Providing opportunities for young dancers to experiment with choreography is a vital responsibility for major companies; in this way the future of ballet can be developed (and, perhaps, protected). Apart from developing future choreographers and allowing audiences to glimpse dance from the perspective of younger generations, The Royal Ballet’s annual International Draft Works programme in the Linbury Theatre gives us, in London, the chance to see work from companies we might not otherwise ever see on our home stages. This year, as always, the offering is mixed in both style and substance, but there was nothing without merit and it was all beautifully danced.
It opened with a very sweet piece by the Korean National Ballet, entitled Season ; Spring. “You are my season, and I am your flower….” says the programme note, and the choreography for two men and a delightfully delicate young woman played this out in the choreography. I was particularly interested in the musical instrument played on stage by composer Bora Ju; it was a horizontal stringed construction which she plucked, bringing forth ethereal and somewhat mesmerising sounds.
Nicola Wills of Opera Ballet Flanders danced her self-choreographed Two People in Love Never Shake Hands with Philipe Lens, an attractively expansive dancer. I enjoyed the thoughtful construction by Wills and the relating of the choreography to the title: can you guess how it ends?
Choreographers need to make clever music choices; if piece after piece uses similar string-based music in the Max Richter style, we in the audience can start to long for something more interesting. Here, along came four dancers from the National Theatre of Brno with Act Naturally, danced (with tremendous enthusiasm and energy) to enjoyable and richly textured music by the Penguin Café Orchestra. With a feeling of folk and character dancing and some mildly comedic elements, this clearly showed the efforts we all make to fit in by “acting naturally,” and was highly engaging.
Semperoper Dresden’s offering, a pas de deux choreographed by Olmo Verbeek Martínez and danced by him with Anri Sugiura, led us back down the “samey” road musically, but was exceptionally well danced with lustrous artistry, and there were some intriguing choreographic moments too.
Joseph Toonga’s New Work for Olivia Findlay and Nadia Mullova-Barley of The Royal Ballet was, again, very well danced, and was followed by an appearance by former Royal Ballet dancer and ex-Mariinsky principal Xander Parish, back on his home turf to dance Andromidae with Eugenie Skilnand. Choreographed by Lucas Lima of Norwegian National Ballet, this had some interestingly complicated partnering, managed skilfully as always by Parish. Igor Vieira’s arrangement of Barber’s Adagio for Strings was strange but easy on the ear.
Birmingham Royal Ballet was represented by Jack Easton, Rosanna Ely, Tom Hazelby and Tessa Hogge dancing Tetra by company principal Lachan Monahan, who clearly has considerable choreographic talent. The piece was immaculately rehearsed, as it needed to be due to close-quarter contact among the dancers; there might be collisions were all concerned not so skilled. All four dancers thrilled with their technique and charisma; I particularly liked Easton and Hazelby – names to watch.
Florent Melac of Paris Opera danced his Moonlight (to Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata) with Clémence Gross. There was a colour-washed backdrop that morphed through the spectrum, and the piece was well-constructed and well-danced. Liminal Goodbye, by Scottish Ballet’s Madeline Squire, had an intriguing concept examining the ways we can support each other in grief.
The programme closed with perhaps the most exciting piece, Matthew Ball’s To & Fro, which he danced with Mayara Magri. These two Royal Ballet principals shine in everything they do; both are passionate about the art form and dance with total commitment and immersion in whatever role they undertake. Here, challenging choreography, a great music choice (Resphigi’s Nottorno) and charismatic artistry combined to illuminate significant promise for Ball as a choreographer. But don’t stop dancing too soon, Matthew, please!
