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Ballet isn’t always pretty, there are plenty of examples in repertoires across the world. John Neumeier’s Streetcar Named Desire (Endstation Sehnsucht) is to reach another level of grim but gripping brutality told through dance.

Ballett am Rhein open their season by bringing their programme to Düsseldorf, Soirée Ravel. Marking the 150th birthday of composer Maurice Ravel, audiences are treated to four of his most famous compositions.

“Russ” translates as “soot”, the title of Bridget Breiner’s retelling of Cinderella. However it’s the role of Livia, the rather spirited Stepsister who must navigate the family trauma. 

After a more traditional direction from the new leadership of Ballett am Rhein in their season opener, new programme Kaleidoskop is a mixed selection that sees a fusion of contemporary and neoclassical choreography. 

It’s all change at the Ballett am Rhein with new Chief Choreographer, Bridget Breiner, and Ballet Director, Raphaël Coumes-Marquet taking over from Demis Volpi for the 24/25 season.

As we reached the end of season gala, Ballett am Rhein offered up a selection of highlights from the past four seasons in celebration of outgoing Artistic Director, Demis Volpi.

The appetite for all things true crime is not a new trend. Podcasts, YouTubers, influencers and documentaries, this obsession has held a captive audience for well over a decade now.

Dominique Dumais ultimately seeks to address how humans long for contact and closeness, and explore the different meanings there can be behind a kiss.

There are many ways to tell the story of Giselle, and Demis Volpi’s version for Ballett am Rhein offers up more than the odd surprise.

Programming three choreographers who are always box office favourites is as sure fire a hit for Ballett am Rhein who debut this neoclassical triple bill featuring a selection of successes. 

The programme’s middle work sees a detour from Stravinsky, to the music of Richard Strauss, lending itself to more lyrical work and some respite from the drama it's sandwiched between.

What's a director to do while we wait for technology to catch up with the complexities of the human condition?

Bleak adaptations of ballet classics are somewhat of a ballet trend at present, with Matthew Bourne’s gothic Sleeping Beauty playing to sell out audiences over Christmas 

Ballett am Rhein's reputation continues to grow under Demis Volpi with a restaging of Aszure Barton's 2006 creation for Mikhail Baryshnikov during her residency for his Hell’s Kitchen Dance. 

An intimate and revealing dance experience on film from Demis Volpi and Ballett am Rhein. 

A revival of Stefan Herheim's production of Handel's Xerxes in Düsseldorf makes for a rip-roaring evening of theatrical comedy.

Baritone Kay Stiefermann steals hearts at the eponymous Count of Luxembourg, in an operetta so charming that neither musical missteps nor a mixed-up staging can sink it.

Stefan Herheim's eagerly awaited production of Berg's Wozzeck distances us from the emotional heart of the tragedy by portraying the story as a hallucinatory death-room experience.

Animated characters are the real stars of an imaginative production of The Magic Flute. 

A well-sung revival of a witty and supremely theatrical production of Strauss’ operatic exposé.

A musically classy, rip-roaring staging of Der Graf von Luxemburg - a seasonal treat at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein.

A fascinating, psychologically penetrating reading of Verdi’s penultimate opera, performed to the highest standards, promises much for the new season at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein. 

Dmitry Bertman's simple, stylish production of Rimsky-Korsakov's final opera finds a more recent satirical target. 

Hitchcock's Spellbound meets One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest in Deutsche Oper am Rhein's retelling of Prokofiev's tale of obsession and demonic possesion.

Elisabeth Stöppler inszeniert Tschaikowsky-Rarität als Charakterstudie statt Kriegstableau.

Die Deutsche Oper am Rhein inszeniert ein wichtiges Werk des in der NS-Zeit verfolgten Künstlers Viktor Ullmann.