The Royal Ballet – A Diamond Celebration review: a stylish and sparkling gala at the Royal Opera House

An event honouring the Royal Ballet’s supporters shows off a varied line-up before a glittering finale

Marianela Nunez and Reece Clarke in ‘Diamonds’ (Andrej Uspenski / ROH)

The Royal Ballet’s new Diamond Celebration is a friendly gala: a mix of party pieces, new and old, leading up to George Balanchine’s glittering Diamonds as a finale. There’s plenty of fizz and sparkle, but the choice of new works emphasises a readiness to look forward. The ballet repertory is heavy on white men, but these premieres offer a more diverse line-up, danced with bright assurance.

The hook for the evening is 60 years of the Friends of the Royal Ballet, who have supported and helped to sponsor the company. Projected photographs and quotes introduce the works, emphasising the affection between the company and its audience.

Joseph Toonga, the Royal Ballet’s first emerging choreographer, makes his main stage debut with See Us!!. Leaders emerge from a loose-limbed, tightly-knit group; flickering light suggests a wartime setting. The focus could be sharper, but I love the quality of movement Toonga gets from these dancers: drawing on hip-hop dance, he creates richly textured steps.

Dispatch Duet, by Pam Tanowitz, is a deconstructed look at ballet. Anna Rose O’Sullivan and William Bracewell dip in and out of traditional ballet, from wriggles to formal turns. O’Sullivan jumps like a bird, beating her feet with impossible speed. Bracewell spins and leaps, legs pumping while his upper body remains serene. It’s deliberately off-kilter, but Tanowitz’s steps are always lucid.

Natalia Osipova and Steven McRae bring fierce star power to Benoit Swan Pouffer’s concerto pour deux. The steps lack colour, but they make up for it with virtuoso attack and terrific personality. Similarly, the four ballerinas supply the personality for Valentino Zucchetti’s Prima. Francesca Hayward, Fumi Kaneko, Mayara Magri and Yasmine Naghdi bring bold movement and distinctive line, sometimes despite Roksanda Ilinčić’s over-structured costumes.

It balances Christopher Wheeldon’s For Four, a male showcase created in 2006. Danced to a Schubert quartet, it has both bravura and a sense of collaboration between its stars. Wheeldon’s stylish steps emphasise contrasting personalities: Marcelino Sambé’s explosive jumps and sensitive changes of speed, Matthew Ball’s charisma, James Hay’s high energy and Vadim Muntagirov’s elegance.

Marcelino Sambé and Matthew Ball in ‘For Four’ (ROH / Andrej Uspenski)

After an evening of short works, Diamonds is a large-scale set-piece to Tchaikovsky, all tutus and grandeur. The first movement was muddy, needing more space and assurance from the corps de ballet. In the ballerina role, Marianela Nuñez dances with fluidity and scale. She’s gorgeous in the twisting backbends, catching the mercurial moods of the great duet. She’s handsomely partnered by Reece Clarke, who brings power and clarity to his solos. The company performance also gains power, building to a triumphant conclusion.

Until 19 November, and in cinemas