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After two covid delays, Johan Kobborg's Romeo and Juliet finally took place tonight. The ballet is classically based but with some fresh updated touches and completely different from McMillan’s version. It lasted about 80 minutes with no interval. The opening was the same as the closing scene – Romeo and Juliet lying dead on a bier. This brought to mind classic Greek tragedy where the end of the story is inevitable and all events lead to the final calamity. Once the bier was removed (with a bit of creaking and pushing) Polunin swaggered onto the stage, resplendent in white tights and looking very handsome. Kobborg had provided showcase choreography to make Polunin immediately stride right to the front of the stage and dazzle with his trademark huge leaps and rapid spins of the kind that his audience seem to expect. He also included a cheeky mime about Romeo’s flirtatious habits with the girls! The scenery was a massive, many-staired structure that appeared to be made of grey concrete. This was manipulated to give different views for each scene – eg tall archways for the Capulet ball, a vertiginous staircase leading to a platform to serve as Juliet’s balcony. It seemed to be a dramatic and effective combination of the brutalist architecture of Denys Lasdun and the impossible staircases drawn by Maurits Escher. When Alina Cojocaru appeared she was the epitome of a pretty, spirited teenage girl. Her dancing, as always, was exquisite and her acting was such that by the end, when she awoke from the sleeping potion full of the joy of anticipation of being with her Romeo, and then had that joy crushed by the discovery of his body, it was absolutely heartrending. I noticed grown men around me weeping. The overall feel of the piece was somewhat timeless – the costumes attractive but anonymous; it is after all a tale that could be repeated to some degree in any time and country. Apart from the principals, there was great dancing from Daichi Ikarashi as Mercutio and Nikolas Gaifullin as Tybalt. Some very promising young dancers have been hand-picked by Polunin Ink to give them the opportunity they might not have in a traditional company, and at the same time to utilise their special talents. It was lovely to see Alina bring her Johan on to the stage to receive some of the rapturous applause. I fondly remembered enjoying seeing them dance together many years ago when they were both in the Royal Ballet – beautiful dancers individually but utterly enthralling when they were together on stage. But I digress. Tonight was a different experience, merging the old with the new. The (sold-out) audience were not typical of those at the Royal Opera House – they were mostly a lot younger, and extremely enthusiastic as the lengthy standing ovation showed. I believe it is Kobborg’s aim to keep ballet alive and also to keep it fresh, and in this he has succeeded. I enjoyed the evening very much and found it a distilled and different version of Romeo and Juliet which is both spectacular and moving. https://maryrosedouglasuk.wixsite.com/ballet

I just watched - for the first time - and reviewed Roméo et Juliette. I think it's absolutely stunning and think it's worth treating yourself to this weekend

Teatro Colón have put up their 2018 recording of MacMillan's Romeo and Juliet on YouTube, starring Lauren Cuthbertson and Iñaki Urlezaga

An interesting discussion about MacMillan's "Romeo and Juliet"

Well, last week I saw Macmillan's R&J in Karlsruhe. This week it's Cranko's R&J in Stuttgart. Twice. I'll leave comments on the technical apects of the performances to more capable commentators than me. But I am constantly asked which I prefer. I don't. Both are wonderful works, and I love both of them, but I think that Macmillan really gets what it is to be 16, 17, 18 and absolutely, dilariously head over heels in love with a girl who similarly loves you. Think the balcony scene. Cranko is way too restrained. On the other hand, Cranko gets devastation, loss and grief. Act 3 is heart-rending. Is there anything in Cranko's life which explains this understanding? Macmillan Act 3, particularly in the tomb, too often descends into bathos and 'look at me.' In my opinion. The Stuttgart presentations were superb, especially David Moore as Romeo, and the following night Hyo-Jung Kang as Juliet. Now I have to wait till the end of next month for Queensland Ballet's presentation of the Macmillan version!

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I have Stalls Circle Standing D51 & D52 available for the Monday 13th May 7.30pm performance of Romeo and Juliet at Royal Opera House - cast is Beatriz Stix-Brunell and Ryoichi Hirano making their debuts. £11 per ticket.

I understand that Sir Matthew Bourne announced on TV earlier this morning that a version of Romeo and Juliet will be his next project: https://twitter.com/DanceTabs/status/1050294124094603264 Using the Prokofiev score? Presumably?

