The RBS holds a series of Studio Shows at The Royal Opera House every year to give their students an opportunity to perform in public. The shows culminate in a performance in the Main House which this year will be on July 12th.
The programme last night was primarily for 2nd and 3rd Year Upper School students. There were ten items in the programme many of which were excerpts from classical ballets. The evening ended with an extended series of excerpts from Raymonda Act 111 with music by Aleksandr Glazunov - Raymonda,Op 57 Act111. This allowed a large ensemble of senior students to showcase their ballet. The Grand Pas had clearly been well rehearsed and showed good coordination and timing.
For me there were two stand out items in the evening.
Concordance was a piece of contemporary dance performed to music by Marcas Lancaster...............something outside the usual RBS programme. Performed in three parts, each with a different cast, the dancers moved to repetitive beats in a pulsating hypnotic fashion. The audience were drawn into the piece and held in rapt attention. This led to prolonged applause at the end and some lively cheering (from me!). A welcome change from the classical ballet usually associated with the RBS.
The second stand out item was Calvin Richardson's solo Dying Swan with music from Camille Saint-Saens. Calvin had choreographed this himself with Pavlova in mind. A mesmerising piece of dance. I found it profoundly moving. It was no suprise to hear that he, together with two other students will be joining The Royal Ballet Company.
If Billy Elliot had progressed to the RBS Upper School he would surely have performed in this Show.
