This is the perfect time of year to take in some ballet around the UK. Below is our pick of performances to watch out for this season – call us to book tickets to any of these or discuss other productions, dates and venues.
A Streetcar Named Desire
Scottish Ballet
Various venues including Edinburgh, Glasgow, London and Belfast
11 April to 19 May 2012
Celebrating the 65th year of Tennessee Williams’ Pulitzer Prize-winning play, Scottish Ballet have produced a powerful fusion of drama and dance. Set in the stifling heat of a New Orleans apartment, the play follows the destructive relationship of fading southern belle Blanche DuBois and her sister’s brutish husband, Stanley. Direction and movement is a collaborative effort from film director Nancy Meckler and internationally renowned choreographer Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, while Peter Salem has composed the fluid, jazz-inspired score. Free pre-show talks with the cast and creative team are taking place at each venue – call a lifestyle manager for reservations.
Swan Lake
English National Ballet
3 to 11 August 2012
The London Coliseum, 33-25 St Martin’s Lane, London WC2N 4ES
Last year, every date of Derek Deane’s highly impressive production sold out, and tickets are expected to do so again this summer. His choreography creates a spectacle on a massive scale, with up to 50 members of the troupe on stage during the many ensemble sequences. This makes the longer scenes hypnotically beautiful to watch, especially as the dancers’ timing is faultless. Lead roles are still to be confirmed, but, following the critical praise he received in 2011, chances are high that Russian-trained Vadim Muntagirov will return as Siegfried.
Beauty and the Beast
Northern Ballet
Various venues
15 March to 10 November 2012
Beauty and the Beast will be a familiar story to most people, so it’s refreshing to see that artistic director David Nixon has put a stylish twist on his production to distinguish it from other companies’ interpretations. The haute-couture costumes glimmer against the enormous sets designed by Duncan Hayler, and Nixon’s choreography is as imaginative as ever – particularly in the dream sequence when Beauty and the Prince dance a moving love duet. To top it off, the Northern Ballet Sinfonia plays the lively score with confidence, making this one of the company’s most critically-acclaimed productions of recent years.
Spring Passions
Birmingham Royal Ballet
29 February to 3 March 2012
The Birmingham Hippodrome, Hurst Street, Birmingham B5 4TB
The Midlands hub is a hotbed of dancing talent, with the Elmhurst ballet school feeding its best students into the BRB on an annual basis. This season the company have programmed a double bill to showcase their skills. Daphnis and Chloë and The Two Pigeons are both stories of young love pushed to its limits and Frederick Ashton’s original choreography is accompanied by two powerful scores performed by a full orchestra. The production moves to the London Coliseum between 13 and 14 March, before the company perform three short works at the International Dance Festival in Birmingham in May. Call a lifestyle manager for more details.
Pictured: Elisha Willis as Chloë and Iain Mackay as Daphnis in Daphnis and Chloë (photo Bill Cooper)
La Fille mal gardée
The Royal Ballet
20 April to 16 May 2012
The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London WC2E 9DD
La Fille mal gardée is a fast-paced love story that follows Lise and Colas as they arrange their secret liaisons under the nose of Lise’s protective mother. The cast is still to be confirmed but rumours are spreading that Carlos Acosta may take a leading role, in which case the remaining tickets will sell out very quickly, so call a lifestyle manager to reserve yours.
Pictured above: Marianela Nunez as Lise and Carlos Acosta as Colas in La Fille mal gardée (photo Bill Cooper)
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
The Royal Ballet
17 to 29 March 2012
The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London WC2E 9DD
Tickets have already sold out for the Royal Ballet’s first revival of Christopher Wheeldon’s spectacular adaptation of Lewis Carroll’s adventurous tale; however, we have a number of tickets available for our members – call us to reserve yours today.
