30 Oct 2024

Royal Ballet and Others - Legacy Celebration

Royal Ballet principal Joseph Sissens, in collaboration with RB Director Kevin O’Hare, presented Legacy, a celebration of Black and Brown excellence in ballet…

Precious Adams in Arielle Smith’s ‘Pass It On’. © @FoteiniPhotoPrecious Adams in Arielle Smith’s ‘Pass It On’. © @FoteiniPhoto

Royal Ballet and Others
Legacy - A celebration of Black and Brown excellence in ballet.
★★★★✰
London, ROH Linbury Theatre
29 October 2024
www.rbo.org.uk
 

And a most fine night it proved, with a diverse mix of UK and international dancers delivering 12 classy pieces, including two premieres, all unfussily presented to a packed Linbury Theatre. It’s only on for three nights, all long since effectively sold out. I hope it’s repeated next year and for a longer run - it deserves it.

For posterity, I include the entire running order under the review, and here I’m going to concentrate on the new pieces and the dance that really connected with me. But there were no duds in this show - a remarkable achievement by Sissens.

Although not a premiere for many of us, Christopher Wheeldon’s This Bitter Earth was new, created for New York City Ballet’s Wendy Whelan (and Tyler Angle) 12 years ago and here danced by English National Ballet’s (ENB) Precious Adams and Junor Souza. It’s a slow and stately duet that steadily grows in intensity with the moving gravity of the music - a remix of Dinah Washington’s “This Bitter Earth” and some emotional strings from Max Richter. It’s a dark and moving piece, more about pain and loss than the joy of love. The good here is not so much in Wheeldon’s cleverly straightforward choreography but in its spectacularly clean and thoughtful execution - particularly by Precious Adams. An immaculate and moving performance.

The first world premiere was by Hannah Joseph, who only graduated from Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance last year, straight into Company Wayne McGregor. Joseph has quite a CV, having been part of the National Youth Dance Company, danced for Matthew Bourne and featured on TV as a BBC Young Dancer finalist in 2022. And AX² [AX To The Power of Two] proved a substantial and interesting work for herself and three Royal Ballet (RB) dancers: Emile Gooding, Francisco Serrano and Rebecca Stewart. It’s modern contemporary work with much stopping and starting and clever choppy arm movements - there is a lot of busyness going on, but it flows well. AX² is also much elevated by Joshie Harriette’s impressive lighting rig that casts pools and waves of light across the floor - a neat bit of choreography in its own right.

Episodic in nature, AX² (with music from Cairo Brown) seems to start with an argument, becomes more atmospheric and alive, and goes all relaxed and chilled-out before the dancers finally wake up and become much more vigorous and attack a pop riff with much gusto. There’s undoubtedly engaging movement here if it’s not clear what it all means - you feel there is some narrative arc to it, but Joseph offers no clues or ready way in.

The other (world) premiere was by the much-in-demand Arielle Smith. Pass It On brought together dancers from several companies (RB, ENB, Birmingham and London City Ballet), and I suspect it was made in sections over time to produce a work that ‘only’ felt linked by the diverse jazzy music of Bobby McFerrin. Smith effortlessly builds on ballet and contemporary dance techniques, and watching her work makes you feel good. But it was the darker and more reflective ‘Swing Low Sweet Chariot’ section, danced by Precious Adams, that really connected and rammed home, yet again, just how commanding a dancer Adams is. I’ve not yet seen her in a major role and badly want to.

I must also mention Ballet Black’s Isabela Coracy in Hope Boykin’s Strength from the company’s Eightfold project - a powerful and intensely demanding statement on womanhood that makes me want, belatedly, to seek out and watch the complete Eightfold video. And the evening opened with Sissens and two Royal Ballet colleagues, Caspar Lench and Francisco Serrano, in an excerpt from Wayne McGregor’s Chroma. It’s still as thrilling and strikingly assertive as ever if, after nearly 18 years, the costumes are starting to look a little skimpily of their time. There was terrific energy and commitment on show, which was the hallmark of so much in Legacy.

But the outright hit of the night for me was the three Alvin Ailey dancers who came over from New York and gave us an excerpt from Ailey’s signature work Revelations - Sinner Man. On a night when everybody was going for it, Christopher R. Wilson, Chalvar Monteiro and Xavier Mack lifted the roof with another level of sharpness, energy and commitment to the steps we all know so well. Breathtaking, the stage wasn’t big enough for them, and although the company was only in London last year, it’s so time they were back.

