A Beautiful Celebration of the Birth of Modern Ballet
- ann-evans
- May 7
- 4 min read
Birmingham Royal Ballet BRB2 presents Carlos Acosta’s Ballet Celebration: Diaghilev and the Birth of Modern Ballet at the Birmingham Hippodrome on Tuesday 6 May 2025. Other venues and dates below.
Review by Ann Evans
A night at the ballet to see Carlos Acosta’s latest masterpiece was an absolute treat from start to finish. As Director of the Birmingham Royal Ballet, Carlos Acosta’s latest production features BRB2, their junior company who danced highlights from the repertory of Sergei Diaghilev Ballets Russe. These were a troupe of rebel dancers, musicians and designers who left Russia in the early 1900s to set a new standard in creativity around the world.
The ballet celebration was in two parts accompanied by the Royal Ballet Sinfonia, conducted by Paul Murphy. Part one was entirely Les Sylphides with choreography by Mikhail Fokine accompanied solely by pianist Jeanette Wong playing the music of Frédéric Chopin. This ballet was first performed by Ballets Russes in Paris in 1909.
The curtain rose to a vision in white against a moody grey moonlit glade. With just one male dancer (Tom Hazelby) who dances in turn with three female dancers amidst a corps de ballet of some sixteen graceful ballerinas, incredibly with much of this 30-minute piece danced en pointe, that is, their full weight balanced on their toes.
The individual dances began with Prelude and here the solo dancer was Alisa Garkavenko; In Waltz it was Alexandra Manuel; in Mazurka Mailene Katoch danced solo and in Misery it was Ariana Allen and Charlotte Cohen. Each of Chopin's musical pieces were surprisingly familiar, and as you would expect, perfectly played by Jeanette Wong. It was lovely to see her take a bow on stage with the dancers at the end of part one.
In the second half, we had four very different dances. The first was Shéhérazade a Pas de deux (two people) with music by Rimsky-Korsakov and solo violinist Robert Gibbs. Here we had a colourful scene of an Arabian Nights flavour as dancers Andrea Riolo and Ixan Llorca Ferrer in bejewelled costumes performed their exciting dance that swept from gloriously romantic to dangerously dramatic. It seems that when this dance was first performed in 1910 its themes of sex and violence caused quite a stir!
Le Spectra de la rose came next with music by Carl Maria von Weber (orchestrated by Hector Berlioz) and solo cello Antonio Nóvais. First performed by the Ballets Russes in Monte Carlo in 1911. Set in a mansion with huge open windows, a young woman falls asleep in an armchair after coming home from a Ball. A pink rose given to her by her first admirer falls from her hand. She dreams of the Spirit of the Rose as he leaps through her window and dances for her - and with her before he leaps spectacularly back through the window once again, leaving her to wake and wonder at her dream. Ariana Allen and Jack Easton are the dancers for this one.
The next piece was Les Biches which harked back to the chic 1920s and was first performed by the Ballets Russes in Monte Carlo in 1924. Think feather boas, floaty evening gowns, strings of pearls and long slender cigarette holders. Sophie Walters danced solo as this elegant hostess to the music of Francis Poulenc. Then along came the almost comic ‘hunk’ in tight blue shorts flexing his muscles. On the night this was Noah Cosgriff in a Pas de deux with Ellyne Knol who wore a short blue velvet tunic, white tights and white gloves. This was a fun dance but none the less brilliantly performed by these talented dancers.
Then The Firebird – solo performances and Pas de deux with music by Igor Stravinsky, danced by Alexandra Manuel and Mario Kempsey-Fagg. A simple tree against a darkened blue background set the scene for this ballet based on a Russian fairy tale. It was first performed by the Ballets Russe in Paris in 1910. In beautiful red costumes, there is no mistaking the panicked fluttering of this magical firebird is she tries to evade her inevitable capture. A beautiful routine.
And finally, the finale and the well-deserved numerous curtain calls for this wonderful evening’s entertainment of ballet and orchestral music. It would have been the perfect ending had Carlos Acosta CBE joined his troupe and taken a bow - I think it would have brought the house down.
BRB2 has been invited to become the first ballet company to perform at Sadler Wells East, London’s newest dance venue on 9 & 10 May 2025. They will also perform at the Lighthouse, Poole on 13 & 14 May 2025 and Royal & Derngate, Northampton on 17 May 2025.
Discover more about the Birmingham Royal Ballet: www.brb.org.uk
An evening of beautiful entertainment. The first half was amazing with the piano solo accompaniment. The second half an excellent contrast of orchestra and short but beautiful pieces. So grateful to have been in the audience for this evening with BRB2.