Giannandrea Poesio

Trial and error

Royal Ballet Triple Bill<br /> Royal Opera House

issue 27 February 2010

Royal Ballet Triple Bill
Royal Opera House

The nurturing of home-grown choreographic talent has always played a central role in the history of the Royal Ballet. Undaunted by the possible ups and downs of the experimental approach, Ninette de Valois, the company’s founder, set up a unique platform for budding dance-makers. True, not everything was a success and not everything stood the test of time; but, had it not been for her risk-taking, modern-dance history would have suffered a great deal. Against the pressures and the fashionable trends of today’s ‘artistic globalisation’, which prescribes the import/export of a universally adaptable prêt à porter kind of choreography, the company has long remained faithful to the principles of its creator. Experimentation happens at different levels and is carefully monitored through well-established patterns; long before hitting the main stage, new dance-makers are invited to present their works within specifically supportive contexts, such as the events hosted in either the Clore Studio Upstairs or the Linbury Theatre.

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