London City Ballet at the Linbury: joy and sorrow at its best

Joseph Taylor in Alexei Ratmansky's Pictures at an Exhibition

Alejandro Virelles and London City Ballet in Jerome Robbins’ Quiet City

Alejandro Virelles and Arthur Wille in Jerome Robbins’ Quiet City

Sahel Flora Pascual and London City Ballet in Tasha Chu's Soon

Sahel Flora Pascual and Siméon Sorange Félicité in Tasha Chu's Soon

Dancers from London City Ballet in Alexei Ratmansky's Pictures in an Exhibition

By Deborah Weiss, 20 November 2025

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“Page’s intricate and taxing choreography did not faze any one of the ten member cast”

Reviewed at Royal Opera House: Linbury Theatre, London on 19 November 2025

Quiet City (Jerome Robbins)

Larina Waltz (Ashley Page)

Pictures at an Exhibition (Alexei Ratmansky)

Soon (Tasha Chu)

London City Ballet

Reina Okada, Piano

Good vibrations: Robbins, Balanchine and Bach at New York City Ballet

Carla Escoda, 13th May

Concerto Barocco and The Goldberg Variations make an unbeatable, timeless pairing at New York City Ballet.

*****

Tiler Peck’s Symphonie Espagnole for NYCB is sprawling and ambitious

Ivy Lin, 9th May

A triple bill including Tiler Peck’s newest ballet for NYCB, does not entirely work. Too much blue light and sadness for one program.

***11

Understatement and spectacle at New York City Ballet

Carla Escoda, 26th February

Jerome Robbins' Dances at a Gathering and George Balanchine's Diamonds make a study in contrasts. With lots of debuts in the former and seasoned leads in the latter.

*****

Irresistible: Justin Peck’s The Wind-Up premieres at NYCB

Carla Escoda, 29th January

Never has Justin Peck seemed more compositionally assured, and paradoxically freer, than in his latest ballet, breaking the mold of past work that mostly celebrated the camaraderie of his generation.

****1

Dutch National Ballet's opener in New York: meandering and unfocused

Ivy Lin, 20th November

Dutch National Ballet returning to New York after more than 40 years should have been thrilling. The opening program, whilst beautifully danced, was somewhat muted.

***11

The Australian Ballet in Melbourne: three prismatic worlds

Ruth Ridgway, 4th October

In its triple bill Prism, The Australian Ballet gives the audience three different dance and sound worlds as well as showcasing fleet, athletic and precise dancing.

****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.