Photo of Sarah Crompton
Sarah Crompton

Dance Critic

Sarah Crompton is a writer and broadcaster specialising in culture and the arts. She is theatre critic of WhatsOnStage and hosts a weekly podcast. Her work appears in publications including the Guardian and British and American Vogue. She also contributes to BBC Radio 4’s Front Row. Her books include a history of Sadler’s Wells, biographies of the dancers Edward Watson and Leanne Benjamin, and a collaboration with Ita O’Brien on Intimacy: A Field Guide.

Photo of Sarah Crompton

Sarah Crompton

Dance Critic

Sarah Crompton is a writer and broadcaster specialising in culture and the arts. She is theatre critic of WhatsOnStage and hosts a weekly podcast. Her work appears in publications including the Guardian and British and American Vogue. She also contributes to BBC Radio 4’s Front Row. Her books include a history of Sadler’s Wells, biographies of the dancers Edward Watson and Leanne Benjamin, and a collaboration with Ita O’Brien on Intimacy: A Field Guide.

  • Sarah Crompton
    Wayne McGregor: ‘In AI, the creative dimension is vital’

    The renowned choreographer, who combines dance and algorithms in his exhilarating new exhibition, on why artists should embrace – not fear – the possibilities of technology

    Wed, 22 Oct 2025

  • Sarah Crompton
    Royal Ballet’s Like Water for Chocolate is richly imaginative

    This magical realist story about a woman whose feelings are expressed through food is a feast for the senses

    Fri, 17 Oct 2025

  • Sarah Crompton
    Draft Works’ Black History Month – a soaring, spirited celebration

    Five Black female choreographers elegantly explore a Pentecostal upbringing, music and the collapse of a marriage

    Sat, 11 Oct 2025

  • Sarah Crompton
    Theme and Variations is a perfect embellishment of pure ballet

    English National Ballet are at their committed best in works by Balanchine, Martha Graham, William Forsythe and David Dawson

    Sun, 5 Oct 2025

  • Sarah Crompton
    Carlos Acosta’s love letter to Cuba

    Acosta Danza was born at a time of hope for the choreographer’s homeland. Ten years on, it has become a symbol of vitality and endurance

    Sun, 28 Sept 2025

  • Sarah Crompton
    The emotional ‘journey’ to Strictly’s glitterball begins

    The stars come out once more on Saturday nights. But the BBC's enduringly popular show has lost some of its lustre for me

    Sun, 21 Sept 2025

  • Sarah Crompton
    London City Ballet’s Momentum is a multi-course feast for the eyes

    This varied evening of dance is like being given a tasting menu and told to enjoy

    Fri, 19 Sept 2025

  • Sarah Crompton
    We Should Have Never Walked on the Moon is long but exhilarating

    This three-hour Southbank Centre takeover by French dance collective (La)Horde is not subtle but it is thrilling

    Sun, 7 Sept 2025

  • Sarah Crompton
    Alexei Ratmansky: ‘Something extraordinary is going on in the art of Ukraine’

    The Russian-Ukrainian choreographer on the rebirth of Kyiv’s art scene, his regrets over Crimea, and why he plans to sue the Bolshoi

    Fri, 29 Aug 2025

  • Sarah Crompton
    When dance becomes theatre

    A spate of shows at Edinburgh blur the boundaries between forms

    Fri, 29 Aug 2025

  • Sarah Crompton
    Breaking Bach is an astonishing, life-enhancing experience

    This hip-hop homage to the classical composer is an assertion of the value of embedding arts in the curriculum. Plus: A bold ballet about Mary Queen of Scots

    Fri, 22 Aug 2025

  • Sarah Crompton
    Bullyache’s dark depiction of the shadowy global elite

    Dancers play power games – ceremonies of dominance and humiliation – in this profoundly perturbing performance inspired by the 2008 crash

    Sat, 9 Aug 2025

  • Sarah Crompton
    The legacy of Twyla Tharp

    At the Venice Dance Biennale, a double bill of the veteran choreographer’s work reveals her as a true pioneer

    Sat, 2 Aug 2025

  • Sarah Crompton
    The festival in the forest

    How the woodland centre Jacob’s Pillow became a crucible for modern dance – and an artistic retreat from Trump’s America

    Fri, 25 Jul 2025

  • Sarah Crompton
    Christopher Isherwood’s second life on stage

    Few would have predicted his works would have persisted into the 21st century. But a new dance adaptation of his masterpiece A Single Man captures the author’s essential humanity

    Sun, 13 Jul 2025

  • Sarah Crompton
    Quadrophenia: a Mod Ballet is far too polite

    This polished, subdued production has none of the film’s rebellious bite and energy

    Sat, 28 Jun 2025

  • Sarah Crompton
    Matthew Bourne after hours

    The choreographer, with his cast of vivid dancers, weaves a sensual story of lonely figures haunting a local pub in one of his best ever works

    Sat, 21 Jun 2025

  • Sarah Crompton
    Review: American Ballet Theatre Studio Company sets the barre high

    New York-based young dancers kick off the Royal Ballet’s festival of rising talent with a programme showcasing their dazzling flair and versatility

    Sat, 14 Jun 2025

  • Sarah Crompton
    Dance reviews: Natural Behaviour and Detention

    From smoking seagulls to a Trump-like panto horse, Thick & Tight’s hymns to inclusiveness are shot through with wit. Elsewhere, love triumphs over Section 28

    Mon, 9 Jun 2025

  • Sarah Crompton
    A fine Ballet BC double bill

    Mysterious shadows inhabit Crystal Pite’s questing meditation on creation, while Johan Inger sparks laughter and tears

    Sat, 24 May 2025

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