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IN WHAT’S something of a history lesson, this mixed bill perfectly showcases the Royal Ballet’s matchless skill and rich heritage.
Works by the company’s founding choreographer Frederick Ashton and his successor Kenneth MacMillan are completed by Rudolf Nureyev’s version of Marius Petipa’s final act of the Imperial Russian classic Raymonda.
MacMillan’s Concerto, set to Shostakovich’s piano concerto No. 2, is awash with vibrancy and colour as dancers in orange and lemon costumes leap in jetes across the stage with a synchronised grace.
The plotless piece, designed to push the limits of dancers and to show off their flair, sees dancers Anna Rose O’Sullivan and James Hay storm the stage for the piece’s energetic first movement.
There’s an elegant and more restrained central pas de deux from Yasmine Naghdi and Ryoichi Hirano before an impressive Mayara Magri leads the final movement that sees the entire cast return in vivid display.
It’s followed by Ashton’s Enigma Variations, based on the acquaintances and social milieu of composer Edward Elgar, which has a remarkable set by Julia Trevelyan Oman, with stage and costume reflecting the fashions of the time.
It’s all somewhat twee and whimsical but there are some amusing turns from tricycle-riding eccentric Richard Baxter Townshend, performed by Philip Mosley, and a great Lady Elgar danced by Laura Morera.
But the pinnacle of the evening is the riveting Raymonda Act III, choreographed by Nureyev after Petipa, from the music of Alexander Glazunov.
With a Hungarian dance theme, it celebrates the wedding of prince Jean De Brienne to his beloved Raymonda and it's reminiscent of the Nutcracker’s Land Of Sweets, in that one showy dance follows another. The highlight is Vadim Muntagirov as The Prince, whose tall frame launches itself into the air like a gazelle.
Just when it seems it couldn't get any better,the wonderful Natalia Osipova as Raymonda claps her hands and dances across the stage in a captivating bourree.
Another unforgettable moment, among many.
Runs until December 20, box office:roh.org.uk
