Life

English National Ballet has been performing a version of Nutcracker every year since 1950. In 2020, the tradition lives on. Join Clara and her enchanted Nutcracker on a hot air balloon ride to the Land of Snow, and enjoy iconic scenes featuring the Sugar Plum Fairy, Snowflakes, Flowers and more. As London moved into Tier 4 COVID-19 restrictions with the subsequent cancellation of all scheduled performances of Nutcracker Delights, the Company decided to film and share a recording of this specially-adapted production with its audience as a thank you at the close of its 70th Anniversary year. Nutcracker Delights was filmed on 18 and 19 December at the London Coliseum by Michael Nunn and William Trevitt.

The radical new take on Dickens’ classic seeks both to exhume the original story’s gritty commentary on social inequality and the corrupting influence of greed, and to breathe new life into the lyricism of the original text by setting its scenes to extraordinary tableaux of modern dance.

As members of the feuding Capulet and Montague families, Romeo and Juliet should be sworn enemies, but they fall deeply in love and marry in secret. That very day, disastrous circumstances lead Romeo to fight and kill Juliet’s cousin Tybalt, setting off a chain of events that culminate in tragedy.

Fields of France, during the First World War. A group of young soldiers, united by the indiscriminate brutality of battle, fights to maintain their humanity in an endless cycle of combat and death.

Agnus Dei (Lamb of God) provides a highly emotive musical backdrop for this stripped back film, which is both epic and intimate. Featuring Royal Ballet First Artist Leo Dixon, this poetic solo was captured on the main stage of the Royal Opera House during lockdown. The hauntingly empty auditorium and stage provide a stunning backdrop to Wainwright's music and Pita's movement.

Documentary capturing the rise of all-male dance company, BalletBoyz from first auditions to a performance in Addis Ababa City Hall, Ethiopia.

BalletBoyz are back with two new works. Set to contrasting scores by Charlotte Harding and Keaton Henson, Them/Us is an inventive double bill asking where we see ourselves in relation to the “other,” and explores the fine balance between them and us.

Fourteen Days is a thought-provoking exploration about the methods artists employ to create their work. Given just fourteen days, 4 internationally acclaimed choreographers worked with 4 world-renowned composers to make 4 new commissions that challenge and stimulate both the audience and the dancers. Highlighting the diversity of styles and approaches, the show plays with the concept of balance and imbalance and proves to be an exciting, varied programme of dance and music.

BalletBoyz at the Roundhouse documents the life and work of this ground-breaking company, with footage from their 2014 Roundhouse performances. It was the culmination of a two-year tour during which they were awarded Best Independent Company at the National Dance Awards, while choreographer Russell Maliphant won Best Modern Choreography and lighting designer Michael Hulls won an Olivier Award. Featuring Liam Scarlett's Serpent with music by Max Richter and Russell Maliphant's Fallen, with music by Armand Amar, and accompanied by the BBC Concert Orchestra conducted by Paul Murphy, the film also includes interviews with the dancers and choreographers along with insights into their creative processes as well as behind-the-scenes footage.