Two works by choreographic masters of 20th-century ballet, Isadora and Dances At A Gathering, are paired in this exciting Royal Ballet programme that contrasts the drama and passion of Kenneth MacMillan with Jerome Robbins in reflective and expressive mood.
Isadora is a new version of MacMillan’s ballet on the life of Isadora Duncan, an extraordinary free-thinking dancer, a celebrity up to her untimely and dramatic death in 1927 and a dance legend ever since. Now reworked into a single act, Isadora has a complex title role that demands both technical skill and emotional range, especially in the distinctive duets with the significant men who influence her life. The score by Richard Rodney Bennett, along with narrated selections of Isadora’s own writings, evoke the multi-layered personality of Isadora and the atmosphere of her times.
Robbins’s Dances At A Gathering receives its first revival after its much awaited return to the Royal Ballet repertory last season. To solo piano works by Chopin, 10 dancers explore the potential of dance itself through shifting relationships that also reflect the moods of the music. The individuality of each dancer was at the heart of the creation of Dances At A Gathering, and each new cast of Royal Ballet soloists combine their own virtuoso techniques and distinctive personalities with Robbins’s choreographic genius.
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