Three early works from the founder choreographer of the Royal Ballet Companies, master of the art form, Frederick Ashton. Fragile innocence confronts desperate evil in the simple and poignant Dante Sonata, created at the height of World War II. The elegant white-clad Children of Light battle the dark and serpentine Children of Darkness with only one certain outcome - like every war, there will be casualties on both sides. Danced to a passionate, virtuoso score by Franz Liszt, inspired by Dante's Divine Comedy, the piece still holds a chilling resonance today. Created in 1933, Les Rendezvous was Ashton's first major ballet for the then Vic-Wells Ballet. This gentle piece, in which friends and acquaintances meet and dance together in a park, allows each of the dancers an opportunity to display virtuoso skills and technique in a series of solos, pas de deux and ensemble dances. Based on Edith Sitwell's deliciously nonsensical poetry, Facade embraces the fun of it all with whole-hearted and wilful abandon. Be entertained by a series of delightful characters - an enjoyable break from the sanity of everyday life. Birmingham Royal Ballet - Darkness and Light: Les Rendezvous/Dante Sonata/Facade website.| 4 Jun 14 to 7 Jun 14 | Birmingham Hippodrome Birmingham, West Midlands Performance Details => Venue archive |
