York Theatre Royal – 12 May 2017. Reviewed by Marcus Richardson
The Prestigious Birmingham Royal Ballet came to the York Theatre Royal, bringing three dances with themes of comedy and sensuality. The order of dances was the Solitaire first, then 5 Tangos and to finish the Pineapple Poll. With a twenty minute interval between each dance you feel that you are spending a lot of time at the bar, instead of watching the ballet, but this is common with dance shows.
The first dance, Solitaire opened up the performance with a tale of one women wanting to fit in and find love. The dancing set the bar high and with such dedication and perfection it can be understood that they had to take that twenty minutes for the next dance. The quality stood up to name of the company. I have to give a lot of note to the main dancer Arancha Baselga, who was dancing on stage for 28 minutes straight.
To follow was the 5 Tangos, this is where the lighting grew darker and the dancing became more personal and sensual. To fit in the middle of the 3 dances it separates and creates the contrast very well. A lot of the audience preferred the other dances, as they were much more upbeat and heartwarming, to say this doesn’t diminish the 5 Tangos as it was performed with just as much power and was as pristine as its previous partner. At points during the dance the lighting felt too dark and it was hard to see the dancer in these times.
After the second interval we were greeted with the gem of the night, the Pineapple Poll, with a much more visual set of a coastal town and a ship, you can see why this was saved to last. The dance would appeal to even those who dislike ballet, with women falling love with the ship captain so much, that they are willing to go to sea for him. Now, I wouldn’t want to ruin this dance or the plot, but there is a moment on the ship which will make you jump out of your seat.
I loved spending my evening at the ballet, and I’m sure you will as well. I would say bring some money for a drink, since the intervals may seem long. I have to say a huge well done to all the dancers, as to have that level of commitment and finesse is beyond my mind and I can only think about how dedicated they are to their craft and the arts.