Festival of New Choreography, ROH

Ballet classics are all very well, and we never tire of Swan Lake, Giselle or Nutcracker. But for dance to remain alive and relevant, it needs constant new blood and innovation, new works some of which will, in time, become classics themselves.

With that in mind, the Royal Opera House is staging an ambitious Festival of New Choreography, which will run for three weeks across all of its performance spaces.

The Main Stage will present four premieres in one show (15, 16, 20 and 21 February), all by dance makers who have already shown their mettle. They are:

-– The award-winning British choreographer and former Royal Ballet dancer Gemma Bond presents Boundless, set to Joey Roukens’ ‘In Unison’ concerto for two pianos and orchestra and with designs by Charlotte MacMillan.

– Royal Ballet First Artist Joshua Junker continues his promising choreographing career, which has already seen him create work for the Royal Ballet (pictured top) and Dutch National Ballet Junior Company, the latter earning him an award. HIs new creation is inspired by music by Nils Frahm and Vikingur Ólafsson.

– The prolific American choreographer Jessica Lang contributes Twinkle, a piece which recalls childhood enchantment with music featuring Brahms' Cradle Song and Mozart's twelve variations of Ah vous dirai-je, Maman, known popularly as the tune Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.

READ CULTURE WHISPER'S INTERVIEW WITH JESSICA LANG HERE

– Last but not least, Ballet Black dancer and choreographer Mthuthuzeli November, whose award-winning work has been widely seen internationally, presents his first commission for The Royal Ballet, For What it’s Worth, featuring a new score co-created by November himself and Alex Wilson plus costume design by Yann Seabra.

Things get rather heavier in the Linbury Theatre (10 – 20 February) where the Canadian choreographer Robert Binet presents Dark With Excessive Bright, an avant-garde piece that imagines the forces of the universe in human form. With a score of chamber music by the American composer Missy Mazzoli and design by architect and set designer Shizuka Hariu, this is a truly immersive piece, performed in the space where all the house seats have been removed and the audience are expected to circulate among the dancers.

In the Clore Studio, dancers and choreographers from several national dance companies, including The Royal Ballet, will present Duets in three performances on the afternoon of Sunday 25 February, where emerging choreographers will share new work with audiences in an intimate studio setting.

The Paul Hamlyn Hall (otherwise known as the Champagne Bar) hosts a special free and unticketed Live at Lunch Event on 23 February with a performance by the differently-abled dancer and choreographer Joseph Powell-Main.

And finally, Family Sunday: Dazzling Debuts on 18 February is an opportunity for the whole family to explore opera and ballet.

All the new wiork will be complemented by a programme of Learning and Participation activity happening across the House.