2022/23 ballet seasons

[jmhopton]

Happy New Year everyone! Lets hope 2022 (especially the 2022/23 season) can see more of a return to ballet normality for companies, dancers and audiences alike. It's what we all want to see. I'm starting my annual conjecture as to what is likely to be in the 2022/23 season and what I'd like to be there. I concentrate mainly on the Royal Ballet Company as that's the company and rep. I know best but if anyone wants to include other UK, European or other Companies that's fine. I know Kevin will almost certainly have finalised his plans (though they may be more fluid than usual and more subject to change because of covid eg possibly substituting more mixed bills for the preferred money spinning full length ballets if restrictions return). But there may be a small slot he is undecided about so perhaps we could give him some hints. At least he will know what committed ballet goers would like to see!

 

Of course I would like anything by Frederick Ashton. Where do you start? La Fille is an obvious feel-good favourite and I don't think has been scheduled since 2015 (?) If so, it is long overdue for a revival. However, I would like a new recording of Sylvia, either for cinema or livestream (particularly with Vadim/Marianela) so either would be great. There are so many short ballets I'd love to see though given the current Ashton policy at the ROH I know I don't stand a chance of getting a mixed bill as well as a full length. In lieu of anything else a small scale mixed bill at the Linbury would suffice (providing there's a full length on the main stage), especially if it was filmed. Les Rendezvous would be a good start. I was so disappointed when ENB school didn't film their school show. I think Christopher Carr staged it. It would be great to stage more obscure Ashton while people like him are still around and can help with the production. So many have been lost already. We don't want to lose any more if it could be preventable.

 

Don Q is another feel good ballet. It probably wouldn't be staged the same year as La Fille so either/or would be great. Carlos' staging isn't a massive favourite but better than nothing. Of course they may not want to do it so soon after BRB but consultation doesn't always seem to happen. Think how both RB and BRB opened up this season with Romeo.

 

Onegin is also a massive favourite for me. Pushing it a bit I know as it's not that long since it was staged but I've been waiting to see Vadim Muntagirov as Onegin ever since he joined the RB and was gutted when he pulled out 2 years ago. I know he's not everyone's idea of Onegin but I've always wanted to see what he makes of the role and if he could do it with his previously scheduled Tatiana, Osipova it would really make my year.

 

There will have to be the obligatory Macmillan. I prefer Manon but Mayerling would be OK if it's longer since that was performed.

 

19th century classic. Possibly Bayadere? Not that long since it was staged but Swan lake and Sleeping Beauty have been staged more recently.

 

I'd like to see something more unknown by Jerome Robbins but choreographers like him seem to lose out in favour of more modern works which is a pity. Same with Cranko. I thought some of his plotless ballets streamed during the pandemic such as RBME and Mozart's Concerto for Flute and harp were absolutely brilliant. Like some of Balanchine's work (Symphony in C would definitely get my vote) they are my ideal of modern ballets and would like to see more of them at the ROH. To me they are great modern ballets and not a contortion or sludge coloured leotard in sight!

 

I'll probably think of several more possibilities as soon as I stop but can't keep adding and will be interested to see what other people think. Here's to a great season of ballet watching for all of us. After what everyone has gone through this last 2 years we all deserve it!

[Beryl H]

These ballets came immediately to mind, none of which I think I will be likely to see 🙂

 

Ashton:  Daphnis @ Chloe, Cinderella, Sylvia,

 

RB: Johann Kobborg's La Sylphide or another production

 

Bolshoi: Giselle with original ending, Nureyev

 

 

 

 

[DanJL]

I feel like I'm easy to please after really enjoying recent Royal Ballet programming - a nice varied programme of ballets is my main hope! Having said that, it would be great to see some of the big ballets I've never seen in person - Mayerling and Fille or Sylvia would be high on that list! 

 

I really enjoyed the mixed bill with Les Patineurs and Winter Dreams a few years ago - would be great to see those again. 

 

And definitely keen to see more Balanchine. But after the success of Apollo, my vote would be for something different again rather than Symphony in C which was programmed twice relatively recently. 

 

In terms of other companies. I'd love another chance to see Northern Ballet's Jane Eyre. And would be over the moon if more companies would tour to Cardiff or even Bristol! 

[Jan McNulty]

I would love to see BRB delve into its back catalogue apart from introducing new works.

