REVIEW: The Red Shoes at Sadler's Wells

What is it about dance companies that sometimes brings out a sense of horror, from “Suspiria” to “Company” and “The Red Shoes”? Is it the tireless work that the artists put in, the late rehearsals that end in someone walking home in the dark, or that one dancer with red hair who catches everyone’s eye and is too perfect for words?

The Red Shoes was my first ballet by Matthew Bourne and I was blown away by it – the costumes, music by Bernard Herrmann, ensemble, and that central dancer! 

This story was originally a fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen (whose tales, as we know, can go very dark) and was adapted for the big screen by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger in 1948. It follows a dance company and the obsession of two men for a red-haired dancer who will become possessed by her red dancing shoes. 

Burn The Floor: Theatre Review

Burn the Floor was originally conceived after a special performance for Elton John’s 50^th Birthday in 1997 and two years later the show made its world premiere in the UK in Bournemouth. Since then it has played in over 300 cities. The show played the Shaftesbury Theatre in 2010 between the closing of Hairspray and the opening of Flashdance and has now returned thirteen years after it originally opened in the UK to fill the theatre before ‘From Here to Eternity’ opens in October. 

The show is made up of a selection of all different dances, from Rumba to Jive and The Waltz to the Tango. This sassy production provides a range of beautifully executed dances that will make you want to join them up there. The energy that was oozing off that stage was tremendous. Although the show doesn’t have any sort of narrative as a whole it still is a fabulous showcase of the astounding dancing skills that were on that stage.