The Royal Ballet, Infra Mixed Bill, ROH

In Infra, The Royal Ballet’s resident choreographer Wayne MacGregor’s 2008 masterpiece of abstract ballet, twelve dancers portray the emotions beneath the surface of human interaction. They move through solos, duets and ensembles, exploring alienation and the often unbridgeable space that exists between people.

Created for The Royal Ballet in collaboration with artist Julian Opie in 2008, Infra is one of contemporary ballet’s most emotionally resonant pieces. The melancholy tone is established from the off by Max Richter’s score, which features murmuring electronica and staccato snippets of radio edits and Morse code.

In stark contrast, George Balanchine’s 1947 neoclassical ballet Symphony in C is set to Bizet’s Symphony no.1 and is a joyful affair starring twinkle-toed ballerinas in tutus and tiaras.

A study in pure dance, this ballet is all about sparkle and spectacle. First performed by The Royal Ballet in 1991, it is designed to show off a classical company to maximum advantage.

The four movements of Bizet’s score are matched to dazzling choreography that moves through virtuoso displays of energetic allegro, fluid adagio and romantic pas de deux passages. It all culminates in a glittering grand finale which sees 52 dancers fill the stage.

The unknown entity in this new triple bill is the world premiere of Alastair Marriott’s The Unknown Soldier, a work created for The Royal Ballet to commemorate the centenary of the ending of the First World War.

As a tribute to the fallen, Marriott’s ballet takes inspiration from The Tomb of the Unknown Warrior at Westminster Abbey – the final resting place of an unidentified British soldier killed on a European battlefield during the First World War.

The ceremony to entomb the soldier was a landmark moment of national mourning and the tomb remains as a memorial which honours the hundreds of thousands who died in service.

Danced to a newly commissioned score by Oscar-winning film composer Dario Marianelli, and featuring archive film footage and interviews with veterans, Marriott’s offering promises to compellingly explore the stories of people caught up in the turmoil of war.