
Sensuous contemporary ballet meets the energy of musical theatre in four distinctive short works. Fool’s Paradise, The Two of Us, Us, An American in Paris: four works showing the remarkable choreographic range of The Royal Ballet's Artistic Associate, Christopher Wheeldon.
FOOL’S PARADISE
Luminescent and shimmering, Fool’s Paradise marked the first of Wheeldon’s many collaborations with composer Joby Talbot. It was created in 2007 for Wheeldon’s own company, Morphoses, and first performed in 2012 by The Royal Ballet.
THE TWO OF US
The wistful songs of Joni Mitchell set the scene for the UK premiere of The Two of Us, a duet of deep intimacy and yearning. It was created in 2020 for the Fall for Dance Festival in New York, and had American ballet dancers Sarah Mearns and David Hallberg in its original cast.
US (DUET)
Us is a tender duet danced by two men. It was created in 2017 for BalletBoyz and is set to Keaten Henson’s music.
AN AMERICAN IN PARIS (BALLET)
The Royal Ballet celebrates Wheeldon’s extraordinary success in musical theatre by performing the ballet scene from his Tony Award-winning musical An American in Paris. Set to Gershwin’s jazzy melodies, the musical is inspired by the 1951 film of the same name starring Gene Kelly and Leslie Caron. The musical went on to win four Tony awards. The full musical depicts a blossoming romance between the American G.I. Jerry Mulligan and a French ballerina, Lise Dassin. The ballet excerpt was Wheeldon’s take on one of the most memorable scenes from the film – an extended sequence in which the two central characters dance through Paris.
Cast:
To be confirmed
Creatives:
CHOREOGRAPHY Christopher Wheeldon
CONDUCTOR Koen Kessels
ORCHESTRA Orchestra of the Royal Opera House
MUSIC:
Joby Talbot
Joni Mitchell
Keaton Henson
George Gershwhin
Important Information
Venue: Stamford Arts Centre, Theatre
Tickets: £16 (£14 concessions)
Running Time: 180 minutes
Thurs 15 May
Dir: Alex Scharfman | USA | 2024 | 107 mins Cast | Paul Rudd, Jenna Ortega, Richard E. Grant, Will Poulter, T...
Fri 16 , Mon 19 & Tues 27 May
Dir: Louise Courvoisier | France | 2024 | 92 mins | Subtitled Cast | Clément Faveau, Maiwenne Barthelemy, Lun...
Fri 23 - Sat 24 & Sat 31 May
Dir: Ray Mendoza, Alex Garland | UK, USA | 2024 | 96 mins Cast | D'Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, Will Poulter, Cosmo Ja...
Fri 16 - Sat 17 & Mon 19 May
Dir: Ryan Coogler | USA | 2024 | 138 mins Cast | Michael B. Jordan, Hailee Steinfeld, Jack O’Connell, Miles C...
Fri 23 & Fri 30 May
Dir: François Ozon | France | 2024 | 104 mins | Subtitled Cast | Hélène Vincent, Josiane Balasko Ever-inv...
Thurs 15 , Sat 17 & Mon 19 May
Dir: Peter Cattaneo | UK, Spain | 2025 | 112 mins Cast | Steve Coogan, Björn Gustafsson, David Herrero, Jonath...
Fri 16 - Sat 17 & Thurs 22 May
Dir: Scott McGehee, David Siegel | USA | 2025 | 120 mins Cast | Naomi Watts, Bill Murray, Sarah Pidgeon, Carl...
Thurs 15 May
Dir: Toby Nowlan, Colin Butfield, Keith Scholey | UK | 2025 | 85 mins Documentar...