Ballet Nights – Opera House

Ballet Nights’ first regional tour arrives in Manchester with a programme that celebrates the breadth of dance today, blending styles and artistic voices into an evening that feels both polished and joyfully eclectic.

The format – a sequence of short works introduced by founder and artistic director Jamiel Devernay-Laurence – creates a lively atmosphere, allowing audiences to experience an impressive range of talent, from internationally celebrated performers to students making their stage debut.

The programme offers a fabulous mix of traditional ballet, contemporary dance and tap, interwoven with pockets of live music that keep the evening feeling fluid and intimate. One highlight is the chance to relive the showcase dance “I Married Myself” from the Netflix series Étoile, danced by Constance Devernay-Laurence, who was the dance double for lead character, Lou De Laâge. Seeing it performed live and unedited is a genuine treat, the choreography brimming with personality and theatrical flair that translates beautifully from screen to stage.

Django Bates-Blower’s experience working with (LA)Horde is evident in the striking choreography of Atlas, co-choreographed by Crysanthi Nicolaou and danced tonight by fellow Rambert students, James Reid and Vittoria Pennacchini. The piece is full of bold, raw energy.

Lighting plays an essential role here and throughout the evening, repeatedly reshaping the otherwise bare stage and evoking passion, tension and playfulness in turn. Nowhere is this more effective than in Splice, by Ekleido, where spaces are created that constantly push the dancers apart and then together with precision.

Denys Cherevychko proves a double delight. He sends the audience into the interval on a buoyant high with a joyful rendition of Les Bourgeois, brimming with charisma and wit. In the second half he returns with a more introspective tone for the premiere of Renato Zanella’s Kintsugi – an exclusive for Manchester- delivering a performance full of warmth and emotional resonance.

Another standout comes from Guy Salim, formerly of Stomp, whose piece Temperature becomes one of the evening’s showstoppers. More than simply a feat of tap dancing, Salim transforms rhythm into music itself, modulating sound through the precision and dynamics of his footwork.

Elsewhere, Blacbrik’s Death of the Bachelors offers brilliant storytelling, its theatricality and movement detail making it a real pleasure to watch. On this evidence, their upcoming show The Brown Suite, featuring the music of the ‘Godfather of Soul’, James Brown, is certainly one to look out for.

Meanwhile, in another Manchester exclusive, the Don Quixote suite performed by Riku Ito and Miki Mizutani provides a beautiful reminder of classical ballet tradition, danced with the clarity and sparkle associated with Birmingham Royal Ballet’s style.

Devernay-Laurence himself is a charming host, good-humouredly accepting the heckling he receives after mispronouncing the Greater Manchester town of Tyldesley, whist celebrating the local talent involved in the show. This is reinforced by the inclusion of Northern Ballet School students, who more than hold their own alongside the world-famous professionals.

This celebration of diverse home-grown and international talent is a fitting symbol of Ballet Nights’ mission to bring generations and styles of dance together and the final result is a feast for dance lovers.

The Ballet Nights tour continues in Brighton and Richmond-Upon-Thames. For more information visit www.balletnights.com. For What’s On at the Manchester Opera House, visit www.atgtickets.com/venues/opera-house-manchester

Reviewer: Lou Steggals

Reviewed: 11th March 2026

North West End UK Rating: