Spring Programme
A Mythical Double Bill: Tales of Apollo & Hercules
A collaboration with the London Handel Festival 2025
NEBT Patron and Associate Choreographer Valentino Zucchetti created the choreography for two dramatic tales composed at opposite ends of Handel’s life, Apollo e Dafne and The Choice of Hercules, directed by Thomas Guthrie.
“Valentino Zucchetti’s choreography was a whirl of delight.” Bachtrack
“Zucchetti’s bustling, sunny choreography channelled classical ballet and Hollywood musicals with a subtle nod here and there to the baroque.” The Guardian
Tales of Dafne and Calypso: A Female Odyssey
A captivating and dynamic performance by New English Ballet Theatre’s world-famous dance makers, exploring the theme of female heroines in mythology and beyond.
Music by George Fredric Handel, Claudio Monteverdi, Antonio Vivaldi recomposed by Max Richter and Ryan Cockerham
In this new production New English Ballet Theatre’s dancers were joined by international guest artists, Fernanda Oliveira and Fabian Reimair.
Sky Arts Award winner Valentino Zucchetti created the first half with a newly commissioned piece set to Handel’s Apollo e Dafne – premiered earlier as part of the London Handel Festival – followed by Inner Distance, a brand-new pas de deux created on our guest artists exclusively for NEBT.
Marika Brussel’s By a Thread: Calypso put the nymph Calypso centre stage. A new adaptation of Homer’s Odyssey, it showed women who don’t need rescuing but instead lead the narrative.
Choreographed by Jenna Lee, the ‘Summer Storm’ pas-de-deux from The Four Seasons evoked languid, hot, endless summer evenings where everything is possible.
The programme closed with Acts of Exaltation by Royal Ballet Principal Matthew Ball, a joyous exploration of communities coming together to celebrate.
“Across the … pieces of dance, and their different dance styles, what remains a constant pleasure is the skill and dedication of the New English Ballet Theatre dancers.” – Seen and Heard International
“Acts of Exaltation … set to music by Claudio Monteverdi … devises complex patterns of bodies, arms and hands. … Elsewhere it opens out into sections that give the dancers light and freedom, allowing them to express a collective sense of joy in movement.” – Seen and Heard International
“Bright and elegant, great assurance and maturity. Jenna Lee’s The Four Seasons captures all the lightness and drama of Vivaldi’s famous compositions … this is a bright and elegant work danced with precision.” – The Stage
“Danced to original music by Ryan Cockerham, By a Thread celebrates not only the power of women, but also the potential for peace if humanity can stop blindly drifting into conflict” – Georgina Butler, Independent Dance Writer
A Mythical Double Bill: Tales of Apollo & Hercules
Director: Thomas Guthrie
Musical Director: David Bates
Choreographer: Valentino Zucchetti
Music: George Fredric Handel – Apollo e Dafne & The Choice of Hercules
Costume Design: Francisco Rodriguez-Weil
Lighting Design: Emma Chapman
Apollo e Dafne
Choreography: Valentino Zucchetti
Music: George Fredric Handel – Apollo e Dafne
Costume Design: Francisco Rodriguez-Weil
Inner Distance
Choreography: Valentino Zucchetti
Music: Testimonies of the Unseen by Mathias Coppens
Costume Design: Ilaria Martello
Lighting Design: Andrew Ellis
The Four Seasons
Choreography: Jenna Lee
Music: Recomposed by Max Richter: Vivaldi, The Four Seasons
Costume Design: April Dalton
Lighting Design: Andrew Ellis
By a Thread: Calypso
Choreography: Marika Brussel
Music: Ryan Cockerham
Costume Design: Erica Johnston and Marika Brussel
Lighting Design: Andrew Ellis
Acts of Exaltation
Choreography: Matthew Ball
Music: Claudio Monteverdi
Costume Design: Elin Steele
Lighting Design: Andrew Ellis