Its been a miserable, wet summer but London saved its coldest June day for the Queen’s Jubilee celebration and the thousand boat flotilla when, in true British fashion, loyal subjects stood in the cold and waved Union Jacks. However things have been more exciting on the dance scene as the revival of The Prince of the Pagodas opened at the Royal Opera house.

The ballet premiered in 1957 with choreography and convoluted scenario by John Cranko. Kenneth MacMillan revived it in 1989 when he reworked the story with Colin Thubron but was unable to get the requested cuts in Benjamin Britten’s magical but overlong score. The ballet was again not a success and soon dropped from the repertoire.

Now in Monica Mason’s last few months as director, the company tried again to find what MacMillan called ‘a great ballet waiting to get out.’  The Britten estate finally allowed 20 minutes to be trimmed from the score and restaged by Mason and Grant Coyle, a beautiful ballet is reborn.

Although the ballet is premised on Petipa’s classical structure it gives precedence to the male dancers. In addition to the Prince/ Salamander, the four suitors Kings have fearsome solos, and the Fool is also a challenging role. Even the aging King and his four doctors are all male but as compensation there is the central role of Princess Rose.

Marianela Nuñez and Nehemia Kish as Rose and Salamander.
Photographer Chris Nash courtesy of ROH

As Rose, Marianela Nuñez is simply glorious; dancing her way from the turmoil of the court and into the wide world and developing into her mature self. She finds true love when she accepts her Prince in Salamander form who is then, of course, transformed.  

MacMillan more usually known for his dark, troubled characters has created some of his best neo-classical choreography for Rose in her three solos and pas de deux where he extends the ballet vocabulary to subtly build her character. Nehemiah Kish, in probably his best role to date, proves a fine partner and an engaging Prince.

It is scheduled for just a few performances but will hopefully soon return.

Tama Barry as Stanley and Sophie Martin as Stella in A Streetcar Named Desire.
Photographer: Andrew Ross

Sexual Tension at Scottish Ballet
At Sadler’s Wells, Scottish Ballet presented Annabelle Lopez Ochoa’s ballet, A Streetcar Named Desire. While based on Tennessee William’s drama, eminent theatre director Nancy Meckler has skilfully extracted the essential elements of the story, acting out the scenes from Blanche’s early life to clarify the play and create a valid dance production.

The commissioned music from Peter Salem evokes the genteel homes, steamy jazz clubs, the claustrophobic apartment and the rising sexual tension.  Estonian, Eva Mutso, has a dream of a role as the damaged Blanche DuBois. She is on stage much of the evening and captures Blanche’s fragile and unstable psyche in a remarkable performance.

Tama Barry, as Stanley, exudes an animal magnetism and the complex male/ female dynamics between the two are skilfully developed to the tragic climax.

Ochoa’s choreography is vibrant in the ensemble scenes but most successful in the duets where movement carries the narrative so effectively.

Street Dance Joins the Ballet
An interesting collaboration, Against Time, teamed English National Ballet and the legend-in-their-lifetime street dance group Flawless to play to packed houses at the huge Hammersmith Apollo.

While it introduced ballet to new audiences, it was unfortunate that ballet was represented only by women only thus enforcing the stereotype of ‘ballet is for girls’, and had little of the excitement of modern ballet – no big lifts or tours (although there were a few fouettes) however Flawless were brilliant, wonderful performers to a man.