Oeuvre: 'Still Life' at the Penguin Café

National Ballet of Japan successfully performs two very different pieces, George Balanchine's Theme and Variations and David Bintley's Still Life at the Penguin Café, amid the ongoing COVID-19 crisis.  

New Year Ballet displayed the versatility of the National Ballet of Japan, from the 19th-century classic Paquita, to three works by Japanese choreographers and David Bintley's “Still Life” at the Penguin Café.

It starts like a scene from Mary Poppins, with penguin waiters nimbly weaving between waltzing couples, but ends with a deft blow to the stomach to deliver its environmental message.