The Guardian have put out a preview of what not to miss in 2009. In the ‘Dance’ section they’ve mentioned a couple of upcoming shows in Birmingham:
Birmingham Royal Ballet, Hippodrome, 4-7 March
Some of Frederick Ashton’s greatest works were also the most unlikely, not least his 1968 ballet Enigma Variations. This sequence of character vignettes, set to Elgar’s score, could easily have turned into a late-Victorian fancy-dress parade. Yet embedded within it are some of Ashton’s most masterly dance characterisations, along with a moving and very English response to Elgar’s genius. Sharing the programme is a revival of David Bintley’s Still Life at the Penguin Café, and the Balanchine masterpiece, Serenade.
The Collection, Ikon Gallery, Autumn (dates TBC)
Siobhan Davies collaborates with two leading galleries, the Victoria Miro in London and the Ikon in Birmingham, to present a fascinating series of works. Studying the connections and disconnections between the dance and visual art, the Collection includes a light and sculptural installation by Conrad Shawcross. Also worth seeing is the other work by Davies which expertly exploits the intimacy of its gallery setting