 

I would love to see them revive Fille, Edward ll, Madding Crowd amongst the full length works.  Tombeaux, Facade, Upper Room, Gallantries, The Dream, Concerto, Penguin Cafe, Orpheus Suite, Shakespeare Suite, Take 5, Month in the Country, Solitaire, Western Symphony, Symphony in 3 Movements, Apollo, 4 Temperaments....

 

 

Who knows what will happen beyond the Spring Tour for Northern Ballet but of the existing rep I would like to see Geisha, Cleopatra, Christmas Carol, Romeo & Juliet (Gable/Morricone), Madame Butterfly, Withering Heights, I Got Rhythm.  I would like to see a Kenny Tindall triple bill.  Shorter works like Perpetuum Mobile, Angels in the Architecture, Concerto, Gloria.

 

I would like to see ENB tour "up North" again (as long as it's not Nutcracker!).

[jmhopton]

Yes I too would like to see more touring, especially ENB Raymonda to Manchester as I'm going to have to cancel my London visit. Also, it was due to premier there so they should at least get a visit though it may not be an easy ballet to fill the Palace Theatre. It's so large.

 

Like Janet, I would like to see BRB delve into their back catalogue and I too would love to see much of what she suggests. I suspect we may have to wait longer than usual this year to hear any new season announcements as artistic directors may be hedging their bets, trying to best guess covid related problems, though that's probably fairly impossible.

[Fonty]

I am firmly convinced that what I would like to see will be absolutely nothing like what we will actually get.  I don't know why we are hoping for more Ashton, or anything from the back catalogues.   In fact, I won't know why we are even bothering to type the words.  We know what we will be getting, at least from the Royal Ballet.  Other than the Nutcracker, the other full length ballet will be Sleeping Beauty, as they are performing Swan Lake this season.  One of the 3 act MacMillan ballets, whichever one is next in the rotation.  Vast numbers of performances of each, especially for the former, to allow all the Principals several goes at it.  At least one, if not two, lavish new productions by Wayne MacGregor, which may or may not last more than one season.  Having used up all the spare cash on that, there might be space to squeeze in something to please those of us who still like old fashioned,  fuddy duddy stuff like Ashton.  A full length ballet if we are lucky, and  the rest will be a few little snippets included in triple bills, to make us feel that the RB is still in touch with its roots. At best these will be performed adequately, but will probably be tentatively danced at much slower speeds in a style that bears no resemblance to the original choreography, which will make them seem dated and dull.  After which they will be thankfully put away, the company having proven that such stuff has no place in ballet rep today.  

At least, that has been my experience for the past few seasons, and that is my expectation for the 2022/23 season.  Here's hoping I am very, very wrong.  

 

 

 

Edited January 1, 2022 by Fonty

[Scheherezade]

1 hour ago, Jan McNulty said:

I would love to see BRB delve into its back catalogue apart from introducing new works.

 

I would love to see them revive Fille, Edward ll, Madding Crowd amongst the full length works.  Tombeaux, Facade, Upper Room, Gallantries, The Dream, Concerto, Penguin Cafe, Orpheus Suite, Shakespeare Suite, Take 5, Month in the Country, Solitaire, Western Symphony, Symphony in 3 Movements, Apollo, 4 Temperaments....

 

 

Who knows what will happen beyond the Spring Tour for Northern Ballet but of the existing rep I would like to see Geisha, Cleopatra, Christmas Carol, Romeo & Juliet (Gable/Morricone), Madame Butterfly, Withering Heights, I Got Rhythm.  I would like to see a Kenny Tindall triple bill.  Shorter works like Perpetuum Mobile, Angels in the Architecture, Concerto, Gloria.

 

I would like to see ENB tour "up North" again (as long as it's not Nutcracker!).

I totally agree, Janet, and would love to see a number of these brought to London. 

[Mary]

At RB I would like to see a lot of joy:

Fille

Rendezvous

The Dream

Symphony in C

 

but also some sorrow:

Requiem

I think would be appropriate in 2022.

 

Shorter Macmillans and a rest for the big 3, giving a chance for them to feel fresh again.

 

Ashton's Hamlet and Ophelia we saw in the Insight.

 

Some reminders that the avant garde didn't start in our century..so Les Noces, Rite.

 

At BRB, agree with Janet,  the start of a comprehensive trawl through their fabulous heritage in celebration of a great company.

 

ENB - great to see a new production of a classic happening this year so another one would be good. Bayadere? ( I realise Ms Rojo probably has more than enough to do)

 

It would be good to see a Ratmansky somewhere by someone.

 

If I can only have one, then Fille .

 

I would also like to see the ballet companies doing more to advertise themselves. Not to change to be like something else but to let people know how wonderful they are- get on the telly a bit more for a start. The Nutcracker documentary did good work: I know 2 friends whose kids saw it and asked to go to the ballet, perhaps because the approach of focusing on the dancers as normal young people- just ultra-talented and skilled- helped the audience to find a way in. It should have been the start of a series.

 

 

 

 

 

[Scheherezade]

2 minutes ago, Fonty said:

I am firmly convinced that what I would like to see will be absolutely nothing like what we will actually get.  I don't know why we are hoping for more Ashton, or anything from the back catalogues.   In fact, I won't know why we are even bothering to type the words.  We know what we will be getting, at least from the Royal Ballet.  Other than the Nutcracker, the other full length ballet will be Sleeping Beauty, as they are performing Swan Lake this season.  One of the 3 act MacMillan ballets, whichever one is next in the rotation.  Vast numbers of performances of each, especially for the former, to allow all the Principals several goes at it.  At least one, if not two, lavish new productions by Wayne MacGregor, which may or may not last more than one season.  Having used up all the spare cash on that, there might be space to squeeze in something to please those of us who still like old fashioned,  fuddy duddy stuff like Ashton.  A full length ballet if we are lucky, and  the rest will be a few little snippets included in triple bills, to make us feel that the RB is still in touch with its roots. At best these will be performed adequately, but will probably be tentatively danced at much slower speeds in a style that bears no resemblance to the original choreography, which will make them seem dated and dull.  After which they will be thankfully put away, the company having proven that such stuff has no place in ballet rep today.  

At least, that has been my experience for the past few seasons, and that is my expectation for the 2022/23 season.  Here's hoping I am very, very wrong.  

As far as BRB is concerned, goodness knows what Acosta has got planned, but be prepared to see less and less classical ballet, and more and more "experimental" stuff, plus several well known ballets with new choreography by the AD himself.  .  

 

 

Oh dear, Fonty, what a depressing scenario and how sad that it’s difficult to envisage anything more hopeful. 

[Fonty]

@ScheherezadeSorry!  

 

Sadly, I cannot see a better outcome for the BRB.  The new AD has made it quite plain what he sees the future to be, and it certainly doesn't seem to involve anything in the back catalogue.  

[Jeannette]

Les Rendezvous at the ROH with the previous “gates” set & costumes. 

Reprograming some of the works “lost” due to the spring/summer 2020 cancellations, such as Ratmansky/Chopin Preludes.

[Jan McNulty]

12 minutes ago, Fonty said:

@ScheherezadeSorry!  

 

Sadly, I cannot see a better outcome for the BRB.  The new AD has made it quite plain what he sees the future to be, and it certainly doesn't seem to involve anything in the back catalogue.  

 

I can't bring myself to like your post Fonty but I agree with you re BRB.  It's dreadfully depressing isn't it.

[Scheherezade]

Definitely reprogramming works lost to Covid cancellation, Tombeaux being one such at RB.

 

I would love to have a full programme of Ashton's more intimate works on the Linbury stage and with all the positive reactions to Hamlet and Ophelia in the Ashton Rediscovered evening, is there a glimmer of a chance that we could see Hayward and Bracewell in a full performance of this reconstructed work?

 

Talking of Bracewell, and moving on to Macmillan, can we please have Bracewell's Crown Prince Rudolf? And more of Macmillan's earlier works a, including a re-run of Las Hermanas.

[JohnS]

I’d be very keen to see the Royal Ballet perform Anastasia again, particularly if Laura Morera were dancing/coaching others.

[alison]

Dancing, please  

[Fonty]

52 minutes ago, Jan McNulty said:

 

I can't bring myself to like your post Fonty but I agree with you re BRB.  It's dreadfully depressing isn't it.

 

It is indeed depressing.  I think what has made me feel worse is reading the articles by Clement Crisp, saying exactly the same things about the need to programme more of the back catalogue, and how there is a real danger that that if they are not danced, then many important ballets could be lost for ever.  The worst thing is he was saying it 20 years ago, if not more.  🙁

[Lizbie1]

18 minutes ago, JohnS said:

I’d be very keen to see the Royal Ballet perform Anastasia again, particularly if Laura Morera were dancing/coaching others.

