The 10 top ballet and dance shows to book tickets for in spring 2024
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Edward Scissorhands
Matthew Bourne’s beautifully designed, intensely moving adaptation of Tim Burton’s beloved 1990 drama – about a boy who’s just a little different from the rest – is one of the finest things he has ever done. Praise indeed.
Alhambra Theatre, Bradford, April 9-13 (new-adventures.net), then touring
Elixir Festival
Setting out to challenge preconceptions about dance and age, the festival kicks off with a tantalising bill of new works by Germaine Acogny and Malou Airaudo, Louise Lecavalier and marvellous dance-theatre renegade Ben Duke.
Sadler’s Wells, London EC1 (sadlerswells.com), April 10-17
Hofesh Shechter: From England with Love
The one-of-a-kind, always-fascinating Israeli-born choreographer serves up what promises to be a billet doux (of sorts) to his adoptive country, performed by his zingy young Shechter II troupe.
Queen Elizabeth Hall, London SE1 (southbankcentre.co.uk), April 17-20
The Sleeping Beauty
No, it isn’t the most dramatic of the classic ballets. But Peter Wright’s staging for Birmingham Royal Ballet is a thing of beauty, with the great Alina Cojocaru’s two guest slots as Aurora in London (April 25 and 27) an extra, very considerable enticement.
Bristol Hippodrome (brb.org.uk), April 18-20; Sadler’s Wells, London EC1, April 24-27
The Winter’s Tale
Christopher Wheeldon’s wonderful, effortlessly enjoyable modern classic returns, one of those rare Shakespeare adaptations that’s arguably several steps up from the original.
Royal Opera House, London WC2 (roh.org.uk), May 3-June 1
Breakin’ Convention 2024
Hosted by Jonzi D, Sadler’s Wells’s “International Festival of Hip Hop Dance Theatre” features, as ever, the very best in the business. Expect astonishing athleticism, but also buckets of genuine artistry.
Sadler’s Wells, London EC1 (sadlerswells.com), May 4-5
A Streetcar Named Desire
First staged in 2012, Scottish Ballet’s first-rate adaptation of Tennessee Williams’s steamy, pitch-black, Southern Gothic melodrama is back, and should still make for an absolutely gripping (and grown-up) night out.
Sadler’s Wells, London EC1 (sadlerswells.com), May 16-19
Beauty and the Beast
Northern Ballet dusts off David Nixon’s 2011 entertaining account of the famous story, handsomely designed by Duncan Hayler, and with a clever magpie score that embraces Bizet, Debussy and others.
Leeds Grand Theatre (northernballet.com), June 4-June 9
Les Rendezvous/The Dream/Rhapsody
A particularly rich bill from the Royal Ballet of works by its genius founding choreographer Frederick Ashton, from 1933’s convivial delight Les Rendezvous, via his magical 1964 Shakespeare adaptation The Dream to the technical pyrotechnics of 1980’s Rhapsody.
Royal Opera House, London WC2 (roh.org.uk), June 6-19
Swan Lake in-the-round
First unveiled in 1997, Derek Deane’s site-specific Swan Lake – complete with no fewer than 60 swans – is anything but “authentic”. But is is irresistibly spectacular, and English National Ballet dance it fabulously.
Royal Albert Hall, London SW7 (ballet.org.uk), June 12-23