Vikki Jane Vile

Ballet lovers will all have their own relationship with Sir Peter Wright’s The Nutcracker.

London City Ballet have been winning fans across the country since their reforming under the direction of Christopher Marney in 2023, and in their current eclectic programme, Rebirth, it’s easy to see why.

Marianela Núñez said of La Fille mal gardée during a rehearsal that it was just what the world needed right now. This much loved Frederick Ashton classic has not been seen on the Covent Garden stage since 2016, we needed it back then and we certainly need it now more than ever.

English National Ballet’s season opener, R:Evolution offers up a varied set of challenges for the company, taking us back to the 1940s with George Balanchine and Martha Graham, to the present day with William Forsythe and David Dawson.

Back in 2018, English National Ballet premiered Playlist (Track 1, 2) as part of their Voices of America programme. It was William Forsythe’s first new work for a British company in 20 years.

Natalia Osipova is not a dancer who likes to play by the rules. A dancer who never felt she fitted the mould of a perfect ballerina growing up in Russia where being long-limbed and tall was the expectation. These days, she’s a much loved Principal of the Royal Ballet, she only does the things she wants to do, and this new Linbury Theatre programme boldly demonstrates that. 

Sir Kenneth MacMillan’s Romeo and Juliet continues to enjoy endless popularity, this being its third run by the Royal Ballet since 2019, but when the results are as good, there’s no reason why not. The depth and quality in the ranks was evident as the cast relished the challenges of the Covent Garden signature work. 

Sir David Bintley’s 2010 production of Cinderella has been long overdue an outing, and based on Wednesday’s opening night at Birmingham Hippodrome it is worth the wait. Thanks to Birmingham Royal Ballet’s fundraising efforts, the work now returns refreshed with restored costumes and a dazzling cast, and the result is a magical and sumptuous evening of dance with just the right dash of humour. 

It has been some time coming. For nearly 15 years English National Ballet enthusiastically performed Wayne Eagling’s Nutcracker, a traditional but rather staid production with a fuzzy narrative and lacking opportunity for the company to shine.

This year’s festive crowd pleaser from the Royal Ballet does not feature a growing Christmas tree nor a Kingdom of Sweets. Instead, an alternative is offered in the form of Frederick Ashton’s 1948 Cinderella, revived eighteen months ago after a lengthy absence and seen again now for the festive season.

Derek Deane’s Swan Lake has quite the reputation. First premiered in 1997 it became known for its corps de ballet of 60 swans (with freelancers hired to beef up ENB’s ranks) and then in 2010, a BBC documentary tracked its rehearsals and opening night, not always depicting everyone in the most flattering light, but the spectacle of all those white tutus made it an audience favourite. Now it’s back to conclude the first season under new Artistic Director Aaron S. Watkin. 

Leeds based Northern Ballet always pack a punch when they visit London every May, and this time was no different, with Massimo Moricone’s slick and captivating Romeo and Juliet. This year’s touring production held extra poignancy, with the costumes and set requiring full restoration and repair from a devastating warehouse flood in 2015.

English National Ballet’s Emerging Dancer award returned to Sadler’s Wells after a two year absence, with a unique opportunity for the most junior members of the company to shine. With his feet now firmly under the desk, Artistic Director Aaron S. Watkin hosted the evening, the first of his tenure, with six Artists of the company performing a classical and contemporary pas de deux in three assigned pairs. 

New York City Ballet are at Sadler’s Wells for the very first time, and returning to London for the first time since 2008 in a rare event for dance fans in the capital. Now under the direction of Jonathan Stafford, they arrive with a diverse quadruple bill, presumably designed to offer something for everyone. NYCB boasts some of the finest dancers in the world, they are precise technicians who have honed their craft and have a unique identity but the overall effect lacks the punch audiences will be craving after such a long absence.

If you came for anything other than wall-to-wall superlatives for the Royal Ballet’s A-team and Liam Scarlett’s superior production of Swan Lake then you’ll be disappointed with this review, because yet again, for the fourth time in six years, ballet heaven is delivered with a side of perfection. It may be programmed regularly but on this showing it’s little wonder why. 

Fresh from no fewer than 40 performances of Wayne Eagling’s Nutcracker (a production which now seems to thankfully be going into retirement) English National Ballet, are back less than a week later to round off their Coliseum season, this time it’s Mary Skeaping’s Giselle which they last performed seven years ago. 

It’s exactly four years since English National Ballet brought Christopher Wheeldon’s Cinderella to the Royal Albert Hall. It sat happily in my memory, from 2019, as a visual spectacle; the opulent ball scene, those slapstick sisters and Julian Crouch’s fantastical designs. Now it returns, these elements still intact however the central choreography still feels weak, meaning the Principals do not dazzle as they always should, however the immersive experience of the Albert Hall and the charm of the corps still hold vast appeal. 

Perhaps it’s already clear, but this is a rather subdued triple bill to bring the 22/23 season to a close. Earnest in tone and at times devastating in appeal. 

Ballet Black is now in its 21st season, Cassa Pancho’s company entering somewhat of a new era after the retirement of company favourite, Cira Robinson and the addition of some junior members to its ranks.

A visit from Leeds-based Northern Ballet every Spring at Sadler’s Wells is always a highlight of the dance calendar, and never more so when at their glittering best with their unique dance interpretation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby.