{"id":53249,"date":"2021-05-30T09:27:40","date_gmt":"2021-05-30T09:27:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.danceforyou-magazine.com\/?p=53249"},"modified":"2026-04-16T07:29:05","modified_gmt":"2026-04-16T07:29:05","slug":"the-royal-ballet-21st-century-choreographers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.danceforyou-magazine.com\/en\/the-royal-ballet-21st-century-choreographers\/","title":{"rendered":"The Royal Ballet, 21st-Century Choreographers"},"content":{"rendered":"

As I settle in to my second visit to the Royal Opera House, with a slightly less vocal audience than on the opening night, there was a palpable sense of relief that we were physically present, in a socially distanced auditorium and happily watching an alternative cast. It was a real eye-opener. Kevin O\u2019Hare continues on his mission to show us that The Royal Ballet is saturated with talent throughout the ranks, offering opportunities to the youngest and newest Company members. It was probably necessary to programme this quadruple bill in a particular order to accommodate technical or scene changes, especially as the final ballet required a deluge of snowflakes as a constant, falling from the flies (the crew have to abide by COVID rules too). However, it might have been preferable to end with the radiance of Christopher Wheeldon\u2019s Within the Golden Hour<\/em>, full of charm and meticulously crafted choreography.\u00a0 Instead, in spite of wonderful dancing and choreography throughout, the mood seemed to darken as the evening progressed.\u00a0 This is not a reflection of the quality of work, but more to do with the ongoing struggle to identify who was who, on an increasingly dimly lit stage.<\/p>\n

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Yasmine Naghdi and Ryoichi Hirano and Artists of the Royal Ballet in “Within the Golden Hour”, The Royal Ballet \u00a92021 ROH. Photo Bill Cooper<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Wheeldon\u2019s Golden Hour <\/em>descends upon us like a warm summer\u2019s evening, so musically rewarding (Ezio Bosso), with sheer, shimmering costumes (Jasper Conran) and Peter Mumford\u2019s glorious lighting design.\u00a0 The uplifting mood, steps sitting so comfortably within the intricacies of the choreography, which segues seamlessly from one part to the next, makes for gratifying viewing. This is one of the most aesthetically pleasing creations, certainly a favourite of mine and as danced by both casts that I saw, showcases the purity of the style so often associated with The Royal Ballet. It\u2019s impossible not to anticipate with glee, the duet performed by two men requiring exceptional speed, and on both occasions Leo Dixon and David Yudes, then Francisco Serrano and Aiden O\u2019Brien proved worthy exponents, though another cast, T\u00e9o Dubreuil and David Donnelly have yet to be eclipsed. The pas de deux throughout were exemplary and I particularly liked the pairing of newly promoted principal Anna Rose O\u2019Sullivan with Vadim Muntagirov on the first night.<\/p>\n

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Stanis\u0142aw W\u0119grzyn and Natalia Osipova in the new work by Kyle Abraham, The Royal Ballet \u00a9 ROH Bill Cooper<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n