FIREBIRD DOUBLE BILL

About the show

Two iconic pieces lighting up the stage. Marking their third successful season, the award-winning London City Ballet, former resident company of Sadler’s Wells, return this autumn with a unique offering of classic works making their UK premieres. Celebrated international choreographer, John Neumeier, creates a new version of his 2020 piece, Ghost Light. Performed for the very first time outside of the Hamburg Ballet, Ghost Light, allows us a glimpse at the spirits of those artists who once inhabited our stages. After the curtain falls and the theatre goes dark, a light illuminates the memory of those performers whose footsteps we dance in. Celebrated ballerina Alina Cojocaru returns as Guest Artist performing in Ghost Light in London, The UK & US. In this centenary year of American choreographer Glen Tetley, we celebrate and pay homage to this icon of ballet and modern dance by reviving his gothic retelling of the Firebird. Originally made for the Royal Danish Ballet, this fresh take illustrates a young woman breaking free from the constraints of a controlling family – a pioneer flying the nest, embracing her differences and liberating her peers. The ballet’s original designer, Olivier Award-winning John MacFarlane, will revisit his designs for this revival. Ashley Page’s exuberant Mephisto Waltz, a company premiere, will be performed and rejoining the repertoire for selected tours we welcome back Jerome Robbins Quiet City, George Balanchine’s Haieff Divertimento, Kenneth MacMillan’s Concerto second movement, Florent Melac’s creation Soft Shore, Taste Chu’s Soon and Alexei Ratmansky’s Pictures at an Exhibition. Firebird is a co-production with York Theatre Royal & the Opera de Vichy, France.