As Birmingham Royal Ballet director Carlos Acosta works out his vision for a 21st-century ballet company, the premiere of Interlinked, by Brazilian choreographer Juliano Nunes offers an interesting blueprint. Balancing appeal to a mass-market audience with stretching ballet’s mould, Nunes gives us unarguably pretty choreography, presented by men and women wearing long romantic-style skirts in various shades of nude to match the multiracial cast. The steps are unisex, and two men dance together in a strong, expressive male pas de deux. It’s technically conservative but socially progressive.
The dancing swirls lightly through its poses – as if from the imagination of a little girl playing ballerinas – while Luke Howard’s music grows dramatically from a simple rising scale to gushing layers. You can very clearly see the steps, which is credit to the dancers, and Nunes gives space for them to explore – and us to notice – their differing qualities. The discovery of the piece is young dancer Eric Pinto Cata, who joined BRB last year. You can feel there’s so much dancer bursting to get out, his shoulders, hips and head pushing against the movement’s edges.
