THE ROYAL BALLET: BACK ON STAGE

The Royal Ballet has delivered a rescue hamper stuffed with goodies. After seven months in lockdown, the dancers and orchestra let rip in a highlights compilation taken from the company’s extensive repertoire, live streamed on October 9 and available to download until November 8.

All the leading dancers are showcased, from Natalia Osipova’s Medusa solo to Edward Watson’s revival of his collapsing war veteran in Woolf Works; from Francesca Hayward’s Juliet to Vadim Muntagirov and Marianela Nunez leaping like gazelles through scenes from Don Quixote.

Fragments of the great classics – Swan Lake, Romeo & Juliet – vie for attention with contemporary works such as Hofesh Shechter’s thunderous Untouchable and Kenneth MacMillan’s raucous Ragtime- based ballet Elite Syncopations which brings the event to a colourful conclusion.