As an avid ballet fan, when you go to see a Birmingham Royal Ballet Triple Bill, you know you’re in for an amazing evening of the most phenomenal dancing.
The Apollo|Interlinked|’Still Life’ at the Penguin Café is a wonderful example of this. Three astounding ballets telling their stories through expressive choreography, elegant movements from the dancers, and enchanting music from the Royal Ballet Sinfonia.
Birmingham Royal Ballet’s latest production at the Birmingham Hippodrome (8th – 10th June 2023) offers audiences the chance to witness the magic of ballet through three contrasting works.
George Balanchine’s 1928 masterpiece Apollo is the first of these works that we see. A piece that Director, Carlos Acosta CBE, has danced many times before, himself. A powerful piece that gives Brandon Lawrence, a superb spotlight as he dances his last shows for BRB. Brandon’s movements fluid and balletic, performing challenging pirouettes with precision that showcased his incredible athleticism.
Céline Gittens dances the role of Terpsichore with her usual perfection. Graceful, elegant, with light and fluid movements – making ballet look so easy. So incredibly talented. Céline embodies the classical ideals of ballet, with precise and intricate footwork and beautiful port de bras.
It is quite obviously a demanding dance role to perform, with a number of solos, duets, and ensemble dances with the other muses, Calliope (Lucy Waine), Polyhymnia (Amelia Thompson) Handmaidens (Rosanna Ely and Rachele Pizzillio) and Leto (Daria Stanciulescu) and yet Céline manages to make it look so effortless. A talented ballet dancer that manages to wow, dance after dance.
Balanchine’s choreography, Stravinsky’s haunting score and the graceful movements of Birmingham Royal Ballet’s dancers, bring Apollo to life.
Following on from Apollo is my favourite of the evening, Juliano Nunes’s Interlinked, a breathtaking and visually striking ballet performed by 17 talented dancers, including personal favourites Principal Tzu-Chao Chou and First Soloist Beatrice Parma. Interlinked is a contemporary piece, “initially inspired by the Commonwealth’s core values and beliefs including inspiration, tolerance and respect…” and commissioned as part of Birmingham 2022 Festival. The ballet is an example of how as people, we influence one another, bouncing our energy around.
The opening scene is absolutely breathtaking. Magical. Highlighting the dancers’ strength, ability to be in sync with one another, forming intricate patterns with flowing arms and dreamy footwork. There’s even a touch of Giselle in the ballet with the long flowing skirts worn by all.
With an epic original score by Marcos Balter, Interlinked is a captivating ballet, suitable for all ages and backgrounds, with a message for all.
The final piece was David Bintley’s ‘Still Life’ at the Penguin Café. First created in 1988, this ballet has stood the test of time and I think could possibly be even more relevant today than it was then. The ballet manages to portray issues such as global warming, hunting, and the impact humans have on the natural world.
The dancers wearing the most superb costumes (I do wonder if they could see where they were going with some of the masks worn), managed to bring to life a range of animals.
We saw the extinct Great Auk (Reina Fuchigami), the Utah Longhorn Ram (Samara Downs with Lachlan Monaghan), the Texas Kangaroo Rat (Tzu-Chao Chou), Humboldt’s Hog-nosed Skunk Flea (Karla Doorbar with Gabriel Anderson, Ryan Felix, Haoliang Feng, Miles Gilliver and Shuailun Wu) and the Southern Cape Zebra (Tyrone Singleton with Samara Downs, Isabella Howard, Regan Hutsell, Ava May Llewellyn, Rachele Pizzillo, Matilde Rodrigues, Yuki Sugiura and Lucy Waine) and lets not forget the penguins too!
Bintley’s choreography, Simon Jeffes’s score and the dancers’ astounding portrayal of the animals, created a beautiful yet emotional journey.
Karla Doorbar was superb in her dance, ‘The Ecstasy of Dancing Fleas’. What amazing energy, footwork, and stage presence. I love seeing her play the role of Clara in The Nutcracker, but seeing her in this completely different role was just wonderful.
The audience (and myself) absolutely loved Tzu-Chao Chou as a Texas Kangaroo Rat, the applause was huge. He really takes on board the mannerisms of the animals that he portrays when dancing. I remember a few years back when he was a chicken in comical Les Fille Me Garde. Every movement, so animal like. So detailed.
And Tyrone Singleton as a Zebra, definitely needs a shout out! A delicate ballet dance, with flowing movements that kept me transfixed.
Birmingham Royal Ballet’s production is a must-see for any ballet lover. Don’t miss out on this enchanting experience that runs at the Birmingham Hippodrome until June 10th, 2023.
Book your tickets here; https://www.brb.org.uk/
Disclaimer: I was invited along to the press night. All thoughts are entirely my own.