Scottish Ballet

Having now been to two Scottish Ballet productions, I really was blown away on both occasions. The company are re-​inventing ballet; telling classic tales in the most modern and thrilling ways. — The stories come to life with the dancer’s movement and expression.
Previously, I had attended a performance of their dazzling Hansel and Gretel. Last night, Scottish Ballet told Arthur Miller’s story of The Crucible along with Ten Poems, a visual-​audio representation of Dylan Thomas’ most well-​loved poems.
And so it began; starting with Ten Poems. I’ll admit that it was strange at first. I’d never seen anything like it. — The poems read by Richard Burton, the rhythmic dancing along to the bouncing poetic words. I liked the expressiveness of the dancers in portraying the characters, and the emotive, stirring nature of Ten Poems.
Next came the main event… Having studied the Crucible in Higher Drama, I was excited for what was to come. It was always going to be a dark affair but SB’s addition of music from Alfred Hitchcock films was perfect for the thrilling, chilling nature of the Crucible. — Think Psycho and Vertigo. With this the tension heightened. And so, on edge, we perched on the ends of our seats.
It was all incredible! From the dancing to the acting to the lighting to the music. One thing is clear; Scottish Ballet work their socks off.

I’m not going to lie, I know what could possibly termed by experts as «less than nothing!» about ballet, or contemporary dance, or anything remotely theatrical that is above panto and musicals on the barometer of class.
Nevertheless, I’ve now seen the Scottish Ballet performance of the Nutcracker twice at the Theatre Royal since it opened a couple of weeks ago (dork, much?), and it’s absolutely wonderful.
Despite the fact that I have nothing with which to compare Scottish Ballet, they put on a wonderful show. The sets are absolutely divine, the lighting is fantastic, and the music is phenomenal. (Those are things that I happen to know a thing or two about!)
As Gareth mentioned, Scottish Ballet was definitely losing traction for awhile by sticking to classics and eschewing the contemporary. Lately, though, they’ve moved into a more contemporary stride and the performance of the Nutcracker was very fresh and exciting to watch. They have also struck a good balance between straight story and classical ballet dancing, which makes for a good, rounded performance.
I’ve never considered myself a dance aficionado, but Scottish Ballet may have dug its claws into me yet!

Once upon a time there was a provincial ballet company, with an aging audience and a reputation for making rather twee pieces. They were capable of pulling out a good classical ballet, but were beginning to look old fashioned and tired.
When Ashley Page arrived as artistic director, he rapidly turned this around. Getting in contemporary choreographers, and adjusting the company so that it has become as much a contemporary as classical dance troupe, he introduced a revolution that is getting Scottish Ballet noticed. Admittedly, their classical ballets are not that strong, but the brave decision to give names like Ian Spink and Richard Allston a crack at narrative ballets suggests a positive, get ahead attitude. Their recent relocation to Tramway is an expression of a dynamic approach.
For the casual theatre fan, their Christmas show makes a nice break from pantomime: Page has made his own «trilogy» of seasonal favourites, which he rotates each year. The Spring and Autumn seasons are the business, though: contemporary, exciting and forceful. They often add another set of performances for the Edinburgh Festival too, meaning that the company stage up to twelve works in a year.
Certainly one for the balletomanes, but increasingly, Scottish Ballet are becoming a national force. Worth catching at any cost.