The much-awaited Autumn season at Scottish Ballet opens with two stunning contemporary pieces: one, Emergence from one of the world’s most in-demand choreographers Canada’s Crystal Pite, the other, Entress, a world premiere, from an equally in-demand talent, British choreographer, creative director, and dance artist Julia Cheng, known for her boundary-crossing work across dance, theatre, opera, musical theatre and founder and creative director of House of Absolute.
Emergence, created by Pite for the National Ballet of Canada in 2009, and last seen in Glasgow in 2016, utilises swarm intelligence research and bee colony behaviour and “explores the tension between our craving for individual agency and our deep need for collective belonging.”
To Owen Belton’s atmospheric score, and against the nest-like set design of Jay Gower Taylor, the entire corps de ballet, at times solo, in duos, trios, quartets, sextets and more, explore the concept of swarm intelligence – the movements: ritualistic, mesmerising, insect-like, build to a stunning climax where the entire company dance onstage together. It is in this moment the whole company shines. It is a disciplined display that beautifully marries classical and contemporary technique.
There are stylistic parallels between the two pieces, but Cheng’s work Entress, stands firmly on its own two feet beside Pite’s, in fact, it lingers longer in the memory. Cheng is renowned for her striking physical language and her ability to marry movement to music. The movement here is sculptural, cinematic, and clearly comes from the mind of a theatrical innovator, the thought given to the staging and the overall placement and patterns of movement, truly delivers for the audience.
It is an evening of firsts, both Pite’s and Cheng’s first works for a classical ballet company, one now at the height of their career, the other destined to become a choreographic great. The audience is blessed indeed to see two such stunning works of the highest calibre in one evening.
Runs until 12 September 2026 then touring | Image: Andy Ross
