From dancing next to John Travolta and Olivia Newton John in Grease, to playing the lead role in Fame, Antonia Franceschi who has won London’s Time Out Award for Outstanding Achievement in Dance will now be presenting her exciting choreography at Pjazza Teatru Rjal on Saturday, 9 and Sunday, 10 August at 9pm. A troupe of six dancers from The Royal Ballet, Rambert, Ballet Black, Random Dance and The New York City Ballet will be accompanied live by pianist Yoshiko Sato, cellist Johan Stern and violinist Richard Wade.

Just Dance presents a programme inspired by Gershwin’s classic piece Rhapsody in Blue where he brilliantly engages and invites the listener with his urban sounds mixed with the unmistakable classical inventions to a place of optimism and hope. Just Dance presents works by various composers including Allen Shawn, Zoe Martlew, Richard Lumsden and the pioneer of solo violin Von Westkoff.

Antonia Franceschi who has also choreographed several works for Ballet Black, London Contemporary School, The New York Theatre Ballet, and most recently for Mara Galeazzi and Roman Pajdak of The Royal Ballet, will also be giving two master classes of 90 minutes each on Saturday, 9 and Sunday, 10 August at 11am. For more information send an email on: [email protected]

Tickets for Just Dance are available from www.ticketline.com.mt or the Embassy Cinema Valletta. Tickets will also be available at the door.

What has been said about Franceschi’s choreographies

Franceschi’s City Scenes was a surprise. There are echoes of Balanchine all through it, but if the dance is imitative, it also demonstrates lessons well learned, particularly concerning musically responsive structuring. We should see more of Ms Franceschi’s work − Brian Seibert of The New York Times on Kinderszenen City Scenes - New York Theatre Ballet.

"Kinderszenen brings out some wonderful technical dancing much in the style of NYCB and some astonishingly stylish pirouettes, and excellent pas de trios for the men. The movement is full of invention, with some interesting motifs, and the ballet is episodic, like the music (Allen Shawn's Childhood Scenes) and has some frieze-like moments which are highly effective" − Dance Europe on Kinderszenen City Scenes - New York Theatre Ballet