Ardani 25 Dance Gala, London Coliseum

A handful of Royal Ballet principals will appear alongside leads from internationally renowned companies, to test their mettle in new contemporary works.
The show opens with Zeitgeist by Alistair Marriott, whose Connectome for the Royal Ballet was called ‘a scientific breakthrough on stage’ by the Guardian. Zeitgeist reunites Connectome’s leads Natalia Osipova and Edward Watson, Royal Ballet principals and a spikey pairing. Osipova throws off the muscular technique of her Russian training with expressive precision, while Watson’s unearthly flexibility and supreme characterisation embody the Royal’s reputation for dramatic skill. Against Philip Glass’s Violin Concerto, they’ll be joined by Royal Ballet dancers Marcelino Sambé, Tomas Mock and Donald Thom.
Second is the UK premiere by Marcelo Gomes, dancer with American Ballet Theater, of his poetry-inspired Tristesse. With a rare masculine focus (Gomes discussed the trials of choreographing four leading men with the Evening Standard), it will explore the friendship of four men who find, after many years, that they have grown apart. Gomes dances alongside Denis Matvienko (ABT),
Joaquin de Luz (New York City Ballet) and Friedemann Vogel (Stuttgart Ballet).
Finally Natalia Osipova and Ivan Vasiliev, once a couple on and off the Bolshoi stage, bring their Facada back to the stage. An extract from Arthur Pita’s God’s Garden, it’s a brash tale of a murderous jilted bride and philandering groom. For two dancers borne of the rigorously classical Russian system, Pita’s extreme theatrics are a chance to revel in the complete wackiness of it all. No Giselle ever got to dance victory style over her lover’s grave, and last year’s reviews suggest Osipova soaks up every second of it.
Any chance to see international ballet stars on the UK stage should be snapped up, particularly American ones, but throw in our own company favourites, and you have a night not to be missed.