Friday, March 29Royal Holloway's offical student publication, est. 1986

Tag: dance

A Truly Amazing Night At The Theatre
Culture & Literature, Theatre & Performance

A Truly Amazing Night At The Theatre

Ever imagined, even in your wildest dreams, seeing Morticia Addams, Dorian Gray, and Romeo and Juliet all in the same place, at the same time? No? What if they were accompanied by wild dancing performances, amazing musical numbers and sketches that make you laugh so much that your stomach hurts? Then apparently, you have never been to A Night at the Theatre (ANATT). If you have never even heard of ANATT (where have you been all this time?!), it is an event that features performances by more or less all the creative societies at Royal Holloway, varying from dance, drama, musical theatre, fashion, pole dancing and the works of some independent artists. It is an excellent way to spend an evening, leaving all your worries behind, while watching your fellow students  express their creativity...
Dancing To Victory
Sports & Socs

Dancing To Victory

It’s hard to deny that this year has been great for sporting achievements across the Royal Holloway sport societies. Dance Society in particular have had an incredible run of competitions, achieving more wins than students can remember achieving since the society was set up. This year started off with a bang on Saturday 25 November when the Wildcard dancers won first place at Kings College London. This champion routine was expertly choreographed for this competition by Emily Coombes. The winning streak continued as Dance Society came away from their competition on December 7 with six dance numbers coming away with top three placings. The contemporary dance, ‘Death Row’, choreographed by Marie de Rooy and Ashley Parry achieved first place alongside the Tap piece, ‘Tribal Beats’, choreogra...
What Can the Royal Opera House Do For You?
Culture & Literature, Theatre & Performance

What Can the Royal Opera House Do For You?

  Situated in Covent Garden, the current Royal Opera House is the third building to stand in the area after the two previous theatres burned down in a fire. The second re-opening kicked off with the royal seal of approval and a new name ‘the Royal Italian Opera House’. After hosting composers such as Handel and Michael Costa, the Royal Opera House was growing in both audience and repertoire. It was renamed once again to what we know now as ‘the Royal Opera House’ after it sadly burned down for the second time. However this has not affected its popularity as it now covers over two acres – from main stage to rehearsal studio… But over the years  words such as ‘Elitist’, ‘snobby’ and ‘highbrow’ have been used to describe ballet, opera and other art forms on display at the Royal Ope...
The Twelve Days of Dancemas
Sports & Socs

The Twelve Days of Dancemas

Dance Society held their Christmas Showcase on Sunday 3 December, and it celebrated everything they’ve achieved this term with a festive twist. All of the society’s classes had the opportunity to perform at the showcase – ranging from ballet to tap to lyrical, there were plenty of Christmas-themed routines to get the audience into the festive spirit. One particularly exciting number was the 1st year dance, which was a mix of different dances with a Christmas soundtrack (and a wonderful Mean Girls reference!). The huge variety of classes with different levels of difficulty meant that even complete beginners were able to join in. I was lucky enough to take part this year, despite having not done dance for nearly 15 years. Whether you were a seasoned dancer or had never danced before, there w...
Raise Up Your Talents
Sports & Socs

Raise Up Your Talents

Michele Theil reviews the Raise-And-Give Talent Show, an event raising money for three excellent charities. The Raise-And-Give society’s charity event, aptly named ‘Royal Holloway’s Got Talent’ was hosted in the SU Main Hall and allowed students and parents to see a wide variety of talents and acts. The show aimed to raise money for Action Against Hunger, Meningitis Now and The White Lodge Centre. Action Against Hunger is “a global charity committed to saving the lives of malnourished children in over 40 countries”. Meningitis Now is a global charity that researches for and supports sufferers of Meningitis and The White Lodge Centre is dedicated to “supporting disabled people of all ages”. Each charity supports extremely worthwhile causes that RAG is dedicated to raising money for. T...
Dancing With The Stars
Sports & Socs