 

Like others I'd rather the MacMillan slot went to a triple bill, though not Concerto, Elite Syncopations or Winter Dreams (too recent) or the Judas Tree (yuk).

 

If it must be a full length I'd be interested in the Prince of the Pagodas, which I've never seen. For any of the others I'd only bother if I particularly fancied the casting.

[JNC]

I’ll do my dream list first then a more realistic (but still hopeful?) list second. 
 

For RB I would love to see 

La Bayadere (the casting would be fantastic) as the big classical ballet.

 

La Fille and or Sylvia (or dare I say Cinderella, I noted ROH showed a short clip of O Sullivan and another dancer I feel bad for forgetting this dancing in the studio recently…) 

 

More Ashton triple bills or a triple bill with some Ashton and Les Noces/Rite and other ‘heritage’ works (both sadly unlikely in any case and certainly if we get a full length Ashton). 

 

More Balanchine - Jewels surely due a revival but failing that a Balanchine triple, including Serenade. 

 

Sorry but I could live a year without any MacMillan, or certainly the ‘big three’, but if we have to have some how about shorter works (Song of the Earth etc)? 
 

I could also live without a full length contemporary work given we had two (new) ones this year but I imagine a shorter contemporary piece will crop up, could it be choreographed by someone new and not just Wheeldon/Macgregor (though I know they hold specific choreographer posts). 
 

I would also like to see more Jerome Robbins!! And would love love a Les Sylphides revival. 

 

(And for ENB would quite like to see Skeaping’s Giselle revived, and maybe their Coppelia?) 

 

I’d be ecstatic to get even half of the above however, as as @Fontysays the reality for RB probably will be: 

Sleeping Beauty

The Nutcracker (Christmas profit) 

Mayerling or Manon (maybe even both) 

A (new) contemporary triple bill with some Wheeldon and or MacGregor and another 

Another full length ‘classic/heritage’ work may be possible if RB think it will sell well - this is where I am most hopeful and think Sylvia or La Fille could be likely, unless they really do do a Cinderella revival. La Bayadere I am hoping for but it could be relegated again as I know it hadn’t been done for quite a few years before the previous run - but it could take the slot for Giselle given the Corps drills and opportunities for more debuts and others to embed into roles they did for the first time in 2018. But if not those, could Alice in Wonderland return as a “family favourite” which they think might sell well? Or perhaps A Winter’s Tale or Woolf Works as a contemporary “revival”? 

I’d be surprised to see a full length new work given resource and some continuing covid uncertainty, and the fact both Wheeldon and MacGregor have showcased full length pieces this year but I may be wrong. I think it may be more likely they would revive Cinderella in this instance (perhaps same choreography but new costumes/sets and some minor choreographic tweaking?) but for a similar reason that may be further ahead in the future. If Cinderella is revived I imagine of course we wouldn’t see La Fille/Sylvia/Bayadere etc 

 

I imagine there may be some sort of heritage mixed bill if no full length Ashton that squeezes in one Ashton, maybe a Balanchine and another - that I wouldn’t complain about but it’s not quite the same as staging a full length work. 
 

I imagine RB will be focussing on post pandemic financial recovery still so I also don’t wish to be too pessimistic but imagine we’ll see price rises again (certainly if Nutcracker is back) as well. 

[Rina]

Reflecting on this thread I realise that the works I'd like to see were almost all made at least 20 years ago. It was after the RB started dancing William Forsythe that my interest in the company began to wane, so to speak. Some suggestions:

 

Ashton Double Bill of A Wedding Bouquet and Daphnis and Chloe, with some divertissements like the newly mounted solo from Le Rossignol.

Cinderella or Fille instead of Nutcracker over Christmas. (This used to happen before Peter Wright's new production of Nutcracker of the mid 1980s.)

 

Triple Bills such as:

 

Andree Howard, La Fete Etrange

Antony Tudor, Dark Elegies

Paul Taylor, Esplanade or Airs 

 

Ashton, Les Rendezvous

Balanchine, Mozartiana or Le Tombeau de Couperin

Macmillan Song of the Earth

 

Ashton, Apparitions

Any one-act Massine ballet (Clement Crisp and Mary Clarke recommended three in their "must-see" list in The Ballet Goer's Guide.)

