Of the 82 shows I saw in 2022, only 7 of them were pure dance. That seems shockingly low for me!
But many of the 36 musicals I saw were dance-led, so I did see a lot more fantastic dancing.
No matter the show, I'm always on the lookout for a pointed toe and creative choreography.
🥇My favourite dance show of 2022 was Scottish Ballet's Coppelia.
It is clever, modern, visually stunning, and with the use of onstage filming and screens giving us live close-ups of the dancers, it's like no ballet I've ever seen before.
Scottish Ballet under the continued artistic direction of Christopher Hampson always push the boundaries, but here guest directors / choreographers Jessica Wright and Morgann Runacre-Temple (Jess and Morgs) take the crossover between cinematic storytelling and dance to another level. The production uses pre-filmed as well as live footage further blurring the lines between dance theatre and technology. It's ambitious and incredible!
As always, the Scottish Ballet Orchestra are magnificent. And the Scottish Ballet dancers are all exquisite. Whichever principals play the leads of Dr Coppelius and Swanhilda, you are guaranteed a world class performance.
After a successful summer season in Scotland, Scottish Ballet's Coppelia will play Sadler's Wells London from 2nd to 5th March 2023! London friends! If you like dance, and you are able to, please go support these beautiful humans on their London outing. It will be worth your while. It's a gorgeous production, perfectly performed.
Wtch the trailer here: Scottish Ballet Coppelia
🌟Other shows with incredible dancing I saw last year include:
- The RCS Modern Ballet Graduation Performance (the dance with the birds was astounding!)
- and Scottish Ballet's winter production The Snow Queen. Watch my video here!
I loved them all.
(I watched the film of Saturday Night Fever over Christmas, and hands down Jack Wilcox and Rebekah Bryant are better dancers than the leads in the film... By a long way.)
[First posted on Instagram 13 January 2023]
My 2022 Dance favourites. Lisa in the Theatre, Scottish Ballet, RCS Modern Ballet, Saturday Night Fever
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