The Royal Ballet is Back on Stage, returning for a live-streamed performance from the stage of Covent Garden on Friday 9 October at 7.30pm.
After an absence of seven months, the full company will be on its home stage with the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House in a collection of ballet highlights from the repertory.
The celebration, curated by Royal Ballet Director Kevin O'Hare, will showcase the artistry and virtuosity of the dancers and the breadth of the company's repertory. Much loved traditional and 20th century classics will include pas de deux and ballet excerpts by Marius Petipa, Lev Ivanov, Frederick Ashton, Kenneth MacMillan and George Balanchine. The evening's display of contemporary creativity will include work by Resident Choreographer Wayne McGregor, Artistic Associate Christopher Wheeldon, Cathy Marston, Hofesh Shechter and Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui.
Royal Ballet Principals Matthew Ball, Federico Bonelli, Alexander Campbell, Francesca Hayward, Ryoichi Hirano, Sarah Lamb, Laura Morera, Vadim Muntagirov, Yasmine Naghdi, Marianela Nuñez, Natalia Osipova, Marcelino Sambé, Akane Takada and Edward Watson return to the stage with the full company and joined by the orchestra conducted by Jonathan Lo.
To ensure the safety of the dancers and prevent the spread of the coronavirus, mitigations have included strict social distancing in the studio, alongside testing for those dancers in physical contact during rehearsal, administered privately at no expense to the NHS.
O'Hare says,
We are so excited about the full company returning to their home stage. The dancers have sorely missed performing and connecting with their audiences these past few months, and I have been deeply impressed by the grace and tenacity they have shown during these challenging circumstances. I hope this performance will be a chance for everyone to be reminded of all that makes The Royal Ballet and the amazing teams at the Royal Opera House so special.
This performance follows one of the most challenging periods for the Royal Opera House and will be treated as an important pilot on the road back to public performances adhering to government guidelines. A specially socially distanced audience, including students and health workers, will be present for the first live performance with an audience since the beginning of lockdown.
The event will be broadcast live via the Royal Opera House website, priced at £16.00 per household and will be available to watch on-demand for 30 days.
Further details here
https://www.roh.org.uk/tickets-and-events/the-royal-ballet-back-on-stage-details
Graham Spicer is a writer, director and photographer in Milan, blogging (under the name ‘Gramilano') about dance, opera, music and photography for people “who are a bit like me and like some of the things I like”. He was a regular columnist for Opera Now magazine and wrote for the BBC until transferring to Italy.
His scribblings have appeared in various publications from Woman's Weekly to Gay Times, and he wrote the ‘Danza in Italia' column for Dancing Times magazine.
