The Royal Ballet review, Royal Opera House: The Weathering opens varied showcase

The Royal Ballet’s showcase of ‘The Weathering’, ‘Solo Echo’ and ‘Danse à grande vitesse’ has energy in some places, while feeling underpowered in others

Zoe Anderson
Friday 25 March 2022 12:34 GMT
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<p>Fumi Kaneko in The Weathering</p>

Fumi Kaneko in The Weathering

The Weathering, Kyle Abraham’s new work for The Royal Ballet, floats in a hazy glow. Nine men and two women ripple through fluid moves, lit by onstage lanterns. It’s an introspective piece that could do more to tell you what it’s thinking about.

Abraham is in demand as a choreographer, with recent works for Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and New York City Ballet. For his own company, he explored community, violence and loss in the heartfelt Pavement. The Weathering hints at melancholy or relationships, but the interactions stay abstract. The design is soft-edged, with warm lighting by Dan Scully. Karen Young dresses the dancers in clingy pastels, not uniform but with little contrast.

It opens at an unsettled, fidgety pace, with quick and dithery steps cutting across the longer lines of Ryan Lott’s serene score. As the work opens out, it finds its feet, with more vivid incident. Anna Rose O’Sullivan whirls herself offstage, and two men whirl straight back out again. Joshua Junker twists and turns on himself, but hands catch him at the last minute, just as he falls into the wings.

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