MacMillan, La fin du Jour or Solitaire

 

I'd be interested in seeing more Pam Tanowitz - she has a sense of humour! Or Mark Morris.

 

[Dawnstar]

1 hour ago, Scheherezade said:

Definitely reprogramming works lost to Covid cancellation, Tombeaux being one such at RB.

 

I agree with this, especially for The Prodigal Son which I was very interested to see before covid axed it (though I would prefer it be programmed alongside different works to those it was to appear alongside in 2020).

 

I know most people are sick of the MacMillan big 3 but I've only seen Mayerling live once & would really like to see Bonelli/Morera in it so if it could be scheduled again soon & they could be persuaded to not retire until after that....

 

I agree with those who would like to see Bayadere again but I worry that even in the few years since it was last on the views of certain vociferous people have changed so it would be protested as not being politically correct enough.

 

Heritage ballets that I have never seen & I would like to see but have little to no hope that they actually will (ever?) be scheduled: Checkmate, Facade, Job, The Rake's Progress, The Gods Go A-Begging.

[Lizbie1]

Something that continues to baffle me is why the RB doesn't stage an all-women-choreographer mixed bill. Nijinska and de Valois practically pick themselves; the third slot could be a new commission or perhaps a revival of the Twyla Tharp commission from a few years ago. (Yes, I know many weren't fussed about it but as we *always* get a second outing for such things it would fit comfortably.)

 

Or are there any obvious alternatives, Crystal Pite aside?

[Pas de Quatre]

What about Didy Veldman's new Carmen?

[MaddieRose]

My dream list (which is hopeless, but oh well): 

 

Balanchine's The Prodigal Son (Claire Calvert and Alex Campbell mentioned rehearsing this in their LBC talk, and I'm miffed COVID took it away from us). Symphony in C, Themes and Variations. My most unrealistic Balanchine is Vienna Waltzes, which I know will never happen. Robbins' The Concert would be nice.  

 

Tudor, maybe The Leaves are Fading? Gala Performance, which sounds fun too. 

 

Do the RB or BRB still have any of de Valois' work in their stageable repertoires? I'd love to see those, in an ideal world where companies remember and celebrate their founders. Birmingham did Ashton's Dante Sonata some time ago, so I'd like to see that as well. 

 

Les Sylphides. I know the RB have done The Firebird, Les Noces and The Rite of Spring, so those. 
 

Full lengths will be the money-makers, so I don't expect much to change in rotations there. As long everyone's not doing the same ballet at the same time I'll be happy. 
 

i'll take anything Ashton at this rate. Hopefully the Triple Bill in London does well, and that'll convince them there's an audience that is eager for Ashton out there. 
 

There is a huge and rich history of ballet works out there. New works are good, but at the rate companies seem to be moving forward there'll be nobody to coach the older works when someone finally remembers they exist. It's all well and good teaching dancers the steps, but they need to learn the roles too. It might be a shout into the void at this point, but maybe, just maybe, 2022 will be the year someone hears it. But probably not. 

[Lizbie1]

2 minutes ago, MaddieRose said:

My most unrealistic Balanchine is Vienna Waltzes, which I know will never happen.

 

With Richard Strauss's copyright having run out, though, it's at least become possible!

[Rob S]

Fille

Bayadere

Anastasia

Symphonic Variations

Symphony in C

Strapless (I'm a big Sargent fan and 2016 was before my time!)

Les Pats

 

 

 

 

[Lizbie1]

Ideal Ashton mixed bill

 

Symphonic (always, every year)

Les Rendezvous (needs resuscitation, haven't seen it)

Daphnis (haven't seen it, really want to)

 

There are so many others, though!

 

[Sabine0308]

I'm cautious with wishes, but I keep my fingers crossed for Marcia Haydee's  "Sleeping Beauty" here in Berlin. I lost count on how many times it has been postponed. 

[serenade]

Love everyone's wish lists.  

 

For RB my wishlist would be Sleeping Beauty or Bayadere, La Fille and any Ashton 😃I'd also be a happy with resting Manon & Mayerling.  I'd love to see Themes and Variations live.

 

For BRB  I know there's no chance but would love to see Still Life, Serenade, Carmina Burana.  I know Hobson's Choice was done recently but I'd love to see it again.  

 

For ENB I'd love to see La Sylphide, Rite of Spring, Le Jeune Homme et la mort.

 

I'd love the Bolshoi to do Etudes on a cinema broadcast.

