It's especially challenging for the Royal Ballet, whose repertoire and style are built on the subtle understatement of Frederick Ashton and the deep psychological explorations of Kenneth MacMillan: hot-blooded Latin exuberance is not really their thing...
Tag - Christopher Saunders
Gallery by Dave Morgan...
First thing to say is that it's a peach of a production, coherent, dramatically satisfying... It still feels fresh and vibrant... The three leads did well... Elsewhere it was a mix of good and ragged steps...
'Sweet Violets', though over-ambitious, is the best stab at a psychologically complex narrative ballet the company has commissioned for years.
The production stands or falls by the strength of the central performances, and on this occasion we were fortunate indeed.