Curated by Carlos, Birmingham Royal Ballet review: Triple bill shows off charisma of mature dancers

Following pandemic delays, Birmingham Royal Ballet director Carlos Acosta is finally making smart use of his star power

‘City of a Thousand Trades’ by Miguel Altunaga was a ‘poorly focused celebration of Birmingham’ (Johan Persson)

Carlos Acosta took over as director of Birmingham Royal Ballet in 2020, after a celebrated career as a dancer. Despite pandemic delays, he’s making smart use of his own star power. For the London premiere of this triple bill, choreographer Goyo Montero added a new duet to his 2003 ballet Chacona. Danced by Acosta and guest ballerina Alessandra Ferri, it shows off the charisma of two mature dancers. Yet this sprinkle of stardust doesn’t pull focus from the company, who dance with heart throughout.

The two new works are part of BRB’s Ballet Now, an ongoing programme to commission new choreography to new music. Miguel Altunaga’s City of A Thousand Trades is a poorly focused celebration of Birmingham. Things look up with the sleek, joyful dancing of Daniela Cardim’s Immanent.

Altunaga starts with the idea of people trading something to come to the city. Poet Casey Bailey’s voiceover framework is full of broad statements, but there’s not much dancing in them. The dancers drift among the blocks and steel poles of Giulia Scrimieri’s set. Without something concrete to express, they do a lot of gazing in wonder at the scaffolding.

As Mathias Coppens’s score builds, they launch into weighted contemporary dance moves, until speech returns to break the momentum. Snatches of interviews with real people are stronger: there are real stories to engage with. But the dance doesn’t match the liveliness of Coppens’ score, which flits cheerfully from strings to electric guitar, in a nod to Birmingham’s heavy metal heritage.

Immanent is much more assured. The 16 dancers start on the floor, rippling through shared movement. On their feet, they spin and flow, responding to the springtime energy of Paul Englishby’s score. Cardim and her dancers bring out the sheer pleasure of movement. In one repeating phrase, a sprinting run slows and whirls into a turn - and each time, there’s a sense of delight in the contrast.

The piece darkens as it continues. A door opens in April Dalton’s craggy set, a fearful or necessary change. After fiery, explosive doubts, some choose to leave. Cardim’s storytelling is fresh and direct.

‘Immanent’ was a ‘much more assured’ performance (Johan Persson)

Chacona sets black-clad dancers working through patterns to Bach. In the new duet, Ferri and Acosta weave between a line of dancers, like the king and queen of a chess board. Then the company take over, exploding into Goya’s big jumps and extreme poses with speed and attack. Acosta has curated unevenly, but his dancers look bold and committed.

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