Our Ballet Company is amazing.  World class, creative and totally modern. For most of the programme, the dancers are bare-foot. Only in the two pas de deux from The Nutcracker do the ballerinas dance en pointe, a necessity for these jewels of the repertoire.

The whole troupe dances with energy and seeming delight. All command the stage – though Kirby Selchow, first in her solo from ‘Stand to Reason’ and then as the White Swan, is outstanding.  She combines athleticism with near-perfect lines and wit in her light-as-air interpretations of both roles.

Sir Jon Trimmer sits quietly on the stage, remembering – ‘The Long and the Short of it’.  Luke Cooper, as a gentle and very precise Trimmer alter ego, is smiling, tender and beautiful.  This is a piece about memory and joy, the heart still young, the body still willing to dance. It is very touching and appreciated by the full-house audience who rise to their feet and cheer them both.

The pas de deux from The Nutcracker are danced with precision: the ‘Snow’ by Katherine Minor and Fabio Lo Giudice; The Grand and ‘The Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy’ by Sara Garbowski and Wan Bin Yuan.  High up on the list of the most perfect ballet music ever written by Tchaikovsky, both pairs of dancers give performances to match.

After the interval we have a modern take on Swan Lake with generous excerpts from ‘Black Swan, White Swan’, choreographed by Mario Radacovsky seven years ago.   Already an established hit with international audiences, the full ballet is to be performed here by our company in autumn next year. 

We are given a generous glimpse – a wonder – of barefoot dancing (no pointe shoes in sight) and of humour: the little cygnets flapping their hands then lying prone and making bird heads with their hands. It’s an exciting take on this old story of love for the innocent and gentle, passion and desire for the temptress. Paul Mathews is amazing throughout, clearly portraying his agonies of indecision.

Thirteen dancers bring magic to our Arts Festival.  It is so good to see them looking strong and healthy – no longer in 2018 is it seemingly necessary to be pale and thin as a reed. The recorded music is surprisingly good and despite the large number of children in the audience, the auditorium is pin-drop quiet throughout the full house performances. Under a lovely spell we leave the Theatre Royal.

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