With this great double bill the Palace Opera and Ballet season gives ballet lovers the opportunity to enjoy two fine examples of the definitive Ashton style which helped to shape British dance .

RHAPSODY opened the programme, a pure abstract dance piece which was created in 1980 to celebrate the Queen Mother’s 80th birthday , with Baryshnikov in the fiendishly demanding main role. The piece features a very demanding ballerina role (you can see the Fonteyn influence in the choreography) and an ensemble of a dozen supporting dancers.

The music was Rachmaninov’s lush, romantic Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini. The Orchestra was in great form with soloist Robert Clark on piano.

The sets and costumes were  similar to the 1980’s original designs. The women wore floaty pale pink chiffon dresses for the women, with pale mustard coloured tops for the men in white tights. This particular Ashton work harks back in style to the Romantic period, where it was all about presenting the Ballerina .

The choreography for the male ensemble was reminiscent of Ashton’s Scènes de ballet of 1948  and also had similarities to Balanchine’s style, with its speed, precision and structured formality. The women’s choreography at times had sinuous arms. There was trademark Ashton style use of epaulement and the virtuoso footwork throughout. At one point for the women Ashton uses a spiky, fizzy ,piano solo which is then followed by show off batterie for the men.

Steven McRae in the extremely demanding leading male role was magnificent; a regal, fiery Apollo blinding us with his amazing technique and exceptional ballon, and his performance featured terrific arabesques en l’air in all directions. At one point he was lifted and carried by six men, similar to the way a winning captain of a sporting team would be.

McRae had extremely difficult jumps and showy ‘barrel ‘turns dazzlingly performed and we see his long controlled elegant ‘line’. At one point he was like Prince Siegfried searching for Odette. His finishing pose brought to mine Puck in A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

The central dreamy and lyrical pas de deux for McRae and Osipova was exquisite. Some of the choreography with the hand flicks especially in the pas de deux was very Fonteyn like in style.Osipova darted and shimmered and had plenty of dizzying pirouettes to perform as well.

The work, THE TWO PIGEONS, was also typical Ashton- bucolic in style- think La Fille Mal Gardee.  This is a work that has not been performed by the Royal Ballet, or the Australian Ballet for that matter,  for decades.

The piece is  a reworking of a French ballet from 1886, with music by André Messager, and tells the story of a young man , an artist ( Vadim Muntagirov) who temporarily dumps his innocent young girlfriend (Lauren Cuthbertson) when he becomes infatuated by an alluring gypsy woman (Laura Morera).

All three dancers, and swarthy, smouldering Ryoichi Hirano as the gypsy girl’s lover, bring emotional complexity to the work which can seem rather camp and dated. It is all extremely charming, with delicate humour in Act 1 and yes there are live pigeons- well , doves actually included.

Radiant Cuthbertson in the role of the Young Girl was terrific, managing  Ashton’s challenging choreography with its fast steps, supple curves and sharp poses.

Perhaps somewhat annoying at the start of Act 1 , the role requires a dramatic expression guiding the audience through a large range of her emotions; from flirtatiously capricious ; next melancholic , abandoned and vulnerable, and concluding with a joyous reunion.

In her performance  Cuthbertson incorporated pigeon like struts, flutters, pecking and cooing which was impressive, though it felt a little repetitive at times.

Tall, handsome Muntagirov as the fickle , deceived Young Man was magnificent –lyrical and passionate with superb dancing.

Morera as the Gypsy Girl gave a hypnotic , sultry spitfire performance. The sets as designed by Jacques Dupont were impressive;  the Young Man’s studio was bright and airy,the Gypsy Camp was bright and colourful.

The women wore tattered, swirling skirts with exotic costumes for the men. The dark, ominous undertones came through clearly- observe how the gypsies steal from passers by.

The reconciliation scene at the end was enchanting, full of swirling romance, humility and forgiveness.

Running time – allow three hours which includes two intervals. During the two intervals there are behind the scenes short documentaries and interviews.

Palace Opera and Ballet’s presentation of The Royal Ballet double bill of RHAPSODY and THE TWO PIGEONS is screening at selected Palace cinemas between the 26th February and the 2nd March.