The Royal Ballet Archives - North West End UK

16Sep

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

NEWS

The Royal Ballet gets Doncaster Dancing

This summer The Royal Ballet, in partnership with Cast and Doncaster Council, set themselves a mission to get Doncaster Dancing. The special project, a first for The Royal Ballet, has resulted in a unique community dance film called Doncaster Dances. The film premiered online on 15th September at 5.30pm on the Royal Opera House, Cast and Doncaster Council websites. The film celebrates individuals and community groups and is inspired by the choreography of Kenneth MacMillan’s ballet Romeo and Juliet, with synchronicity to today’s lockdown themes of love and separation, family, friendship and solidarity. The film also features Doncaster local and Royal Ballet dancer Charlotte Tonkinson and fellow Royal Ballet dancer Joseph Aumeer. Doncaster residents, primary schools, sports clubs, car...

12Jul

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

London

Romeo and Juliet – The Royal Ballet

I have a confession to make. Before today I had never watched a ballet in full. Sure, I had seen clips, and as a dancer myself (although clearly not a classical one) I’ve seen many contemporary productions, but never a ballet. Such is the benefit of companies such as The Royal Opera House streaming past productions online – you can give yourself new experiences from the comfort of your own home. Despite me knowing nothing about ballet, I am however much more experienced in the works of the Bard and have played Juliet myself on several occasions. For this reason, I found the story very easy to follow, and could clearly identify who each of the characters were. As in many of Shakespeare’s plays, the female characters are few and far between, but in this production the women were given mor...

Woolf Works – The Royal Ballet at Royal Opera House

27Jun

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

London

Woolf Works – The Royal Ballet at Royal Opera House

Wayne McGregor’s ballet triptych created in 2015 is inspired by the writings of Virginia Woolf and contains an original score by Max Richter – superbly performed by the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House conducted by Koen Kessels – with astounding lighting schemes from Lucy Carter and stunning set designs throughout. Woolf Works recreates the emotions, themes, and fluid style of three of Woolf’s novels beginning with ‘I Now, I Then’ inspired by Mrs Dalloway (1925); then ‘Becomings’ derived from Orlando (1928); concluding with ‘Tuesday’, which draws on The Waves (1931). The three pieces stand alone as distinctly as the works that inspire them although there is a chronology with underlying threads that seamlessly bring them together, most notably the central performance from 52-year old b...

La Fille mal gardée – The Royal Ballet at Royal Opera House

13Jun

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

London

La Fille mal gardée – The Royal Ballet at Royal Opera House

Based on a 1789 French ballet originally created by Jean Dauberval, Frederick Ashton’s final full-length ballet for The Royal Ballet premiered in 1960, with this joyous and colourful affair a fiftieth revival from 2010. Inspired by his love for the Suffolk countryside, the piece is set on a farm and tells the story of the burgeoning love between Lise (Marianela Nuñez), the daughter of Widow Simon (William Tuckett), and Colas (Carlos Acosta), a local farmer. But Widow Simone has far more ambitious plans for her only daughter and is determined that she marry Alain (Jonathan Howell), the half-witted son of a wealthy landowner (Christopher Saunders). The only question is, will love win the day? The ballet displays some of Ashton’s most virtuoso choreography in a ballet laced with exuberance...