Compiled by Stuart Sweeney
As the links come in thick and fast, for the moment I won’t try to divide them up into categories. A lot of companies are really trying to please dance lovers at home while keeping their brands alive.
Here are some of the ones that caught my eye. Unfortunately, some companies only make their films available for two days, which is not enough, ya hear companies?
One I added later:
Captured, Ballet Black by Martin Lawrance
Available to watch until the 2nd of May 2020
First made in 2012, re-staged including this filmed version in 2017. A 17 minute, dynamic, emotionally charged duet and then quartet to Shostakovitch.
Configurations by Shobana Jeyasingh
https://www.facebook.com/ShobanaJeyasinghDC/videos/2838598306222848/
This is part of an ongoing series from the choreographer. Shobana Jeyasingh writes: “Configurations launched the company with a newly commissioned score by Michael Nyman in 1988. It is a dance work that has shifted and changed, reflecting my own growth as a choreographer. In this final ‘re-imagining’ of the work I have not sought to restage or revive earlier versions but rather bring to it my affection for the music, as well as the potential for adventure that Bharatha Natyam has always instilled in me”
In the words of Monty Python, “And now for something completely different.”
Vertical by Le Patin Libre
From The Guardian: Think dance on ice and you’d imagine sequins and staggering TV celebrities, but the Canadian troupe, Le Patin Libre, has taken the art form into a new dimension. In their double bill, Vertical Influences, the skaters turned the rink into a mesmerising stage slowly decorated by the patterns cut by their blades.
Night Creatures by Alvin Ailey
With a score by Duke Ellington, this is available until April 30th.
https://youtu.be/lR4sQXBZDTQ?list=PLSYS-T-WpOEXmU1T4Nqifmio4pvpD9_wD
- April 30–May 1: Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in Jamar Roberts’ Odehttps://www.alvinailey.org/performances-tickets/ailey-all-access
Dates for your diaries:
The Winter’s Tale, Royal Ballet by Christopher Wheeldon
https://www.roh.org.uk/streaming/the-winters-tale
Online premiere: Friday 1 May 2020 at 7pm BST
There is much to enjoy in this full length ballet. However, I do find the happy, central folk section overlong. From the RB website: Shakespeare’s tale of love and loss becomes the most masterful of narrative ballets in Christopher Wheeldon’s inspired adaptation, with music by Joby Talbot, broadcast free online as part of the Royal Opera House’s #OurHouseToYourHouse series.
Dust, English National Ballet by Akram Khan
https://www.ballet.org.uk/blog-detail/dust-akram-khan/
Akram Khan’s Dust will be available to watch for free from Wednesday 29 April 2020 at 7pm BST on Facebook and YouTube, for 48 hours.
From the ENB website: The first inspiration, explored in the opening of Dust, are the trenches, and the men building them and living inside them.
Khan was intrigued by the thought that the men dug into the earth to build trenches, knowing that they were very likely to die as soon as they stepped out of them. “They were digging themselves into death”, he says. As the piece progresses, the male dancers disappear – slowly climbing and falling off the edge of the set.
The middle section of the work was inspired by the huge social shift towards women. “They needed weapons made for the war, they needed a huge workforce. I felt this shift in role was interesting”, says Khan.
In the final duet, Dust explores the relationship between them and their loved ones at the front.
Breaking Convention online from Sadler’s Wells
The annual international hip-hop festival will be presented digitally on Saturday 2 May, from 12 – 9pm, on the weekend the live festival would have been taken place at Sadler’s Wells, featuring recorded performance highlights from past festivals, with hosting from Breakin’ Convention Artistic Director and Sadler’s Wells Associate Artist, Jonzi D.
Featuring a line-up of Breakin’ Convention highlights from over the years, international and UK acts include Bonetics, Godson, Pfect, SalesPlazaSocietas, Soweto Skeleton Movers, Geni Lou & PAX, Just Dance and Unity. The line-up also features a special collaboration with Jazz re:freshed, with a performance from The Jazz re:freshed Sonic Orchestra, presenting a special commission from the 2018 festival. Lockdown Lock-in is available to watch live via the Breakin’ Convention Facebook Page.
https://www.facebook.com/breakinconvention/
