★★

Dance 2021

Dutch National Ballet

Hans van Manen Variations

The Royal Ballet 21st Century Choreographers

Rambert Live Stream

Note to Self

Matthew Bourne

The Midnight Bell

Allesandra Ferri

L'Heure Exquise

Maurice Béjart

The Royal Ballet

Giselle

Yorke Dance Project

Past Present

BRB, The Nutcracker review ★★★★★

The Royal Ballet, Swan Lake 2022 review ★★★★★

Review: Polunin/Cojocaru/Kobborg, Romeo and Juliet ★★★★★