Choreographers: Peter Schaufuss, Morgann Runacre-Temple, Andrew McNicol, Monique Jonas and George Balanchine
Artistic Director: Viviana Durante
Celebrating 35 years of the English National Ballet School, a series of events begins at the Peacock Theatre with the 2023 Summer Performances, part showcase for the stars of the future, of which undoubtedly there are some among the performers, and a farewell/graduation event for the third-year students performing with the school for the final time before launching their professional careers. In a programme curated by Artistic Director Viviana Durante, this five-dance event combines classical pieces and contemporary commissions that stretch the young dancers and highlights the varied skills of the school.
The evening begins with a tribute piece choreographed by Peter Schaufuss and inspired by August Bournonville and Marilyn Vella-Gatt. La Sylphide, Schaufuss explains in his brief opening speech, is the reason English National Ballet School exists and this beautiful classical dance has a lightness and pastoral romance that captivates this Peacock Theatre audience from the moment it begins. Dramatising a love story between the principal sylph, beautifully danced by Florence Lane, and James, a young Scotsman in swirling kilt (Gabriel Pimparel), the more than 20-strong company provide a gorgeous combination of solos, trios and full cast arrangements that is filled with a serene and elegant beauty.
The second performance is a new work based around the answering of a telephone and the transitions of feeling that anticipating and receiving a call brings, expressed in waves through changing groups of dancers. Sound and Vision by Morgann Runacre-Temple uses music by David Bowie and Mika Karlsson to capture the changing emotional experience of the dancers as conflict, melancholy and jauntier moods pass across the stage. Using ballet as a base this 15-minute work is a contemporary, stylised dance in loose fitting costume that has a posing, self-awareness in the movement, consciously thinking about the effect it is creating.
One of the most exciting presentations of the night is Andrew McNichol’s Of Space and Time, a performance that reflects the changing experience of male dancers in ballet during the last three decades. No longer only on lifting and presentation duties, the inclusion of an all-male piece is really exciting and McNicol’s fast-paced choreography is a springy but elegant experience filled with leaps, spins and complex rhythms as the 12 dancers create three entertaining movements, a piece that proves the high point of the night.
Monique Jonas presents a strong vision in Flock, an atmospheric group number that relies on tight syncopation and management of the beat. In the darkest vision of the evening, there is something tribal and ritualistic about the movements that seem to emanate from flexed shoulders and knees to create a grounded intensity. It ends abruptly as the stage is cleared of all but two dancers but there is plenty of development potential in Jonas’ more contemporary approach.
The evening ends with a revival of George Balanchine’s Who Cares? staged by Deborah Wingert and using music by Gershwin including I Got Rhythm currently wowing audiences over the road in Crazy for You. Emulating the carefree dance styles of Technicolor musicals – which are often based on jazz ballet – some of the sections are over-choreographed which makes it look a little scrappy, but the charm of the three groups of performers proves a rousing end to the opening celebration of the English National Ballet School’s 35th year.
Runs until 9 July 2023
