In this respect the men are better served than the women, with dances that clearly refl ect Gable's debt to Frederick Ashton, and more than one of the crowd scenes are stolen by Patrick Howell 's incisive leaps and turns as the Fiddler. The performance which stays in the mind, however, is Jonathan Byrne Ollivier 's Young Scrooge. Through no more than a step or two of dance, and the slightest of gestures, he loads the stage with all the aching regret of a man who realises, too late, that he cannot undothe past.
Overall this is a terrific family piece, with genuinely creepy ghosts, and in Oliver Gardener's affecting Tiny Tim, a properly Dickensian pathos. In the wider world of dance, the news that Wayne McGregor is to become choreographer-in-residence at the Royal Ballet will confirm what many have suspected for some time: that Monica Mason, the company's artistic director, is an adroit operator indeed. Rewind to July 2005, and the announcement of London's successful bid to host the 2012 Olympics.
Amid all the jubilation, arts leaders prepared to tighten their belts. If the necessary billions for the games were going to be found, they hada pretty good idea who was going to feel the pinch. Seven thin years lay ahead.
Given this climate, it was essential for companies such as the Royal Ballet to show they were delivering excellence. And this, since taking the helm in 2002, Mason has done, supporting younger British choreographers such as McGregor and Christopher Wheeldon while at the same time reclaiming many of the iconic works (The Sleeping Beauty, the Ashton ballets) by which the company defines itself. Of vital importance are the choices that Mason hasn't made.
Her predecessor, the late Ross Stretton, saw his task as 'internationalising' the company, commissioning ballets from big-name but artistically declining European choreographers. Essentially status-buys, his purchases are now parked in the Royal's back-catalogue like so many rusting 4x4s. What Mason understood was the need to preserve the company's unique character while attracting a new generation of dance-goers.
News RSS