My review of Norwegian National Ballet’s performance of Ben Stevenson’s Cinderella. DNO&B #alexeibaklan #norwegiannationalballet #benstevenson #cinderella #danielacabrera #alexcuadros #alexcuadrosjoglar #norway #ballet #norwegianballet bachtrack.com/review-cindere…

I know we are inundated with meetings these days but I just received a meeting request for 1-30pm on 26 December. I think I will politely decline! #meetings #Christmas #overload

Whatever IT is then TOMMY FRANZEN still has it in spades. It’s just the interval here at the Linbury but his solo at the end of Act 1 from a hip-hop puppet on a string to an ever-increasing circle of exhausting breaking just rolled back the years! Rock on Tommy ! ZooNation: The Kate Prince Company

For those going to see London City Ballet’s Resurgence at Sadler’s Well this week, here’s a link to my interview with Jennie Muskett - the composer of the music for Christopher Marney’s Eve Jenny Muskett LondonCityBallet chrismarney gramilano.com/2024/09/interv…

A thread 1/ I’m terribly saddened to hear of the closure of the Cervantes Theatre in Southwark. I know that it has been a real struggle for the co-founders, Jorge de Juan and Paula Paz and their trustees (of which I was very proud to be included for a brief while) over 7 years…

2/ to keep the theatre running; and it is an arts tragedy that they have ultimately been defeated. The Cervantes Theatre may have been cash poor but it was full of artistic riches - I saw so many productions there and never anything that fell short of excellent…..

3/ highlights for me included Jorge’s Lorca trilogy and Paula’s tragic-comic Ay Carmela and Darwin’s Tortoise amongst many others. It’s a sad time for the arts.

4/ I wish Jorge and Paula every success in their future endeavours and hope that they are justifiably proud of their achievements at the Cervantes. CERVANTES THEATRE Jorge de Juan García #cervantestheatre #paulapaz #jorgedejuan

1/ Turned on the TV on my first morning in Athens and there is the Greek sabreur, Theodora Gkountoura talking to the presenters of the Greek equivalent of GMTV. Gkountoura lost in the QF of the recent Olympics 13/15 to the eventual gold medallist Manon Apithy-Brunet of France.

2/ The Greek Olympic Team put in an official complaint after the bout saying that ‘Theodora was subjected to decisions that we believe were biased and incompatible with the regulations governing the sport.” Why am I not surprised! How many times have I been there! #fencing

Some photos from this afternoon’s press conference for the premiere of Blind Forgiveness at the Pallas Theatre in Athens - Julian Mackay is the guest principal, partnering Brazilian dancer Natalia Fernandes Menes with the soloists and corps from the Astana Ballet Theater

I’m shocked to the core to read that Michaela DePrince has died, aged 29. What terrible news #michaeladeprince

Will cancel culture claim Strictly Come Dancing as another victim? Here’s what I think - with a little help from Dame Arlene Phillips and Matthew Bourne 💙 - in The Spectator online today - spectator.co.uk/article/is-it-…

Royal Ballet Principal dancer Lauren Cuthbertson becomes Principal Guest Artist Lauren Cuthbertson

1/2 I have witnessed two burglaries in successive days in two different parts of London where a man has walked into a store and swept the contents of a shelves into a white plastic bag and ran off…..

2/3 Today at around 9-30am I was in Boots in Tottenham Court Road - I was just leaving the shop when an alarm sounded - I looked across to the tills where a young woman assistant had obviously pressed the alarm and saw a guy in a baseball cap just pushing stuff from the shelf….

3/3 into a white plastic bag - he was laughing at the woman and for a split second I thought they were friends or colleagues - he then ran out of the store and just ambled down the road #thisisLondon #Londontoday Boots #boots

My review of an unusual but surprising discovery on the second stage of the wonderful Opera House in Oslo, The Substitute by Jo Strømgren - it’s not dance but theatre (mostly spoken in Norwegian) but I absolutely loved it! DNO&B #norwegiantheatre gramilano.com/2024/09/jo-str…

Wondering what new there is to see in ballet this autumn/fall then there’s no need to scroll through countless websites because Deb Weiss has done it all for you. Read her excellent summary of all the new (or newish) ballets coming our way. bachtrack.com/preview-ballet…

As always, love Neil Norman’s theatre reviews! The final sentence in his Why Am I So Single review is sharp as a butcher’s knife !