Birmingham Royal Ballet's Penguin Cafe Mixed Programme, Birmingham Hippodrome - review and pictures
It was a night that saw penguin waiters, elegant zebras and a playful door mouse take to the stage and brighten up a dreary mid-week evening.
Birmingham Royal Ballet delivered three stunning performances yesterday evening at the Birmingham Hippodrome as part of their Penguin Cafe Mixed Programme.
The first of the programme, 'Concerto', choreographed by Kenneth MacMillan, saw dancers become like autumnal leaves in their delicate movements and responses to dramatic music provided by Dmitri Shostakovich.
Dancers Momoko Hirata and Tzu-Chao Chou excelled in their duet and solo performances, with an enviable lightness and effortlessness in their steps.
Jenna Roberts and Tyrone Singleton were stand out in the second movement of the Concerto - showing real depth of emotion as they both danced and acted out the rising and setting of the sun.
Despite a couple of missed steps and heavy footing from some dancers in the chorus, the Concerto was a technical triumph that highlighted to the audience the skill and prowess of these renowned dancers.
The second dance, 'Still Life at the Penguin Cafe' was however, the truly impressive piece.
From the outset, penguin waiters balancing trays of pink cocktails brought a light-hearted mood to the audience, who giggled and gasped as they got up to mischief.
As the set transformed into a 1920s flapper bar, ballet was combined with ballroom to provide a graceful glimpse into this secret world of animal dancers. The flapper girl ram, dressed in a silk flowing gown, was the object of affection for many whilst the surreal world of the dancers was provided by augmented reality specialists Zappar.
A proud zebra wooing his many female partners followed, along with a joyful monkey dressed in top hat and tales. A field mouse with twitching toes unable to fall asleep provided the most laughs, with all the animals running to escape the rain and enter Noah's arc at the end.
The final performance, entitled 'Elite Syncopations' by John Percival brought a contemporary feel to the dances, with an almost tap-dance like rhythm. A comedic duet from Tzu-Chao Chou and glamorous Yvette Knight had the audience in stitches.
The Ragtime feel to the production was a fitting end to an evening that lifted the spirits, leaving us tapping our toes on the way home.
