Simple and sumptuous

I wish the term ‘ballet-theatre’ had not already been snatched and (mis)used by dance historians, for there is no better way to define Will Tuckett’s art: his creations are to ballet what dance-theatre is to modern and postmodern dance. Not unlike some of the most acclaimed performance makers who specialised in the latter genre, Tuckett has taken a recognisable choreographic idiom and combined it successfully with other expressive/theatrical means. His choice, however, was and still is particularly daring; ballet, after all, is not as malleable as modern and postmodern dance techniques and styles. Yet, acclaimed creations such as The Soldier’s Tale, arguably the best theatre translation of Stravinsky’s work there has ever been, have proved that Tuckett’s ‘ballet-theatre’ can be even more artistically refreshing than the now slightly passé dance-theatre. It was evident last week, when Tuckett’s take on the Kurt Weill–Bertolt Brecht’s ballet chanté or sung ballet Seven Deadly Sins opened at the Royal Opera House.