Birmingham Hippodrome
February 12, 2026
It’s undoubtedly best know for its firework Grand pas de deux, a show-off gala favourite the world over, but Don Quixote is a sparkling ballet from start to finish, especially when danced with the sort of verve that Birmingham Royal Ballet put into Carlos Acosta’s vibrant production.
Cervantes’ famous novel was popular as a subject for ballet long before Petipa took it up with productions as early as 1740. But it is the Russian master’s version, the earliest of his major ballets, or at least a derivation of it, that we know today. The plot takes only its starting point from the novel, being adapted from a minor incident in Volume Two. Shifting the focus from Don Quixote himself to the story of Kitri, the innkeeper’s daughter who sidesteps marriage to Gamache in favour of her true love Basilio certainly provides a heartwarming theme.
Photo Tristram Kenton
Right from her first entrance, Yu Kurihara was a beaming Kitri, technically and artistically all you could ask for. Her jumps were light. She soared when she needed to, and was lighting fast and sharp elsewhere. She also has lovely épaulement and a beautifully supple back. And it was all rounded off with a super set of fouettés, the occasional triple thrown in for good measure.
But as good as Kurihara was, even she was outdone by Yasiel Hodelín Bello as Basilio. Still only a soloist (that surely cannot be the case for much longer), he brought energy, amazing jumps and turns, and a lot of character to the stage that was totally convincing. The chemistry with Kurihara was there for all to see.
There was much to admire elsewhere too. Dominic Antonucci was nicely dreamy but noble Don Quixote, while his rotund and cheery squire was well-portrayed by Alfie-Lee Hall.
As Espada, the famous matador, Ryan Felix was suitably macho and virile, although, if anything, Ixan Llorca Ferrer was even more tough and manly as the lead gypsy opposite Eilis Small. Yaoqian Shang was fiery as the street dancer, Mercedes
Photo Tristram Kenton
A vision in yellow and blue, Rory Mackay delighted as the foppish and bumbling Gamache, the rich nobleman who does finish up with a girl. Just not the one he first wanted. Céline Gittens was poised, elegant and so, so precise as she made light of the tricky technical challenges of The Queen of the Dryads
In something of a masterstroke, Acosta gives the fantasy role of Amour to a male. Tzu-Chao Chou did not disappoint. Cheeky and almost Puck-like, in a virtuoso performance, he was full of easy-going charm and lightning-fast feet, and all with a grin that would light up any scene.
Ludwig Minkus’ music may sometimes be regarded with disdain by music critics and historians, but he certainly knew how to write a good tune. The score is so full of colour, dynamic and danceable that it’s impossible not to like. Hans Vercauteren reorchestration adds to what was already there with his changes and additions working well, most notably the addition of a rhapsody for the Gypsy campfire scene that makes use of on-stage guitars.
Showing the value of midweek matinées, the Birmingham Hippodrome was bursting at the seams. And from the looks on faces afterwards, they all went home very happy, Carlos Acosta’s Don Quixote providing a lot of joy and a much-needed splash of sunshine on yet another grey, damp, dismal February day.
Birmingham Royal Ballet’s Don Quixote is at the Birmingham Hippodrome to February 21, 2026, then tours to the Lowry, Salford; Theatre Royal, Plymouth; Mayflower Theatre, Southampton; and Sadler’s Wells, London. Visit www.brb.org.uk for dates and booking links.
While the February 12 matinée cast was not photographed on stage, we can bring you a small selection of shots of Yu Kurihara and Yasiel Hodelín Bello in rehearsal.
