Next Generation Festival: Royal Ballet School in fine form

With school performances, programme curation is key. Choose pieces that are too difficult and your students will find the work an endurance test; go for easy work and they won’t get the chance to show what they can really do. This year The Royal Ballet School, performing in the Linbury Theatre as part of the Next Generation Festival, included some pieces that fitted into both the above categories, alongside others that allowed the young dancers to shine. It must be said that the Linbury, excellent space that it is, is unforgiving for classical ballet; we in the audience are close enough to observe every tiny misplacement or wobble, and the stage is noisy for pointe shoes. The performance on the main stage will be more advantageous to the students.

The performance opened with excerpts from Paquita, an excellent choice for showcasing (particularly) female dancers as there are quartets, duets and several solos. The corps work is challenging but not beyond the capabilities of students of this calibre, and the choreography is lively and engaging. The piece had been very well rehearsed; more pliable footwork and extra attention to turnout will eventually become second nature, but there were variations in interpretation of épaulement, and this needs work as a group. 

The central couple, Aurora Chinchilla and Ravi Cannonier-Watson, did very well: she is strong with clean lines, he is a skilful partner and has a very charming stage presence. These qualities, along with the technical security he showed later in the programme, will stand him in good stead over a long career if he chooses that path. Among the solos, two dancers stood out for their innate style and finesse. 

Emile Gooding impressed at last year’s student showing, and he has developed still more since then. He has a wonderful ballon in both petit and grand allegro, his lines are pure, his ports de bras lyrical and fluid, his turns speedy and controlled. Most impressive of all is the sheer joy he brings to his dancing. Every movement is thoughtfully presented with the seamless co-ordination that one expects from a principal dancer of extensive experience rather than a teenager. Can he partner? I don’t know, but if he can there’ll be no stopping him. The other delightful solo came from Rebecca Stewart, who also dances with mature refinement, finessing her work with charm and innate musicality. Watch out for her too. 

I enjoyed excerpts from Didi Veldman’s TooT. 20 dancers in clown face are herded around the stage by a Leader barking orders through a megaphone, and there’s a lovely duet where the girl wears a harness of bright red balloons. This was perfect for the White Lodge top years and first year Upper School, and they made the most of every quirky step. I also enjoyed Gemma Bond’s Assemblage, for the Upper School boys. There was an array of potential on show here, including, I predict, several of our future favourites. Bond always produces intriguing choreography. Joshua Junker’s Remembrance was good too. I was less enamoured with Ashley Page’s Fieldwork, perfectly serviceable but not designed to illuminate the talents of the dancers.

Frederick Ashton’s gorgeous Rhapsody is a piece that demands not only exceptional technical standards but also performances of great character and charisma to bring out the wit and elegance of the Ashtonian flourishes atop the classical technique. The pas de deux doesn’t really work to best advantage as a stand alone piece; here it was well danced by Tianie Finn-Grainger and Jules Chastre, but the stylish embellishments were underplayed. The Carries and Mistake Waltz from The Concert also slightly missed the mark. Again, plenty of good dancing but it takes experience and confidence to make this laugh-out-loud-funny, as it should be. 

I was very impressed indeed with Apnea, choreographed by Upper School second year Pietro Zironi. He had clearly been watching a lot of Balanchine videos when forming his ideas for the piece, but one could do a great deal worse than look to Mr. B for inspiration. I was delighted to see complexity of step combinations as well as intricate lifts, all performed immaculately by Zironi himself and nine fellow second years.

Best of all, and perfectly appropriate for this kind of showcase, was Helgi Tomasson’s Concerto Grosso, always the hit of a San Francisco Ballet mixed bill. Made for five men, it was danced here to top-class professional standards, and gave each young man the opportunity to display his skills. Gooding again performed as a finished dancer; I hope his path to the top will be steady and sure, as there are many ballets in which I would like to see him in leading roles. Alongside him, Ravi Cannonier-Watson, Joseph Birtles Clarke, Edoardo  Savini and Taira Watanabe were all excellent. With this selection to choose from, the future of men in ballet looks exciting indeed.