ECSTASY & DEATH London Coliseum

English National Ballet’s triple bill gets off to a thrilling start with Jiri Kylian’s Petite Mort, which is performed to two Mozart concertos, and which opens with an impressive display of swordsmanship. The fencing foils, spinning in sync, seem to have a life all of their own. Roland Petit’s Le Jeune Homme et La Mort, based on a short poem by Jean Cocteau and set to Bach’s Passacaglia, tells the story of an artist who is driven to suicide by his faithless lover, who provides the noose with which to do it. Set in a Parisian attic it is a typical French melodrama of the period, with its caricature of a femme fatale, its erotic frustration, its preoccupation with death, its post-war existentialism and its inevitable Gauloise cigarettes. The role is dramatically danced and acted by Nicolas Le Roche (no longer a jeune homme at 41 but still very impressive in his agility) and Tamara Rojo in the role of Lover as Death. Harold Lander’s ever-popular Etudes is a homage to classical ballet: an anthology of exercises and techniques, made dramatic by production and lighting. It’s a delightful showcase for bravura performances by corps and soloists.