Happy 100th Birthday Sir Peter Wright

Birmingham Royal Ballet hosted a very special Gala night last night to celebrate the 100th birthday of the legendary Sir Peter Wright. The man who bought the Sadler’s Wells ballet to Birmingham, who gifted the city The Nutcracker, was honoured with a night of exhilarating ballet that celebrated his greatest achievements, and even saw Carlos Acosta return to the stage. It was an incredible night.

Act One

The night got off to a blistering start when the wonderful future stars of the Elmhurst Ballet School performed the Eugene Onegin Polonaise to the sheer delight of the audience. It was wonderful to see so many young talents on one stage.

Act One was made up of key dances from some of Sir Peter’s best known ballets. There was the beautiful final act from Sleeping Beauty, a pas de deux from the enchanting Coppelia, the haunting Act 2 pas de deux from Giselle, when the Ghostly Giselle dances with her guilt stricken love Albrecht, and the dramatic masterpiece that is Swan Lake’s pas de deux of the Black Swan, performed by the astounding Celine Gittens as Odile.

Each choice showed the depth of Sir Peter’s mastery, from charming romantic dances to the sheer heartbreak of Giselle, surely Sir Peter’s masterpiece.

Act Two

The Green Table is a masterpiece of foreboding. Sir Peter Wright made his own dancing debut in this short ballet in the 1940s, and considers it to be one of the great ballets of all time. The Green Table has the subtitle ‘A Dance of Death in Eight Scenes’ and this is just what it as, as the suited politicians make their decision on war, and we see the consequences, as Death, this time in the commanding form of Carlos Acosta himself, weaves his way through the scenes of war, battle and the aftermath.

This is a stunning, thought provoking ballet that has not only stood the test of time, but seems even more relevant in our current times.

What was a sublime night of visionary and classical ballet ended with an emotional tribute to Sir Peter, with the great man and the whole company, family and friends on stage to receive the much deserved plaudits.

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