This Is London - 31 January 2020

10
Acosta Danza Temporada Verano.
Photo: Santiel Rodriguez.
ACOSTA DANZA MAKE THEIR
LINBURY THEATRE DEBUT
Former Principal dancer of The Royal
Ballet Carlos Acosta is bringing his
acclaimed Cuban company Acosta
Danza to the Royal Opera House from
13 to 24 February. Making their debut in
the Linbury Theatre, The Royal Ballet’s
international stage for dance, the
company present a varied bill of five
contemporary works created by
internationally acclaimed
choreographers.
Rafael Bonachela is to present
Soledad, an evocative pas de deux set to
music by Chavela Vargas and Gideon
Kremer which receives its UK premiere
during this run. Maria Rovira’s Impronta,
a work created specifically for Acosta
Danza is also performed for the first time
in the UK alongside Marianela Boán’s El
cruce sobre el Niágara [The Crossing
Over Niagra], based on Alonso Alegría’s
play about 19th-century tightrope walker
Charles Blondin, who famously crossed
Niagra Falls bearing his friend on his
shoulders.
Russell Maliphant’s acclaimed solo
Two also features and is performed by
Carlos Acosta, and the bill is completed
with the world premiere of Mundo
Interpretado (Interpreted World), a new
work by Juliano Nunes, returning to the
Royal Opera House following his 2019
debut with Two Sides Of..., presented as
part of New Work New Music.
TANZTHEATER WUPPERTAL PINA
BAUSCH UK PREMIERE
Staged for the first time in over 29
years and receiving its UK premiere at
Sadler’s Wells is Pina Bausch’s early
monumental masterpiece Bluebeard.
Following eight performances at Opera
House Wuppertal, the acclaimed
production arrives at Sadler’s Wells from
Wednesday 12 to Saturday 15 February.
The work first premiered in 1977 and
was presented in 12 cities until the mid
90’s, including Cologne, Los Angeles,
Venice, Paris and Tokyo.
Bausch uses Bartók's Opera as a
world of direct images, focussing on the
hopeless lack of understanding between
man and woman. A brave experiment
combining elements from different
genres, it is a disturbing and, at the
same time, a moving balancing act
across various forms of love, tenderness
and violence.
43 years after its world premiere, the
new restaging is led by rehearsal
directors Helena Pikon and Barbara
Kaufmann as well as original cast
members Jan Minarik and Beatrice
Libonati. Pina Bausch wrote dance
history. She not only founded the worldfamous
company in Wuppertal, she
shaped a whole genre – dance theatre –
and influenced countless other artists,
choreographers and directors worldwide
who credit her and her work.
Ticket Office: 020 7863 8000.
HOLY WEEK FESTIVAL 2020 AT
ST JOHN’S SMITH SQUARE
Returning for a fourth successive
year, St John’s Smith Square and
Tenebrae are to present the Holy Week
Festival 2020 running from 5-12 April.
Curated in partnership with Tenebrae
and Nigel Short, St John’s Smith Square
will host workshops, ticketed concerts
and free late-night liturgical events
exploring a vast range of sacred music
in celebration of Holy Week. New for
2020 is a focus on mental health and
wellbeing, including a pre-concert panel
discussion on music and lamentation
(8 April), and a guided meditation to
open the Festival ahead of a reflective
concert from Siglo de Oro (5 April).
In creating the Holy Week Festival,
Nigel Short wanted to curate a festival
that celebrates the choral music of Lent
under one roof, where people can really
immerse themselves and reflect on
music and the Easter story.
Pina Bausch: Bluebeard. Photo: Maarten Vanden Abeele. Nigel Short. Photo: Sim Cannetty-Clarke.
T H I S I S L O N D O N M A G A Z I N E • T H I S I S L O N D O N O N L I N E