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
    BalletBoyz at 25: ‘We still have the same desire to discover’

    William Trevitt and Michael Nunn on their creative collaboration - and why it’s harder than ever to make it in dance

    Fri, 8 May 2026

  • Sarah Crompton
    Why you’ll want to see this Mayerling again and again

    The Royal Ballet gives six leading men the chance to make their mark as the antihero of Kenneth MacMillan’s masterpiece

    Sat, 2 May 2026

  • Sarah Crompton
    Wayne McGregor makes worlds collide in Alchemies

    Classical and contemporary converge in a convention-shattering triple bill by the Royal Ballet’s resident choreographer

    Sat, 25 Apr 2026

  • Sarah Crompton
    Kontakthof – Echoes of ’78 is a poignant tribute to the passage of time

    Dancers now in their 70s retrace their old steps in Meryl Tankard’s powerful reboot of Pina Bausch’s seminal work

    Sat, 11 Apr 2026

  • Sarah Crompton
    Linda Tolhurst’s tales from the National Theatre stage door

    Olivier award winner Linda Tolhurst’s tales from the National Theatre stage door

    Wed, 1 Apr 2026

  • Sarah Crompton
    English National Ballet’s Body & Soul is a game of two halves

    An ill-judged work by Kameron N Saunders opens a double bill redeemed in the second section

    Sat, 28 Mar 2026

  • Sarah Crompton
    Melissa Hamilton: ‘Timothée Chalamet should check himself’

    The ballerina on pursuing her dream and dancing Mary Vetsera in Mayerling

    Fri, 20 Mar 2026

  • Sarah Crompton
    Gentleman Jack explores the life of the ‘first modern lesbian’

    Annabelle Lopez Ochoa’s unexpected, sensual new ballet about the diarist Anne Lister tells a story of love and prejudice through its charismatic star

    Sun, 15 Mar 2026

  • Sarah Crompton
    How The Bridge theatre made Into the Woods

    Meet the team who brought Jordan Fein’s production of Sondheim’s fairytale to life

    Sat, 14 Mar 2026

  • Sarah Crompton
    Ballet Black revives one of its most powerful works

    The innovative company marked its 25th anniversary with Mthuthuzeli November’s piece about suffering and resistance during the 2012 South African miners’ strike

    Sat, 7 Mar 2026

  • Sarah Crompton
    Marianela Núñez’s star quality

    After nearly 30 years at the Royal Ballet, the Argentine dancer is at the height of her powers in a magical Giselle. Plus, Ballet Icons Gala

    Sun, 22 Feb 2026

  • Sarah Crompton
    The immortal work of Pina Bausch

    Sweet Mambo, created a year before the choreographer’s death, is given a haunting, emotional revival by its original cast. Plus, Glen Tetley’s joy-filled world

    Sat, 14 Feb 2026

  • Sarah Crompton
    Paul Taylor Dance Company showcases works of grace and light

    The late choreographer’s company returns to the UK for the first time in 20 years with all the breeziness and buoyancy for which they are known

    Sat, 31 Jan 2026

  • Sarah Crompton
    Wayne McGregor’s haunting homage to Virginia Woolf

    This brave, experimental, genre-bending ballet captures the spirit of the author

    Sat, 24 Jan 2026

  • Sarah Crompton
    Resolution 2026: the free-for-all dance festival

    There are no guarantees of what you’ll see on any given night, but surprise treats abound

    Sun, 18 Jan 2026

  • Sarah Crompton
    The best dance to see in 2026

    A BalletBoyz retrospective, Gentleman Jack the ballet and an original Pina Bausch cast are among next year’s highlights

    Thu, 1 Jan 2026

  • Sarah Crompton
    Deborah Bull, ex-dancer aiming for the House of Lords

    The peer and former Royal Ballet principal hopes her creative and inspirational drive will lead to the role of the lord speaker

    Wed, 31 Dec 2025

  • Sarah Crompton
    The best dance of 2025

    Sarah Crompton on the shows of the year, from ballet to hip-hop

    Thu, 25 Dec 2025

  • Sarah Crompton
    My seven-show Nutcracker marathon

    Can The Observer’s dance critic overcome her allergy to the Tchaikovsky ballet

    Fri, 19 Dec 2025

  • Sarah Crompton
    Matthew Bourne’s The Red Shoes is a dark triumph

    An entrancing take on the 1940s film about a ballerina driven to dance herself to death

    Sat, 13 Dec 2025

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