Christopher Marney, artistic director of London City Ballet, is committed, “to reviving less familiar but important work, shining a new light on those choreographies and providing access through extensive touring.”
The present double-bill, which was choreography by Glen Tetley and John Neumeier, pays homage and memorial to them both.
Mikhail Fokine and Igor Stravinsky’s Firebird had a terrific impact in 1910, a landmark in ballet. In 1981 the Russian fairy tale was given a complete rewrite by Glen Tetley for the Royal Danish Ballet. Not seen for 45 years, it has been reconstructed by Christopher Marney. John McFarlane’s designs have also been recreated.
The story now has a Gothic feel. A young woman (Ellie Young) breaks free from a domineering patriarch (Arthur Henderson), finds love (Joseph Taylor) and liberates her peers. Stravinsky’s music drives the drama.
John Neumeier’s Ghost Light, created for the Hamburg Ballet, premiered in 2029 during the COVID-19 pandemic and the complete shutdown of theatres. Complying with strict safety rules, the dancers worked each day in small, separated groups of six for one hour.
Set to melancholy solo piano music by Franz Schubert, the ballet recreates and reinvents what the dancers did in isolation. There is no story; the dances are mainly solos and duets.
The stage is empty and illuminated only by a traditional theatrical ghost light, a single bulb on a stand centre-stage. Guest artist, Alina Cojocaru, enters dressed for Swan Lake. The poignancy comes from the length of time she is left all on her own and looking lost.
The audience was very silent and respectful as if they were attending a wake, reliving a time gone by and haunted by memories.
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