Autumn 2014 Ballet Season: Test Your Knowledge of Classic Ballets

The summer is over, hats and scarves are coming out and the swimming costumes have once again been buried at the bottom of the drawer. As you pull your winter jumpers down from the attic and prepare to hide under the covers until next May (only coming out for obligatory Strictly viewings) it's time to think ballet! The Autumn 2014 season is already in full swing and there are plenty of classic performances and exciting new productions to distract you until the Rites of Spring. The Royal Ballet’s Autumn season opened on September 26^th with Kenneth Macmillan’s new tragedy Manon. It follows the plight of Manon who defies her brother’s attempts to wed her to the highest bidder by eloping to Paris with Des Grieux, but when Monsieur G. M. offers her a life of luxury as his mistress she cannot resist. Des Grieux and Manon’s brother are caught trying to win Monsieur G. M’s fortune by cheating at cards and Manon is arrested for prostitution before being deported to New Orleans. The show runs until the 1^st November, and will be shown as part of the live cinema season on October 16^th. It will then be replaced by Frederick Ashton’s Scènes de ballet/Five Brahms Waltzes in the Manner of Isadora Duncan/Symphonic Variations/A Month in the County, which runs until November 12^th. The Royal Ballet’s Autumn season also includes performances of Cassandra, Don Quixote and Alice’s Adventure’s in Wonderland. After achieving great acclaim as ‘the must see ballet for 2013’ the Northern Ballet’s Great Gatsby is touring this Autumn and will be at the Canterbury Marlow Theatre on October 28^th. The Northern Ballet is also putting on performances of Cinderella and a children’s production of The Elves and the Shoemaker, which opens in Leeds on October 27^th and will tour until May 16^th 2015. For those who prefer the classics, the English National Ballet’s tour of Swan Lake began yesterday and will run until the New Year. The Scottish Ballet and the English National Ballet will both be putting on performances of The Nutcracker this Christmas, and although it may be way too early to be thinking about tinsel and crackers it is advisable to get your tickets now!