TONIGHT: Draft Works @ Royal Opera House

Lindsey
By Lindsey Last edited 155 months ago
TONIGHT: Draft Works @ Royal Opera House


Draft Works gives dancers from the Royal Ballet the chance to create and share their own dance pieces.

All have created and rehearsed their pieces in their own time - quite a feat given how hard dancers work. All have been mentored by an established name - among them Wayne McGregor and Aletta Collins - and all introduce their works on stage in person. All are pretty nervous, it's safe to say.

Unconstrained by Royal Ballet rep these young artists adjust to being the one telling others what to do - a novel experience for a dancer forever attempting to please teacher and choreographer - and explore their ideas through hip hop, rock and classical music; in solos, duets and group pieces.

All show promise and are engaging and interesting and, of course, the dancing is fantastic. It's not often you get to see ballerina, Leanne Benjamin, stripped of tutu and froufrou and working a stark, modern duet with the excellent Thomas Whitehead for ten quid or so and it's lovely to see dancers from the company freed from the ranks of the Royal for a night.

If you think you might like ballet but need a taster to find out, or if you would relish the opportunity to see Royal Ballet dancers up close doing things outside their main stage schedule, grab a ticket now for tonight. Not only might you be witnessing stars of the future given a chance to shine outside their normal sphere but you can mingle with the choreographers and tell them what you thought after the show.

Draft Works is in the Linbury Studio Theatre, downstairs at Royal Opera House at 7.45. Show lasts about an hour, no interval.

Last Updated 27 April 2011