Dancing With The Stars

The Royal Hollywood Dance Show, hosted by the RHUL Dance Society, consisted of three acts of differing dance styles as well as a few musical performances, all performed to an incredible level. The Dance Society’s annual show had dances choreographed to songs from famous films across the ages with rehearsals only beginning 4 weeks ago, an amazing feat for the calibre of performances I witnessed. While every piece was outstanding in its own way, there were several standout performances that I found to be particularly amazing and deserving of recognition. ‘Inside The OR’, a competition street dance choreographed by Dance Society President Eden Brown, had dancers in surgical scrubs and masks, dancing to theme songs from medical TV shows.   ‘Upside Down’, a Burlesque piece ...
Carlos Acosta: from Poverty to Ballet Stardom
Culture & Literature, Theatre & Performance

Carlos Acosta: from Poverty to Ballet Stardom

“Passion meets power and precision”: Victoria Bastable explores the career of Carlos Acosta In October I was honoured to see Carlos Acosta perform in ‘Carlos Acosta: A Classical Farewell’ at The Royal Albert Hall. His ovation lasted for at least 20 minutes, and the whole audience was on their feet, not just for the performance that evening, but for his career. Acosta has brought passion and charisma to dance in Britain and throughout the world. There is no adjective to describe watching Carlos dance, because the sensation is visceral. Passion meets power and precision. His incredible jumps and charismatic stage presence combined with technical skill and athleticism acquired over 17 years as a principal dancer at the Royal Ballet and as a Guest Principal Artist in all leading Ball...
“Grab a coat”… you’re hitting the SU!
Lifestyle

“Grab a coat”… you’re hitting the SU!

So will you be at the SU on Wednesday night? After all, where else will you find sticky floors and artificially blue VK’s? It is likely our Thursday lectures would thank us for a night in, yet for a single guy what better opportunity is it to flex the muscle memory of high school flirting techniques... So, what I ask is, how are the guys here at Royal Holloway pulling girls at the SU? With a higher percentage of girls to guys, it is easy to presume that the task will be an easy one and guys at the SU are definitely not lacking in confidence. Through witnessing the awkwardness of them attempting to make their move, their tactics are interesting, to say the least... Many get drunk and grope and grind on the dance floor, whilst others attempt to make ‘bedroom eyes’ across the bar. A fai...
Review: Matthew Bourne’s Sleeping Beauty
Culture & Literature, Theatre & Performance

Review: Matthew Bourne’s Sleeping Beauty

Matthew Bourne (or so I should say), Sir Matthew Bourne (New Year’s Knighthood and the likes), famed for his successful take on two of the great Tchaikovsky ballets, reinventing a dark, Dickensian Nutcracker and a wild Swan Lake, has taken to the stage to complete the Tchaikovsky trilogy with Sleeping Beauty. Yet, in tackling Sleeping Beauty, one would consider it to be a much harder challenge. A simple story with much loved, well-known characters, and the Disney retelling cemented in the public consciousness, in theory and on paper, Sleeping Beauty seemed a much harder ballet to reinvent. But Bourne delivers with style and excellence. (more…)
Who said you need to go on holiday to have fun?
Features

Who said you need to go on holiday to have fun?

We’ve all had that moment when we realise that everyone will be having the time of their life in Barcelona, Saint-Tropez or even Los Angeles for the summer and we won’t be. Sometimes money is tight. Sometimes money is as tight as our jeans are as we’ve spent way too much on Domino’s. However, not going on holiday isn’t the end of the world. Being at a university so close to London means that we can enjoy various fun events and experiences there instead. Here are a few things to do in London at a very reasonable (or sometimes non-existent) price. Enjoy free activities at the beautiful Canary Wharf During this summer there will be: Fashion weekend (29th - 31st May); dance performances (29th June - 4th July); outdoor Ping pong (7th –16th August); screens showing sport events in the park...