North-East tour spring 2011

This breathtaking programme presents a work from one of the great 20th-century choreographers, George Balanchine, alongside our favourite excerpts from some of the world-famous classics with which Birmingham Royal Ballet has made its name.

COPPÉLIA ACT II
The second act of this heartwarming classic takes us inside Dr Coppélius’s house. Swanilda and her friends have broken in to discover the identity of the mysterious girl on the balcony. Hilarity and drama ensue as Dr Coppélius tries to steal Swanilda’s boyfriend’s soul to bring the girl, revealed as a doll, to life. On the spur of the moment, Swanilda tricks him into believing it has worked by impersonating the doll herself!

BITESIZE BALLET
Three of the best bits from the Company’s current repertory: the astoundingly beautiful pas de deux from Kenneth MacMillan’s Concerto, the hilarious clog dance from Frederick Ashton’s La Fille mal gardée, and the stunning, virtuoso grand pas de deux and solos from the greatest of all classical ballets, Petipa and Tchaikovsky’s The Sleeping Beauty.

SLAUGHTER ON TENTH AVENUE
Created by great ballet choreographer George Balanchine for the musical On Your Toes!, Slaughter on Tenth Avenue is a crazy 1930s comedy. After discovering that a hitman in the audience is to shoot him as soon as his stage routine is over, a luckless leading man has no option but to extend his frantic solo until the cops arrive! Music by the great Richard Rodgers completes this theatrical extravaganza!