Ballet Nights in Richmond

Richmond Theatre, London
March 20, 2026

For those not in the know, Ballet Nights is an unusual presentation of new works alongside classic excerpts danced by emerging young dancers and stars of the dance world. On this final stop of the short Spring tour, the mix of short pieces, ranging from new contemporary dance to jazz to classical excerpts, provided plenty of fine dancing, even if it did sit slightly unevenly across the evening, possibly a consequence of several programme changes from that originally announced.

The show is also compered by Ballet Nights founder Jamiel Devernay-Laurence who does an excellent job, speaking with humour and panache as he introduces each piece, although his approach might not be quite to everyone’s taste.

As usual, both halves of the evening opened with a music number, although not by in-house pianist Viktor Erik Emanuel as is usually the case at the regular London performances. Instead, the audience was treated first to Intermezzo, composed by Frederick Sjölin and Shine No More by Tonsgaard Sorensen, presented by Quartet Concrète. The second half opened with violaist Dominic Stokes playing ‘Rasendes Zeitmass. Wild’ from Paul Hindemith’s Viola Sonata, Op.25, an intense, incredibly fast-moving piece that cannot fail but leave a lasting impression.

The highlight of the evening was Death of the Bachelors, performed and choreographed by Blacbrik (Nahum McLean and Darius Drooh). The music, by James Brown and Sam Cooke, provides a superb background for the story of two men moving from singletons to the life of a couple. The choreography is interesting, inventive, and is cleverly woven around the narrative. On top of that, it was danced with panache, tremendous skill and artistry, and a lot of wit and humour. McLean and Drooh engaged from the very first moment they walked on stage. It was impossible to take your eyes off them. They and the piece are an absolute joy.

Blacbrik are presently working on a new large-scale dance theatre production, The Brown Suite, with music by James Brown, Sam Cooke, and Etta James. It’s due to premiere at Richmond Theatre at the end of September before heading off on a UK tour. I can’t wait!

Also impressive, and from another relatively new duo, was SPLICE, choreographed by Ekleido (Hannah Ekholm and Faye Stoeser) who are fast making a bug name for themselves. Created to an original score by electronic musician Floating Points, it’s vibrant and energetic as it combines contemporary dance and acrobatics with balletic overtones. The costuming has a considerable impact on the visual effect of the piece. Stoeser and Phoebe Dowglass interact dynamically, combining and recombining in endless configurations across the stage, at times looking like large insects coming alive. It was not just exciting but performed brilliantly.

Humour came in the shape of the gala favourite Les Bourgeois, choreographed by Ben van Cauwenbergh to music by the wonderful Jacques Brel. Performed by Denys Cherevychko, it had all the wit, superb technique and musicality one expects for the internationally acclaimed ballet artist.

Atlas by Chrysanthi Nicolaou and Django Bates-Blauer combines physical exchange with dynamic choreography and focuses on presenting a representation of shared energy and connection. But, with the absence of a storyline, it did feel a little bit random.

String Theory, choreographed Jordan James Bridge is a Ballet Nights commission. The piece is a duet, a partnership between a musician, Dominic Stokes, live on stage, and dancer Leila Wright, exploring the connections between the two. And connections there are a plenty, the dance fitting into a tight rhythmic relationship with the music. It did feel a touch overlong, however.

Also on the programme was Guy Salim’s technical and highly accomplished tap creation, Temperature, which was a joy to watch; and the elegant and musical AE by PCK Dance and performed by Isabelle Evans and Travis Clausen Knight. A second-year group from Rambert School also performed independent choreographer Holly Blakely’s Blues in Three. Danced to music by Gwilym Gold and created for Ballet Nights Richmond, it was edgy, came with bags of energy, visually engaging and unusual movement combinations, and proved an excellent showcase for the young dancers

Ballet Nights Richmond’s one out and out classical piece was worth waiting for. Alina Cojocaru is an exquisitely beautiful dancer who has been called the Fonteyn of our times. To close the evening, she was joined by Cherevychko in a pas de deux from George Balanchine’s Diamonds. Despite only having stepped-in for rehearsal the previous day, the original performer having been incapacitated through illness, he nevertheless partnered with superb consideration and stature. This was all about Cojocaru, though. She owned the stage, the sheer beauty of her dancing an utter joy to watch, as always.

Jamiel Devernay-Lawrence wound-up the evening by commenting on the extraordinary range of the pieces that we had seen. Compered ballet evenings are not new but the choreographic mix, emerging dancers alongside dancing stars, are what makes Ballet Nights a unique experience. And the dancing really was the best.

Ballet Nights 011 is at Cadogan Hall London on April 29, 2026 and is scheduled to include the UK debut of Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, B.DANCE from Taiwan, a new work from English National Ballet dancer and emerging choreographer Rentaro Nakaaki and much more.