Ashton Celebrated in luscious style by The Royal Ballet

Harrison Lee, Isabella Gasparini and Leo Dixon in Les Rendezvous

Reece Clarke and Marianela Nuñez in Les Rendezvous

Francesca Hayward as Titania and Marcelino Sambé as Oberon in The Dream

Marcelino Sambé as Oberon and Daichi Ikarashi as Puck in The Dream

Anna Rose O'Sullivan and Taisuke Nakao in Rhapsody

Artists of The Royal Ballet and Anna Rose O'Sullivan in Rhapsody

By Amanda Jennings, 07 June 2024

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“More debuts in Rhapsody, with its crystalline speed and lung-busting sequences of jumps”

Reviewed at Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London on 6 June 2024

Les Rendezvous (Sir Frederick Ashton)

The Dream (Sir Frederick Ashton)

Rhapsody (Sir Frederick Ashton)

The Royal Ballet

Orchestra of the Royal Opera House Covent Garden

Marianela Núñez, Dancer

Reece Clarke, Dancer

Francesca Hayward, Dancer

Marcelino Sambé, Dancer

Anna Rose O'Sullivan, Dancer

Taisuke Nakao, Dancer

Robert Clark, Piano

ABT presents the classics with slightly uneven results

Ivy Lin, 25th October

ABT offer some outstanding performances in a classical quadruple bill but there was a lack of confidence and uniformity within the corps de ballet.

***11

National Ballet of Japan revives Ashton's beloved Cinderella

Naomi Mori, 18th October

The National Ballet of Japan gave an excellent rendition of Sir Frederick Ashton's Cinderella, in spite of many new faces and role debuts.

****1

Ashton’s La Fille mal gardée: the most joyous of ballets

Amanda Jennings, 18th October

If you’re in need of a pick-me-up, get thee to the Royal Opera House and see La Fille mal gardée, a gem of a ballet. There’s a long roster of impressive casts to choose from.

****1

The Royal Ballet School: a triumphant display of excellence throughout

Jonathan Gray, 12th July

It was a wonderful, heartening afternoon – it’s no wonder nearly all the 2025 graduates have gained contracts with several major ballet companies.

*****

ABT: Ashton's Sylvia showcases the entire company

Ivy Lin, 10th July

The audience walked out of the theater feeling airborne and filled with the kind of joy you only feel after a truly special performance. Sylvia is an absolute treasure.

*****

Ballet Central at the Linbury: keen to prove its versatility

Deborah Weiss, 17th June

Ballet Central provides an extremely varied programme of new and old, classical and contemporary dance, with plenty of aplomb.

***11

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Amanda Jennings

Amanda wrote for Dance Europe for twelve years and has also written for Dance Australia and Dance International. She trained at Arts Educational and with David Howard, Melissa Hayden, Patricia Wilde and Valentina Pereyaslavec in New York. She danced for two years with New Jersey Ballet, and in the UK with Vienna Festival Ballet and Vyvyan Lorrayne’s London’s Imperial Ballet. Her freelance career included work with the Royal Opera, ENO, film, television and modelling. She was in the original cast of On Your Toes with Natalia Makarova. Amanda also taught extensively and holds the diploma of the PDTC at the RAD with Distinction.