 

Of course, I'd mainly be happy with just a year of no closures as I'm sure everyone would be and I'd also be happy with anything that get's programmed that I haven't had the opportunity to see before (not new works...revivals I mean).

[jmhopton]

Yes, Les Patineurs. How could I forget this! For some bizarre reason it used to be scheduled with Tales of Beatrix Potter. Has it been done since? Seems ages. Though I always feel slightly short changed because we don't get the proper end any more, where the curtain comes down on the Blue Boy turning and then rises again with him still turning. I think I was told that modern technology meant you aren't able to lower and rise the curtain fast enough to enable this to be done but I suspect there's a health and safety reason in there somewhere as well. There always is these days

Pair it with Midsummer Nights Dream and throw in Voices of Spring and you could almost do an Ashton seasonal mixed bill, possibly with the seasonal dances from Cinderella. 

Edited January 1, 2022 by jmhopton

[Tony Newcombe]

7 minutes ago, jmhopton said:

Yes, Les Patineurs. How could I forget this! For some bizarre reason it used to be scheduled with Tales of Beatrix Potter. Has it been done since? Seems ages. Though I always feel slightly short changed because we don't get the proper end any more, where the curtain comes down on the Blue Boy turning and then rises again with him still turning. I think I was told that modern technology meant you aren't able to lower and rise the curtain fast enough to enable this to be done but I suspect there's a health and safety reason in there somewhere as well. There always is these days

Les Patineurs was danced during Xmas/New Year 2018/2019

[alison]

2 hours ago, MaddieRose said:

Tudor, maybe The Leaves are Fading? Gala Performance, which sounds fun too.

 

Oh, please, not the former!  Once was enough   I enjoyed Gala Performance when the Australian Ballet brought it over in the early 90s, I think it was, but it might look very old-fashioned by now.

 

9 minutes ago, jmhopton said:

Yes, Les Patineurs. How could I forget this! For some bizarre reason it used to be scheduled with Tales of Beatrix Potter. Has it been done since? Seems ages.

 

Yes, it was on about 3 years ago in the gorgeous bill with Winter Dreams and ... The Concert, was it?  No, probably not - not wintry enough.

[Guest oncnp]

10 minutes ago, alison said:

 

 

 

 

Yes, it was on about 3 years ago in the gorgeous bill with Winter Dreams and ... The Concert, was it?  No, probably not - not wintry enough.

 

It was The Concert according to this 

 

A winter triple bill at The Royal Ballet: Les Patineurs/Winter Dreams/The Concert | Bachtrack

[LACAD]

I’d like to see ENB do Annabelle Lopez-Ochoa’s Frida, the original one act version was made on ENB before she made the full length with Dutch National and I really quite liked it. It would be nice to see some of the ballerinas in the company take on the role. I’d also like to see the company do more Bausch (perhaps Café Müller or Masurca Fogo). I’d love to see the dancers in a Balanchine work, maybe something a little less performed like Episodes or Divertimento. Also a different nutcracker! 

 

I’ve always always wanted to see Forsythe’s full length Artifact, I know the suite version was created on Scottish Ballet but it’s a ballet that’s always fascinated me. Perhaps Scottish may perform the suite again, but I could see ENB doing the full length if Rojo plans to continue bringing in more Forsythe rep.

 

I’d quite like to see RB do Les Noces, and I’d also happily see some MacMillan one acts since I’m not overly familiar with them (particularly I’d like to see Las Hermanas). I’m actually a fan of McGregor’s and I know he’s doing a new full length but I’ve always wondered why RB hasn’t performed his rep that was made outside the company, I think the dancers would really shine in something like Borderlands and I’ve always wanted to see Genus. 

 

I think that it’s high time a British company perform a full length by Neumeier, I think the dramatic traditions in dance in Britain would facilitate some great performances. 
 

Even though it’s a long shot, I’d like to see a work by Édouard Lock in a company’s rep. I know his style isn’t to everyone’s taste but I think he’s a very distinctive and original choreographer.
 

I’d love to see a bigger company commission Mthuthezeli November, hopefully after his Olivier win he’ll have some offers but I think he’s an exciting new dance maker that can present something distinctive. 
 

And finally I’d love to see the big companies programme more women for the main stage. I don’t mind if they’re contemporary or classical, if they’re established or not. I’m just getting a bit tired of seeing maybe one or two women being listed per season.