English National Ballet School, Royal College of Music, London <br></br> Royal Ballet School, Royal Opera House, London

Schools present variety in annual shows

It was tough luck on the Royal Ballet School's annual Covent Garden matinee that so many of the top pupils had already been creamed off by the RB and Birmingham RB companies (although some of us think the syllabus keeps them as students too long anyway).

The losses did not prevent a varied programme being presented, however, including dances by Frederick Ashton, David Bintley, Kenneth MacMillan and Christopher Wheeldon, on the grounds that experiencing our rich heritage of British choreographers is tremendously important for development and artistry – a thought that seems to escape the present RB management.

Among a general proficiency, some lack of individuality might be noted. Momoko Hirata and Paul Kay, for instance, did some of the steps in their pas de deux from Bournon-ville's Flower Festival in Genzano better than many professional casts, but there was not much exuberance or joy in their performance.

A good choice to show off a large young ensemble was Petipa's "Jardin Animé" from The Corsair, and Elizabeth Harrod in this proved one of the afternoon's liveliest performers, but her fellow soloist, the technically strong Nutnaree Pipithsuksunt from Thailand, was allowed too pushy an attack for my comfort.

Wheeldon's Schubertiade, to the fourth movement of the Trout quintet, set a group of youngsters a challenge of intricacy, which some of them met very well. In Bintley's Four Scottish Dances, the more comic moments suggested a shortage of dramatic skills, but Alexandra Lo Sardo and Yuh Egami managed their beautiful duet very smoothly.

One or two general quibbles are in order. Timing and cohesion were often weak, notably in Ashton's Swan Lake waltz: more emphasis on music might be needed. There were too many painfully thin arms and legs; the latter might be related to poor turn-out from some dancers. I was surprised, too, after all the efforts of the Chance to Dance scheme, to see so few black faces until the finale.

On the whole, there seems to be some progress happening under the new RBS directorate, but there is a way to go yet. Anyway the results will never be better than the raw material, and there has been a general shortage of great British dancers emerging lately.

Two days earlier, the smaller English National Ballet School put on its annual show, and in one respect had an edge on the Royal Ballet School, namely in encouraging a sense of presentation. ENB also found some attractive but neglected British choreography: the duet from Peter Wright's Mirror Walkers, ably performed by Sonia Aguilar and Valentine Olovyannikov.

The ENB pupils also performed well in a ballet created for them by the French star dancer and choreographer Jean-Guillaume Bart, from the Paris Opera. His Suite Caractéristique, to music by Sibelius, brought out real character in its cast of young dancers, while also setting them fluent duets, solos, a trio and ensembles to challenge their technical ability. There are, you see, unhackneyed young choreographers around, provided that one knows where to look.

JOHN PERCIVAL