Showing 13 results

The Dancing Times, first published in 1894 as the house magazine of the Cavendish Rooms, London, a ballroom dancing establishment, was the oldest monthly devoted to dancing. It was bought in 1910 by P. J. S. Richardson and T. M. Middleton and transformed into a national periodical, covering all forms of dancing, and reporting worldwide. Richardson was a British writer on dancing and was the editor of  the Dancing Times from 1910 until 1958 when he was succeeded by A H Franks, but remained president until his death in 1963. Franks split off the ballroom section of the magazine into a second periodical, the Ballroom Dancing Times, and in 1962 doubled the format of the Dancing Times to its present size of A4. Franks died suddenly in 1963 and Mary Clarke, then assistant editor, became editor. In 2015 the ballroom and social dance magazine, by then given the title  Dance Today, was reintegrated into the pages of the Dancing Times so that the magazine again covered all aspects of dance. Clarke retired from the editorship in 2008 and was succeeded by Jonathan Gray who continued its original stated policy to maintain the highest standards of criticism and illustration, give voice to leading authorities, encourage high standards of teaching, encourage awareness of dance history and stress the importance of dance in education.

For more than 110 years Dancing Times remained the leader in its field, sustained by loyal readers and advertisers alike. Unfortunately changing financial conditions, the global pandemic of 2020, and changing patterns of readership led to the magazine closing, and the final issue of the Dancing Times was published in September 2022. During its years of publication, the Dancing Times amassed a collection of photographic images representing all the aspects of dance covered by the magazine. Some of the earlier material was lost during World War II, but a significant library remains. Due to the breadth of coverage, the image library constitutes an important and valuable academic and historical resource, offering a range of images unlikely to be found in any existing single image collection.

English National Ballet gave its first performances in 1950 as Gala Performances of Ballet. In 1951 it became London's Festival Ballet, changing its name to London Festival Ballet in 1951. In July 1989 the Company became English National Ballet

The Royal Ballet and Opera is the third theatre on the Covent Garden site and opened on 15 May 1858 as the Royal Italian Opera. It became the Royal Opera House in 1892. The theatre closed during the Second World War, becoming a dance hall. The theatre reopened in February 1946 with the Sadler's Wells Ballet and the Covent Garden Opera Company as permanent resident companies. The theatre underwent major renovation between 1997 and 1999, and again in 20... The Linbury Studio Theatre and Clore Studio opened within the newly renovated site in 1999. The Royal Opera House was rebranded in 2024 becoming the Royal Ballet and Opera.
The first Theatre Royal, Covent Garden opened on 7 December 1732 primarily as a playhouse. It was destroyed by fire in 1808 and the second Theatre Royal, Covent Garden opened on 18 September 1809. Following major alterations to the interior in 1846, the theatre reopened as the Royal Italian Opera in 1847.