Birmingham royal ballet- curated by Carlos

I recently saw Curated by Carlos, which is the first performance put on by the Birmingham Royal Ballet since the lock down. With the Hippodrome still shut, this took place in the REP, which probably isn't ideal for the purpose; there wasn't enough space for all the orchestra to be together, although the company improvised well, and it felt great to have a live performance again.

The first performance, 'city of a thousand trades' was in my view the weakest of the three. There was a contemporary feel, with voice overs and props that the dancers regularly moved around the stage. The messages about inclusion and migrant's journey into Birmingham felt a little forced, particularly the voice overs.

The second performance, Imminent, had a more classical feel, and had an interesting backdrop, with a door in the back of the stage gradually opening throughout the performance, ending with the dancers walking through. The link between the events on stage and climate change (mentioned in the programme), wasn't immediately obvious (without having read the programme beforehand, I thought the ballet had a fantasy theme). Nevertheless, there was some wonderful dancing and the set was very evocative.

The final performance was split into three parts, as a violinist, then a guitarist, followed by a pianist, performed Bach. The dancing was rigorous, based on a highly synchronized sequence where the dancers moved between four lines.

All in all, the performance was well worth waiting for. Carlos Acosta's start as the Birmingham Royal Ballet's director has been long delayed by Covid; here's hoping that this is the first of many premiers.