Northern Ballet: Three Short Ballets

Linbury Theatre, Royal Ballet and Opera, London
January 29, 2025

Northern Ballet exudes a warmth that few companies can match and the programme of Three Short Ballets was an opportunity to share an emotional evening of dance. From the bittersweet melancholy of Rudi van Danzig’s Four Last Songs to the full-blooded passion of Mthuthuzeli November’s Fools with a fun interlude from Kristin McNally between, it was an evening to engage heart and soul.

Federico Bonelli danced with Dutch National Ballet before joining The Royal Ballet and was introduced to the rich repertoire of Dutch choreographers. This season he presents Dantzig’s eponymous work to Richard Strauss last composition.

Northern Ballet in Four Last Songs by Rudi van Dantzig
Photo Emily Nuttall

Four pas de deux, each show a different aspect of a loving relationship and with each an understanding of the ephemerality of life. In the third, Mayuko Iwanaga and Miguel Teixeira found particularly deep expression within the movement while in the first, Julie Nunés and Filippo di Vilio basked in the sheer joy of being in love. Harry Skoupas as the Angel was an impressive presence linking the eight dancers.

Van Dantzig’s choreography, with expansive arms, passionate leaps and dramatic partnering was somewhat constrained by the limited space but each dancer sought, and found, the depth in the moves and the music.

Kevin Poeung and Joseph Powell-Main
in Kristen McNally’s Victory Dance
Photo Emily Nuttall

Kristin McNally’s Victory Dance is a positive title for a neat trio that ticks all the right boxes. A slow start builds to a great deal of shoulder shrugging before letting loose in a witty virtuosic display for two men on foot and one on wheels.

The section sitting on the floor is a good leveller that boosts creativity with plenty of innovative moves while upright or sitting, all three whip around in gleeful dance. Victory Dance is impulsive, eccentric and a highly enjoyable bridge between the two longer works.

In Fools, November extracts the essence of R.L. Peteni’s novel Hill of Fools, to create a fast moving and powerful dance drama. Love across enemy lines is a popular theme but here it is given a new and original African setting which the dancers interpret with impressive authenticity.

The choreographic language is contemporary with hints of ballet and an African vibe well matched to the score by Alex Wilson and November. An effective soundscape, from chirping cicadas to the scratchy tuning of a radio, an equally effective use of moveable corrugated iron sheets to create houses, pubs and walls (November with Steve Wilkins) and a lighting design (Alistair West), all work together to set the place and the ambiance. There are vocals, from a brief spoken introduction to the story at the beginning to a heartbreaking rendition of a popular lullaby as the Hlubi woman, Rachael Gillespie cradles the dying Thembu man, Harris Beattie in the closing moments.

Fools runs 45 minutes and is expertly structured to maintain the tension and build to a climax. Clandestine meetings between Beattie and Gillespie are an opportunity for duets expressing their deep desires. He is the more playful while she touches her stomach hinting at an unborn child and the responsibility that it will bring. Their solos are opportunities for some of the most powerful moments and each dug deep to dredge up the fear and the hopes in their hearts. George Liang playing the brother, a Tybalt type character, was terrifying in his fierceness. Unwilling to feel any sympathy for the lovers, he fought unflinchingly for the honour of family and tribe.

Fools by Mthuthuzeli November
(pictured: Antoni Cañellas Artigues and Harris Beattie)
Photo Emily Nuttall

The battle is superbly choreographed as November uses fists and flying bodies as well as the more traditional sticks with the woman joining in with brushes to add to the sound track. The commitment of the dancers was hugely impressive in probably the most authentic fight scenes ever staged by a ballet company.

There is no happy ending, just sadness at the loss of a young life and the futility of human aggression. However, Northern Ballet have another valuable addition to their repertoire.