Legacy Programme
29/10/2025

Chroma
Excerpt
Concept, Direction and Choreography WAYNE MCGREGOR
Music JOBY TALBOT, JACK WHITE III
Orchestrations CHRISTOPHER AUSTIN
Costume Designer MORITZ JUNGE
Original Lighting Designer LUCY CARTER
Lighting Design recreated by CHRIS WILKINSON
Staging ANTOINE VEREECKEN
Dancers CASPAR LENCH, FRANCISCO SERRANO,
JOSEPH SISSENS

This Bitter Earth
Choreography CHRISTOPHER WHEELDON
Music MAX RICHTER, CLYDE OTIS
Costume based on an original design by REID BARTLEME
Original Lighting Designer MARY LOUISE GEIGER
Lighting Design recreated by CHRIS WILKINSON
Dancers PRECIOUS ADAMS, JUNOR SOUZA

Swan Lake
Act II Pas de Deux
Choreography PETER WRIGHT, GALINA SAMSOVA after
LEV IVANOV
Music PYOTR IL’YICH TCHAIKOVSKY
Costume Designer PHILIP PROWSE
Original Lighting Designer PETER TEIGEN
Lighting Design recreated by CHRIS WILKINSON
Répétiteurs BIRMINGHAM ROYAL BALLET STAFF
Dancers CÉLINE GITTENS, YASIEL HODELÍN BELLO

Takademe
Choreography ROBERT BATTLE
Music SHEILA CHANDRA
Costume Designer MISSONI
Original Lighting Designer BURKE WILMORE
Lighting Design recreated by CHRIS WILKINSON
Dancer CASPAR LENCH

Ax² [Ax to the power of two]
World Premiere
Choreography HANNAH JOSEPH
Music CAIRO BROWN
Costume Designer ILARIA MARTELLO in collaboration
with HANNAH JOSEPH
Lighting Designer JOSHIE HARRIETTE
Dancers EMILE GOODING, HANNAH JOSEPH,
FRANCISCO SERRANO, REBECCA STEWART

‘Sinner Man’ from Revelations
Excerpt (1960)
Choreography ALVIN AILEY
Traditional music, adapted and arranged by HOWARD A.
ROBERTS
Décor and Costumes VES HARPER
Original Lighting Designer NICOLA CERNOVICH
Lighting Design recreated by JOSHIE HARRIETTE
Dancers CHRISTOPHER R. WILSON,
CHALVAR MONTEIRO, XAVIER MACK

INTERVAL

Eightfold: Strength
Choreography HOPE BOYKIN
Music BILL LAURANCE
Costume Stylist YANN SEABRA
Lighting Designer JOSHIE HARRIETTE
Répétiteur CHARLOTTE BROOM, CASSA PANCHO
Dancer ISABELA CORACY

Within the Golden Hour
Men’s Duet
Choreography CHRISTOPHER WHEELDON
Music EZIO BOSSO, ANTONIO VIVALDI
Costume Designer JASPER CONRAN
Original Lighting Designer PETER MUMFORD
Lighting Design recreated by CHRIS WILKINSON
Rehearsal Director CHRISTOPHER SAUNDERS
Dancers EMILE GOODING, CASPAR LENCH

The Awakening Pas de Deux,
The Sleeping Beauty
Choreography FREDERICK ASHTON
Music PYOTR IL’YICH TCHAIKOVSKY
Costume Designer OLIVER MESSEL
Original Lighting Designer WILLIAM BUNDY
Lighting Design recreated by CHRIS WILKINSON
Répétiteurs ISABEL MCMEEKAN, GREGORY MISLIN
Dancers MARIANNA TSEMBENHOI, JOSEPH SISSENS
Awakening Pas de Deux is part of Ashton Worldwide, The Frederick Ashton Foundation’s International Festival 2024-2028 celebrating the work and legacy of Frederick Ashton

Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien
Choreography BEN VAN CAUWENBERGH
Music EDITH PIAF
Costume Designer BEN VAN CAUWENBERGH
Original Lighting Designer BEN VAN CAUWENBERGH
Lighting Design recreated by CHRIS WILKINSON
Répétiteur KIT HOLDER
Dancer CÉLINE GITTENS

Reminiscence
Choreography CRAIG DAVIDSON
Music ÓLAFUR ARNALDS, ALICE SARAH OTT
Costume Designer KATE VENABLES
Original Lighting Designer CRAIG DAVIDSON
Lighting Design recreated by CHRIS WILKINSON
Dancers GREGOR GLOCKE, LEROY MOKGATLE

Pass It On
World Premiere
Choreography ARIELLE SMITH
Music BOBBY MCFERRIN
Costume Designer ILARIA MARTELLO in collaboration
with ARIELLE SMITH
Lighting Designer JOSHIE HARRIETTE
Dancers PRECIOUS ADAMS, CÉLINE GITTENS,
MIRANDA SILVEIRA, BLAKE SMITH,
MARIANNA TSEMBENHOI