Graham Watts

London

Dance Writer and Critic at Freelance

Dance Writer/Critic/Influencer. Chair of Critics' Circle Dance Section & National Dance Awards. Ballet Icon Award 2024. OBE since 2008

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Articles

Review: EMERGENCE with Joss Arnott Dance - the pure enjoyment of movement… I was knocked sideways

1 week ago | gramilano.com | Graham Watts

TitleEMERGENCE CompanyJoss Arnott DanceVenueThe Place, LondonDate12 June 2025ReviewerGraham WattsEvery now and again, dance comes along that knocks me sideways with its freshness and introduces me to something entirely new.
Review: Ballet Flamenco de Andalucía in PINEDA - a difficult work to comprehend

1 week ago | gramilano.com | Graham Watts

TitlePINEDA. Romance popular en tres estampas. CompanyBallet Flamenco de AndalucíaVenueSadler’s Wells, LondonDate6 June 2025ReviewerGraham WattsA good friend and fellow flamenco aficionado told me that she had seen PINEDA one evening in a beautiful outdoor theatre in Granada’s Alhambra fortress and that it had been magical. For me, in this enclosed proscenium theatre setting, that magic was not so evident.
Ballet Nights - Spring Into Summer, a fascinating hotpotch of dance

2 weeks ago | bachtrack.com | Graham Watts

Ballet Nights 008 – Spring into Summer was a well-curated mix of new work, work new to the UK and interesting legacy pieces that are rarely seen, adding up to an unusual and mostly fascinating hotchpotch of dance.
Review - Romancero del Baile Flamenco with Compañía Mercedes Ruiz

3 weeks ago | gramilano.com | Graham Watts

Romancero del Baile Flamenco ★★★★★ Title Romancero del Baile Flamenco Company Compañía Mercedes Ruiz Venue Sadler’s Wells, London Date 3 June 2025 Reviewer Graham Watts Following on from the contrasting but nonetheless equally theatrical shows of Sara Baras (Vuela) and Manuel Liñán (Muerte de Amor), which opened the main stage performances of this year’s London Flamenco Festival, Mercedes Ruiz brought flamenco back to its roots in a show, which elevated the concept of a tablao (the...
Fully-fledged theatricality: Compañía Manuel Liñán” Muerta de Amor

3 weeks ago | bachtrack.com | Graham Watts

After opening with performances, on six consecutive days, of Vuela by Ballet Flamenco Sara Baras, the second Sadler's Wells main stage feature of the London Flamenco Festival was Manuel Liñán’s Muerta de Amor. Frankly, festival director Miguel Marin could not have offered two shows of greater contrast in these polar opposites by two of the most popular names on the global flamenco scene.
Miracle Midlands Championship at Staunton Harold Sailing Club

3 weeks ago | yachtsandyachting.com | Graham Watts

Miracle Midlands Championship at Staunton Harold Sailing Club by Graham Watts 4 Jun 18:03 BST Staunton Harold Sailing Club hosted the first Miracle class event of the year over the May Whit Bank Holiday weekend. Despite the blustery forecast, five boats took to the water — four visitors and one home boat — after at least three teams decided against making the trip due to the conditions.
Ballet Flamenco Sara Baras in Vuela: a theatrical spectacular

1 month ago | bachtrack.com | Graham Watts

Just four days after the death of legendary flamenco guitarist, Paco de Lucía, Sara Baras opened the 2014 London Flamenco Festival with La Pepa. It was an emotional and unforgettable evening filled with sentiment, especially when Baras sat onstage during the finale and poured out loving thoughts and memories of the great guitarist.
The 25th National Dance Awards - #NDA25

1 month ago | criticscircle.org.uk | Graham Watts

Marquee TV to sponsor Dance Film AwardsNominations announcedThe Dance Section of the Critics’ Circle is pleased to announce that Marquee TV has been appointed as sponsor for the two Film categories in the National Dance Awards (#NDA25). Marquee TV is a global streaming platform for the performing arts with hundreds of productions of ballet, opera, theatre, classical music, dance and more available to stream from any device.
Northern Ballet's Jane Eyre: worthy of repeated viewings

1 month ago | bachtrack.com | Graham Watts

Although one of the indelible masterpieces of English literature, Jane Eyre is a complex work to translate into dance theatre, and few choreographers have attempted the challenge. Patrick de Bana’s production for Shanghai Ballet (seen in London, in 2013) and Nicola Tongue’s adventurous version for London Children’s Ballet, in 2008, are rare examples to set alongside this interpretation by Cathy Marston, which was premiered by Northern Ballet some eight years’ ago.
Review: Carmen.maquia with Ballet Hispánico - exciting performance by impressive dancers

1 month ago | gramilano.com | Graham Watts

TitleCarmen.maquiaCompanyBallet HispánicoVenueCurve Theatre, LeicesterDate16 May 2025ReviewerGraham WattsIt’s both an oddity and a considerable achievement that the only UK performances of New York’s celebrated Ballet Hispánico have taken place in Leicester, as part of Let’s Dance International Frontiers (LDIF), a vibrant celebration of dance from the African, Caribbean and Latin American Diaspora now in its fifteenth year.