Birmingham Royal Ballet’s touring triple bill opens with Ruth Brill’s Arcadia. Brandon Lawrence is physically impressive as Pan, half-man, half-goat, and the music by saxophonist John Harle is particularly appealing.
Le Baiser de La Fée was conceived by Igor Stravinsky and Alexandre Benois and choreographed by Branislava Nijinska in 1928. The libretto is based on Hans Christian Anderson’s The Ice Maiden. The music pays homage to Tchaikovsky’s ballets. Michael Corder’s version lacks the icy evil which might have made this predatory fairy’s baby-snatching more dramatic.
Still Life at Penguin Café, created by David Bintley in 1988 to an amazing and instantly likable score by Simon Jeffes, is sheer delight. The ballet, a series of revue vignettes, is a carnival of endangered species and so charming and light-hearted that the serious coda may well come as a surprise.