Performer: Valeri Hristov

Many ballet fans do not find galas particularly enjoyable. We can admire our favourite dancers performing acrobatic solos, numerous fouettés and famous variations, but little space is left for the dancers to lose themselves in the roles they are playing, not to mention the limitations in terms of scenography and lighting.'Carlos Acosta – A Classical Selection' is a nice exception.

This Royal Ballet programme shows Sir Frederick Ashton's versatility of subject while never scrimping on unmistakeable style.

Last Friday, The Royal Ballet presented an exciting bill composed of George Balanchine’s iconic Apollo (1928) and two new ballets by acclaimed choreographers Alexei Ratmansky and Christopher Wheeldon. The programme was cleverly designed, since Ratmansky and Wheeldon are renowned explorers of the neoclassical style inaugurated by Balanchine.

This double bill by The Royal Ballet made for a splendid mix of musical and choreographic magic – Mendelssohn and Ashton, Mahler and MacMillan.

There was no thought of letting the Royal Ballet dancers ease out gently in their last programme of the season. The Triple Bill now on offer demands from each of its exponents a mathematical brain, the precision of a Swiss watchmaker and the stamina of a fell runner.