Generations: Three Short Ballets, Linbury Theatre, review: Northern Ballet dance up a storm

The highlight is New York City Ballet star Tiler Peck’s new piece ‘Intimate Pages’, which shows off the dancers’ crisp technique and sense of drama

Harris Beattie in Tiler Peck’s ‘Intimate Pages’ (Kyle Baines)

Northern Ballet dance up a storm in Tiler Peck’s vivid new Intimate Pages. The New York City Ballet star’s new work shows off the dancers’ crisp technique and sense of drama, in a whirl of changing moods.

Peck’s ballet is the highlight, but Generations: Three Short Ballets shows versatile dancers in sharp form. Northern Ballet is best known for its dance storytelling, but in recent years the company has developed shorter and more varied works alongside its big narrative ballets. New director Federico Bonelli uses this format to emphasise the classical side of his company, in a programme that ranges from lyrical to bravura.

Danced to Janáček’s string quartet, Intimate Pages casts Harris Beattie as the hero of a romantic drama, pursuing Sarah Chun through a crowd of dancers. He loses her among doubles or sees her whisked away by supporting soloists; groups of dancers bar his way, or carry her back to him. Chun is a mercurial heroine, both dreamy and playful. The charismatic Harris switches from explosive, stormy steps to gentle intimacy.

Peck’s swooping group scenes make the cast look much bigger than it is: eight supporting dancers suggest a busy throng or a stately court. Aerys Merrill stands out in a fleet-footed solo role. It’s a work with a strong sense of atmosphere and personality.

The new Joie de Vivre, by Royal Ballet soloist Benjamin Ella, is a fluent, flirty dance for three couples, danced to Sibelius. With flowing steps and casual, friendly interactions between the dancers, Ella nods to Jerome Robbins’ classic Dances at a Gathering.

Dominique Larose and Joseph Taylor are elegant and poised in their duets, with low, skimming lifts and a sense of romance. Chun and Beattie are stormier: she’s cool but dips into abandon, while he’s both boyish and dramatic. Saeka Shirai and Jun Ishii are sunny and even-tempered, swooping through the ballet.

Ella falls into cliché with some macho male competition, but he conjures a relaxed atmosphere that shows off his cast’s ease with each other and with storytelling. There’s a lovely moment when they acknowledge musicians Ewan Gilford and Geoffrey Allan, and the connection they have with the music – ironically, it comes when rising costs mean this company may not have live music at all at venues in the future.

Hans van Manen’s 1973 Adagio Hammerklavier is a formal set piece for three couples in white. With its stark patterns, it underlines Bonelli’s focus on technique, while the cast responds with calm clarity.