Keeping Us on Our Toes

Dance Season

A feature by Mark Aspen

Mark Aspen Reviews often makes little pas de bourrée into the magical world of ballet, but this winter season we are making a grand jeté en avant to explore more deeply the world of ballet and contemporary dance.

The English National Ballet and the Royal Ballet, as well as the various touring ballets, all have a strong programme this season, which we are supplementing with a closer look at contemporary dance. One of the catalysts setting this in action is Resolution 2019. This is the thirtieth year that The Place, London’s powerhouse of dance development, has hosted Resolution, one of the world’s foremost festivals of new choreography. It covers a wide range of dance styles and explores exciting interactions with other genres.

The majority of British contemporary choreographers showcased their earliest work at Resolution, perhaps the best known being Wayne MacGregor. The most promising of emerging dance-makers are nurtured at The Place to progress towards professional choreography through custom programmes curated by leaders in the field. These programmes are not solely based around perfecting technical expertise, but include practical introductions to areas such as marketing and publicity.

Mark Aspen has been invited to join the team of reviewers for Resolution 2019, which includes dance critics from The Stage, The Daily Express, The Guardian, The Sunday Express and Dancing Times.

Resolution 2019 takes place from Friday 11th January to Saturday 23rd February. With no less than eighty-one productions from the best of today’s emerging choreographers, it promises to be an exciting season.

More widely, Mark Aspen’s Dance Season hopes to review first-class dance from classical ballet to cutting edge experimental contemporary dance. It should keep us on toes, or at least the edge of our seats, this winter.

Mark Aspen
January 2019

Photography by Vitorta