BBC Young Dancer 2015, London
After a lengthy process of auditions and judging rounds, contestants in the inaugural BBC Young Dancer competition have been pared down to the finalists from each of the four categories: contemporary, hip-hop, south Asian dance and ballet. Two Wild Card finalists will also be added to the mix, with six dancers competing for the final judging. With an impressively high standard of entrants and a performance that features the dancers in two solos, one created by a leading choreographer, plus a duet (or battle, for the hip-hop participants), this promises to be a highly entertaining show. The event can also be viewed live on BBC2 at 7pm.
Sadler’s Wells, EC1, Sat
Woolf Works, London
Virginia Woolf’s fiction has inspired films and plays but this new work by Wayne McGregor must be the first time her oeuvre has been turned into a three-act ballet. Each section of Woolf Works is based on a different novel: Mrs Dalloway, Orlando, then The Waves. But while familiar characters and themes emerge, McGregor’s treatment rejects traditional narrative in favour of a quasi-abstract approach, attempting to recreate the texture and rhythms of Woolf’s prose as much as specific content. Set to a new score by Max Richter, it features the Covent Garden return of 51-year-old ballerina Alessandra Ferri.
Royal Opera House, WC2, Mon to 26 May