Casting is now up for BRB's Romeo and Juliet at Sadler's Wells next week https://www.brb.org.uk/whats-on/venue/sadlers-wells Tuesday June 12 Juliet Momoko Hirata Romeo César Morales Mercutio Tzu-Chao Chou Tybalt Rory Mackay Benvolio Yasuo Atsuji Wednesday June 13 mat Juliet Nao Sakuma Romeo Chi Cao Mercutio Lachlan Monaghan Tybalt Valentin Olovyannikov Benvolio Edivaldo Souza da Silva Wednesday June 13 eve Juliet Jenna Roberts Romeo Tyrone Singleton Mercutio Max Maslen Tybalt Yasuo Atsuji Benvolio Brandon Lawrence

Extract from an email sent yesterday from "Development and Enterprises" at the ROH: " We are delighted to announce that early in July the Company will be making a very special journey to Budapest to film our production of Kenneth MacMillan’s beautiful Romeo and Juliet for broadcast by the BBC. …………………. The film, which is scheduled for broadcast by the BBC on Christmas Day 2019, is a collaboration between The Royal Ballet and BalletBoyz that will bring this true classic of 20th-century ballet to a huge audience of new ballet fans and life-long balletomanes alike"

Well whatever is, or isn't going on behind the scenes at the ENB, it didn't show in tonight's performance, which was glorious. What a fabulous place to watch a ballet, the Royal Festival Hall is, everyone can see, the sound is glorious, although the stage is small, but I soon forgot that, caught up in a production so full of gifts i didn't know where to look....

Northern Ballet announces UK Première of Jean-Christophe Maillot’s, Les Ballets de Monte Carlo production of Romeo & Juliet Ahead of tonight’s Les Ballets de Monte Carlo’s UK Première of LAC (After Swan Lake) at the London Coliseum, Northern Ballet has announced that it will open its spring 2015 season with the UK Première of Jean-Christophe Maillot’s, Les Ballets de Monte Carlo production of Romeo & Juliet. The Leeds-based Company, which celebrates its 45th anniversary in 2015, will perform Romeo & Juliet at Edinburgh Festival Theatre from 26 – 28 February 2015, followed by Leeds Grand Theatre in March 2015, and a planned national tour in 2016. Set to Prokofiev’s unforgettable score, which will be played live by Northern Ballet Sinfonia, Romeo & Juliet is choreographed by acclaimed dance-maker Jean-Christophe Maillot, who has been invited by the Bolshoi Ballet to create a new version of The Taming of the Shrew this July. His beautiful interpretation captures the essence of what it means to be young and in love, and tells of the devastating tragedy that unfolds when tenderness and naivety is met with violence and pride. The tour will mark Northern Ballet’s first collaboration with Maillot and the first time that this production of Romeo & Juliet has been performed in the UK. Northern Ballet’s Artistic Director, David Nixon OBE, said: “I have chosen to add Jean-Christophe Maillot's interpretation of Romeo & Juliet to our repertoire as it is an inspired contemporary response to the classic play and his wonderful language will work convincingly with our dancers. I was also looking for a production that would provide a complete contrast and different point of view for our audience and artists from our present signature production of Christopher Gable, Massimo Moricone and Lez Brotherston’s Romeo & Juliet. We will not be losing this version from our repertoire but will be offering a new interpretation for our audiences to experience and to reflect upon. I am very honoured to be the first British company to present Jean-Christophe Maillot's work.” Mark Skipper, Northern Ballet’s Chief Executive, said: “We are delighted to collaborate with Jean-Christophe Maillot for the first time and to be premièring his Romeo & Juliet in the UK during our 45th anniversary year. The Romeo & Juliet story has a special place in the hearts of the Northern Ballet audience and the opportunity to add this version to our repertoire is very exciting for our audience who can look forward to seeing it in the majority of our touring venues during 2015 and 2016.” Tickets for Edinburgh Festival Theatre will go on general sale on 28 April and can be booked online at edtheatres.com or by calling the box office on 0131 529 6000. Please check northernballet.com for updates on Leeds Grand Theatre on sale dates. -ENDS- Notes to Editors Northern Ballet is one of the UK’s five large ballet companies. Based in Leeds it performs throughout the UK as well as overseas. Northern Ballet’s productions mix classical dance and theatre, embracing popular culture and taking inspiration from literature, opera, or giving a unique interpretation of popular classical ballets. Northern Ballet is the busiest touring ballet company in the UK and is typically on the road for around 24 weeks of the year. The Company of 40 dancers tours a combination of new works and established repertoire to cities throughout the UK and is the only large scale ballet company to do so. Visit www.northernballet.com for more information on the Company and tour. Production images and information are available via the online media centre. Romeo & Juliet – Tour Dates Edinburgh Festival Theatre 26 – 28 February 2015 Box Office 0131 529 6000 edtheatres.com On sale 28 April 2014 Leeds Grand Theatre 4 – 12 March 2015 Box Office 0844 848 2700 leedsgrandtheatre.com On sale soon See northernballet.com for updates