Rubies
(1967) Synopsis
Choreography George Balanchine
Music Igor Stravinsky
Design Madame Karinska
Rubies is taken from Balanchine's full-length work Jewels, which was inspired by New York jewellery designer Claude Arpels. Crisp and witty, Rubies contains some of Balanchine's most dazzling and virtuosic dance set to a sumptuous Stravinsky score.
Workwithinwork (1998)
Synopsis
Choreography William Forsythe
Music Luciano Berio
Designer Stephen Galloway
Created by William Forsythe, former director of Frankfurt Ballet, Workwithinwork unites the dancers' classical discipline and experimental playfulness using Berio's haunting Duetti for two violins. The resulting displays of dance virtuosity shimmer in and out of the shadows on the beautifully lit stage.
In Light and Shadow (2000)
Synopsis
Choreography Krzysztof Pastor
Music Johann Sebastian Bach
Design Tatyana Van Walsum
Inspired by a range of Baroque dances and painters including Vermeer, Rembrandt and La Tour the ballet focuses, as the title suggests, on the interplay of light and shadow as über-contemporary lines are juxtaposed with the rich and celebratory music of Bach. Beginning with a delicate, reflective duet to the aria from Bach’s Goldberg Variations, the ballet opens out into a rich tapestry of explosive solos, duets and ensemble work to Bach’s Third Orchestral Suite, described by Pastor himself as a suite of dances inspired by the spirit of the Baroque period, and as detailed as Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel Fresco where ornate features contrast with light and shadow.