Review: ENGLISH NATIONAL BALLET SCHOOL/RAMBERT SCHOOL, Royal Ballet And Opera

Audience members got two for the price of one with English National Ballet School and Rambert School collaborating on a joint show for the continuing Next Generation Festival at the Royal Ballet and Opera's Linbury Theatre.

It was a longish performance on the clunky side in relation to production values, but there were definitely high points.

ENBS showed three works; two by the current director Lynne Charles and one from Marguerite Donlon. Charles’ pas de deux Aphiēmi was well performed, but a little heavy on the melodrama for me, and Donlon's Ruff Celts allowed the students to show their contemporary credentials, which weren't weak, but next to Rambert didn't necessarily look strong either.

The performance opened with Charles’ "Etudes on a Theme of Satie", and this choice of music can be deadly if one knows the Ashton and Hans van Manen works to the same score(s). That said, Charles definitely has her own voice.

The work features ballet barres on stage, and Charles has devised a piece to show both the effort and effortlessness of the genre - and she largely succeeds. I undoubtedly experienced moments where the work felt both original and timeless, but often busyness got in the way of matters. For example - as a pas de deux of classical ease took place, a solo dancer was at the back having a fit of technique related frustration simultaneously. I understand what Charles was trying to do in relation to the seen and unseen, but in reality it was largely off putting. 

"Etudes on a Theme of Satie" has a rich language and interesting concept, and with some further distillation will improve even more. The students also danced the work with confidence and skill.

Rambert School performed four works with two hits and two less so. The Inn Between by Julian Nichols and The Hilkravrs by Miguel Altunaga weren't strong pieces in my opinion, and both relied more on gimmicks in order to make an impact. The second half of Altunaga’s work saw the focus shift to the movement itself, and I'd propose this is a better place to start moving forwards. 

Elsewhere, Lunar Tales by Faye Stoeser, “inspired by the mysterious world of the night” absolutely felt like a new proposition. Strobe lighting, sequins and sass meant the fusion work really made its mark. Stoeser's language feels like that of the street, where contemporary dance meets ballroom (as in Voguing), and one revels in a femme-informed portal into today's subculture. The students were in their element feeling more downtown Manhattan circa 1980 than 2025 in Twickenham - so one can only assume the experience has been a valuable one.

Likewise for those who had the honour of dancing Richard Alston's 1998 work, Waltzes in Disorder. I haven't seen a lot of Alston - due to circumstance, not choice - and watching this piece was a lesson in the craft of dance i.e. choreography.

Alston doesn't need gimmicks, as everything is there inside the work. Relationships is the word I kept saying. To the music, space, time and other members of the cast. And beyond that one can also analyse the astute structuring and spatial patterning of the overall work.

Alston offers form, sweeping phrases, intimacy and abstraction, and somehow nothing seems to jar, even when the agenda is discord as opposed to harmony. The dancers were wonderful in the work, showing individuality even in moments of unison.

Watching school performances are extremely insightful, especially in relation to the current training on offer and artistic journeys informed by repertoire choices. This collaboration performance wasn't a runaway success, but it absolutely was an afternoon that proposed big questions and demonstrated bold moves - both in theory and execution.

Next Generation Festival continues at the Royal Ballet and Opera's Linbury Theatre until 29 June

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