Sensuous contemporary ballet meets the energy of musical theatre in four distinctive short works.
Fool’s Paradise, The Two of Us, Us, An American in Paris: four works showing the remarkable choreographic range of The Royal Ballet's Artistic Associate, Christopher Wheeldon.
Royal Ballet and Opera Principal Julia Rausing Trust
Mr and Mrs Edward Atkin CBE, John Burns CBE and Susan Burns OBE, Ricki Gail and Robert Conway, Sir Lloyd and Lady Dorfman OBE, David Fransen, Kenneth and Susan Green, Simon and Tracey Holden, Simon and Virginia Robertson, the Thompson Family Charitable Trust, The Wheeldon Production Syndicate, Royal Ballet and Opera Friends and an anonymous donor
Kenneth and Susan Green
Aud Jebsen
Four distinctive ballets from one choreographic imagination.
Christopher Wheeldon's remarkable career spanning ballet to musical theatre has brought him from London to New York and beyond, and has earned him international acclaim. Recently nominated for an Olivier award for his choreography in MJ The Musical, Wheeldon and his versatile artistry is celebrated in this mixed programme.
Luminescent and shimmering, Fool’s Paradise marked the first of Wheeldon’s many collaborations with composer Joby Talbot. It was created in 2007 for Wheeldon’s own company, Morphoses, and first performed in 2012 by The Royal Ballet.
The wistful songs of Joni Mitchell set the scene for the UK premiere of The Two of Us, a duet of deep intimacy and yearning. It was created in 2020 for the Fall for Dance Festival in New York, and had American ballet dancers Sarah Mearns and David Hallberg in its original cast.
Us is a tender duet danced by two men. It was created in 2017 for BalletBoyz and is set to Keaton Henson’s music.
The Royal Ballet celebrates Wheeldon’s extraordinary success in musical theatre by performing the ballet scene from his Tony Award-winning musical An American in Paris. Set to Gershwin’s jazzy melodies, the musical is inspired by the 1951 film of the same name starring Gene Kelly and Leslie Caron. The musical went on to win four Tony awards. The full musical depicts a blossoming romance between the American G.I. Jerry Mulligan and a French ballerina, Lise Dassin. The ballet excerpt was Wheeldon’s take on one of the most memorable scenes from the film – an extended sequence in which the two central characters dance through Paris.
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