Serenade / Sweet Violets / DGV
A mixed programme of exhilarating contrasts, from a dark Victorian melodrama to a celebration of hi-tech modernity.
Photos
When to see it
Booking for 14 May 2014 - 26 May 2014 opens
- Booking opens 8 April 2014 at 10.00am for General Public.
- Booking opens 18 March 2014 at 10.00am for Friends of Covent Garden.
- Booking opens 28 February 2014 at 10.00am for Supporting Friends.
- Booking opens 26 February 2014 at 10.00am for Premium 1 Friends.
- Booking opens 25 February 2014 at 10.00am for Premium 2 Friends.
News and features
Liam Scarlett on Walter Sickert and Jack the Ripper
The choreographer on the inspiration for his new short ballet, Sweet Violets.
Your reactions: Wheeldon / Scarlett / McGregor Mixed Bill
Tweets and vox pops about the new Wheeldon, Scarlett and McGregor triple bill.
Background
The opening of George Balanchine’s Serenade is unforgettable: on a blue-lit stage, women stand motionless in filmy blue dresses with single arms held high. Balanchine’s ethereal choreography is the perfect complement to Tchaikovsky’s soaring Serenade for Strings, both atmospheric and emotionally subtle.
A seedy Victorian underworld provides the setting for Liam Scarlett’s Sweet Violets. His inspiration is the work of artist Walter Sickert, whose ‘Camden Town Murder’ paintings were based on the gruesome murders of Jack the Ripper. Scarlett’s classical sensibility teamed with a deep emotional punch makes Sweet Violets a disturbing and enthralling experience.
Hurtling forward into a 21st-century aesthetic, Christopher Wheeldon’s award-winning DGV: Danse à grande vitesse brings the programme to an exhilarating close. The ballet was inspired by the French high-speed train line TGV and is set to a propulsive score by Michael Nyman. Wheeldon’s choreography is a modern paean to our hi-tech age – brittle and brilliant.
Mixed programme
These works are performed together:
Serenade
The music of Tchaikovsky is partnered with sublime choreography in one of Balanchine’s earliest and best-loved works.
Sweet Violets
Murder, sexuality and art are the potent themes of Liam Scarlett’s ballet, inspired by Walter Sickert’s paintings.
DGV: Danse à grande vitesse
Christopher Wheeldon channels the hurtling momentum of Michael Nyman’s music in choreography of thrilling propulsion.
Related links
- balanchine.com The George Balanchine Trust: Serenade
- online.wsj.com Serenade: 'The ballet that changed everything'
- en.wikipedia.org Wikipedia: The Camden Town Murder paintings
- www.roh.org.uk Liam Scarlett – Royal Ballet Artist-in-Residence
- www.guardian.co.uk Walter Sickert and the dance of death
- www.chesternovello.com Michael Nyman's MGV (Musique à Grande Vitesse)
- www.roh.org.uk Christopher Wheeldon – Royal Ballet Artistic Associate
