Review: KENNETH MACMILLAN - A NATIONAL CELEBRATION, Royal Opera House

The Opera House's new season continues with a joyful celebration of Kenneth MacMillan, seeing the Royal Ballet joined by the country's other top companies for a rare spectacle.

This was an eclectic programme, covering a range of MacMillan's work - from the plotless but technically strenuous Concerto, with its dreamy central pas de deux, to the zesty and playful Elite Syncopations, with its zany costuming. Between these two there is the ethereal and scarcely performed La Baiser de la fée.

Birmingham Royal Ballet takes the reigns for Concerto. The choreography is intricate for the vast ensemble, who rise to this demanding challenge set to Dmitri Shostakovich's score. Momoko Hirata and Tzu-Chao Chou are beautifully controlled while remaining light and bright in the more upbeat sections. Hirata is delicate but carefully placed, while the height of Tzu-Chao's leaps are consistently impressive.

Jenna Roberts and Tyrone Singleton remain poised in the exacting choreography of the second movement's pas de deux. There is the occasional flicker of inconsistency and nervously danced steps in the wider corps, but overall this is an assured performance.

MacMillan's rarely seen La Baiser de la fée tells the story of a fairy kissing a child at birth while disguised as a gypsy, who then returns again disguised as the now young man's fiancee on his wedding day. On this viewing, the Scottish Ballet's retelling is not as dramatic or wracked with evil as the synopsis suggests. Rather, it's a slow-paced tale told imaginatively and indulgently.

Constance Devernay is a flighty, flirty and feisty fairy. She sparkles as brightly as her costume in her manipulation of Andrew Peasgood's Young Man. Their chemistry is lacking, the choreography not enhancing the drama of the story, but the company pour their souls into the detailed characterisation.

As the fiancee, Bethany Kingsley-Garner is similarly spirited as her fairy nemesis, then later vulnerable when she suffers such a blatant betrayal. Once Peasgood's Young Man is seduced by the fairy they embark on a sensuous pas de deux, showing wonderful agility in the complex lifts. The company tells the tale with a watchable ease - appropriate for its satisfying escapism.

Despite strong showings, the home team (the Royal Ballet) saves the best for last - but not without a little help from some well-chosen friends - for a raucous Elite Syncopations.

I've had my eye on English National Ballet's Precious Adams since her stunning showing in William Forsythe's In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated as part of a triple bill earlier in the year. Last night Adams was the only ENB dancer to feature in MacMillan's ragtime work, and once again she's a success in the Calliope Rag. She slinks about the stage with a knowing confidence radiating from her willowy frame in a glorious solo.

The Royal Ballet's Yasmine Nagdhi also steals the show with some fabulous musicality in her Stop Time Rag. She embodies a ballerina comfortable on home ground. The full cast come together to deliver an uplifting finale to this worthy celebration

Kenneth MacMillan: A National Celebration continues until 1 November

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