The Royal Ballet – Beauty Mixed Programme: Anemoi/The Sleeping Beauty Act III

Ninety years ago Dame Ninette de Valois created what we know now as The Royal Ballet. Her vision for the Company and desire for her successors to venture forward as ‘adventurous traditionalists’ is reflected in this varied programme of classics and new work. The programme opens with the world premiere of Anemoi by First Soloist Valentino Zucchetti who develops his ballet Scherzo created especially for the youngest members of the Company and streamed so successfully last autumn. Inspired by Greek mythology where Anemoi gods personify the winds, this uplifting creation ushers in brighter times with positive winds of change and the warm arrival of spring. A selection of short works follows, by choreographers who have shaped The Royal Ballet’s history and pushed the boundaries of ballet today. The programme is completed by The Sleeping Beauty Act III. De Valois selected Petipa’s classic to launch her company at Sadler’s Wells Theatre on 15 May 1931. She presented a new production of the ballet for the reopening of the Royal Opera House 75 years ago in 1946, when the Company made its new home there after the war. The burst of colour and optimism in the final act of this revival, lovingly restaged by Monica Mason and Christopher Newton, marks not only these two anniversaries for The Royal Ballet but also the ebullient mood of the Company’s return to the stage in 2021.