A trip down ballet’s memory lane with BRB2

Royal & Derngate, Northampton
May 17, 2025

It was a new programme this year for BRB2, Birmingham Royal Ballet’s ensemble of young recently graduated dancers. But in another sense, the Diaghilev and the Birth of Modern Ballet programme was very much a look back to the roots of modern ballet, the four works by Mikhail Fokine and one by Bronislava Nijinska paying tribute to the legendary impresario that was Serge Diaghilev.

At first sight the programme looked brave. The five works are very much of their time. Thirty or forty years ago they were part of the fabric of many companies, performed regularly. Fashions and attitudes change, however. But even with the vastly slimmed down staging (this is a show designed for touring), it proved a super afternoon. There were excellent performances everywhere, the dancers getting to grips well with the required styles. And in front of a pleasingly well-filled Derngate too, the final venue on the company’s all-too-short tour.

Accompanied by Jeanette Wong on piano and danced in full, Les Sylphides was danced carefully, the ballet’s Romantic mood well-judged. As the Poet, Noah Cosgriff was perfectly detached and dreamy, his face as drippy as the sleeves on his shirt. The corps were nicely together with not a mis-step in sight. But, as pleasant as it was, it seemed to be missing something (although I’ll confess it’s always been a ballet that did little for me), and better was to come.

With is stereotypical oriental tropes, Schéhérazade is now regarded by many as a ‘problem ballet.’ Be that as it may, Ariana Allen as Zobeide and Oscar Kempsey-Fagg as the Golden Slave were as sultry and sexy as one could wish for in the pas de deux, even if it is a little lost out of context. Allen was beautifully alluring and sensual, while the tall Kempsey-Fagg not only produced some wonderful leaps, but landed them all with barely a sound. It made one want to see the ballet in full again, but I suspect that’s not going to happen.

Of all the pieces danced, none are more associated with dancers past (notably Nijinsky and Baryshnikov) than Le Spectre de la Rose. Jack Easton made a brave attempt with the role, but never quite captured the lightness required. Sophie Walters was as sweet as can be, pulling off well the ‘dancing in a dream’ feeling. Interestingly, it felt by far the most dated of the works on the programme, perhaps why it also got a relatively muted reception.

The audience loved the two excerpts from Les Biches, however. Andrea Riolo was a joy as the society hostess fluttering around with her long cigarette holder (which I’m not convinced she’s still worked out), even longer strings of pearls and enormous feather headdress. Pretty neat footwork too. But the stars were Maïlène Katoch and Noah Cosgriff, the latter in his twenties swimming costume, who really got to grips with the wittiness of the pas de deux.

But the best performance of the afternoon came in the closing pas de deux from The Firebird. Partnered by Ixan Lorca Ferrer, Alexandra Manuel was quite simply terrific. It wasn’t just that the steps and gestures were so right, but the way she fully became the bird. She let everyone know no-one was going to catch her easily.

It was a most enjoyable show. Ballet’s history must not be forgotten and Carlos Acosta’s decision to celebrate Diaghilev and the birth of modern ballet should be applauded loudly. As indeed should his decision to form BRB2, which is clearly already reaping rewards with all the first cohort being taken into the main company. In terms of repertory, it was all a bit of a trip down memory lane, and did make one wonder if some of the works will ever be seen in full again, but if the BRB2 dancers are representative of the standard of the dancers coming through, then ballet’s future looks very promising indeed.