Review: Ballet Theatre UK's A Christmas Carol 'a delight'

To begin with, this is a brand new ballet and so seems a brave choice for an up-and-coming dance company.

But, as the nights lengthen, a winter-set ballet has special appeal, and, though this production is new, Charles Dickens’ tale remains the most beloved Christmas story since that first one in Bethlehem.

The curtain rises on a graveyard. A gaunt man in a top hat turns his back on a fresh grave: Ebenezer Scrooge has just witnessed the burial of his business partner, Jacob Marley – an ending that sparks a very different kind of beginning.

Sombre piano lines give way to a joyful orchestral tapestry weaving together God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, Once in Royal David’s City, and other familiar carols.

The corps de ballet flurry and flow in a series of lively vignettes: schoolgirls jostling for attention, shoppers and strollers weaving through the crowd, flower sellers brightening the gloom. Scrooge moves among them without ever belonging to their bustle.

As darkness falls, he glimpses Marley on his doorstep—only for the vision to vanish. After a surly exchange with his maid, he nods off in an armchair by the fire, until something rattles him awake. Marley’s ghost returns, dragging his chains and flanked by masked spirits in an eerie, superbly staged ensemble.

Musical references abound as Scrooge confronts the poverty of his own spirit. Carol of the Bells dissolves into Saint-Saëns’ Danse Macabre, and – beautifully – into Victor Hely-Hutchinson’s Carol Symphony (instantly evocative of The Box of Delights, a BBC delight in itself).

Even if you were to resist the choreography (by Christopher Moore) the score alone sends a gorgeous shiver up the spine. The spirits bring great verve to their roles.

The Ghost of Christmas Past is an exceptional soloist, all fluidity and exquisite extension. Bob Cratchit is about the tallest, healthiest, highest jeté-ing clerk ever spotted in a freezing counting house but, as the cast of 22 are all young dancers, it was probably tricky to  one who seemed a victim of hard times.

The touches of contemporary in the choreography work well, a dropped elbow motif in a solo by Ebenezer’s fiancée and the whole body use of the floor in a parting duet.

Tiny Tim appeared without his crutch, a missed choreographic opportunity, though not a fatal one. till, the ballet finds ample room for humour as well as tenderness in Scrooge’s transformation.

From the set and costumes to the music, not to mention the talent and commitment of the dancers, this dance version of A Christmas Carol is a delight.

Ballet Theatre UK will be performing A Christmas Carol at Theatre Royal Windsor until Saturday, November 8.