Ballet Nights 011 – Convergence a winning formula at Cadogan Hall

Hannah Carter and Lucius Kirst of Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre in Ben Stevenson's Three Preludes

Germain Zambi in Frame for Ballet Nights

B.Dance in Floating Flowers

Alina Cojocaru and Denys Cherevychko in Balanchine's Daimonds

Denys Cherevychko in Ben Van Cauwenburgh's Les Bourgeois

Hannah Carter and Lucius Kirst of Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre in Trey McIntyre’s Nutcracker

By Deborah Weiss, 30 April 2026

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“couldn’t have been more eloquently portrayed than by Fabian Reimair, Martinho Santos, Swanice Luong”

Reviewed at Cadogan Hall, London on 29 April 2026

Mixed Programme

Ballet Nights

Quartet Concrete

Alina Cojocaru, Dancer

Denys Cherevychko, Dancer

Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre

Samara Downs, Dancer

Ixan Llorca Ferrer, Dancer

Germain Zambi, Dancer

Rentaro Nakaaki, Dancer

English National Ballet School

Viktor Erik Emanuel, Piano

Hannah Carter, Dancer

Lucius Kirst, Dancer

Mira Nadon’s sparkling debut in Firebird with New York City Ballet

Ivy Lin, 25th April

A triple bill comprising Balanchine's Symphony in C, Agon and Firebird could not have been more inspiringly danced by New York City Ballet.

*****

National Ballet of Japan’s Raymonda is a feast of excellent dancing

Naomi Mori, 25th April

National Ballet of Japan’s Raymonda is a gem in the repertoire, despite shortcomings in the plot. Lavish production designs, stunning classical choreography and excellent dancers makes this a ballet lover's heaven.

*****

The Australian Ballet does Romeo and Juliet: precision over passion

Katie Lawrence, 24th April

This revival of Romeo and Juliet combines vivid staging and technical leads, but the lover's careful partnership lacks the volatility that makes young love convincing and tragedy believable.

***11

Acosta's Don Quixote for BRB: polished but not quite enough panache

Jonathan Gray, 23rd April

Carlos Acosta's Don Quixote for Birmingham Royal Ballet returned to Sadler's Wells with polished but low-key interpretations across the board.

***11

The Royal Ballet and McGregor: stunning dancing but nothing really new

Deborah Weiss, 18th April

An evening of ballets by Wayne McGregor, including the world premiere of Quantum Souls, proved to be a little too much of the same thing.

***11

The Center Will Not Hold: Dorrance Dance thrills at Sadler’s Wells

Daniel Pratt, 17th April

Dorrance Dance offer a compelling mix of genres in The Center Will Not Hold – high energy, full of surprises, top quality performances.

****1

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Deborah Weiss

Deb joined Bachtrack in 2022 and commissions reviews and writing on ballet and dance. She was Royal Ballet School-trained and is a former principal dancer for companies including London Festival Ballet (now English National Ballet) and Bayerisches Staatsballett. She has been writing for more than 30 years – publications have included Dancing Times, DanceTabs, Dance for You and Dance Europe. She also interviews for Voices of British Ballet, an oral archive of people who have worked in the industry in the UK. In addition to her writing, since 2016 she has been facilitating programmes that support victims of domestic abuse. Deb is passionate about her rescue dog, Bruce, and daughters (not in that order), swims a mile at least five days a week and is an avid reader.