Northern Ballet new digital season

The Leeds-based Northern Ballet specialises in narrative works, but that is by no means the full scope of its programming, as its new digital season amply illustrates.

The first offering, available now, is the premiere of Northern Lights. The second collaboration between choreographer Kenneth Tindall and filmmaker Dan Lowenstein, this film was entirely shot on the streets of Leeds, and clearly illustrates dancers' resilience and eagerness to go on performing.

From Friday 19 February Northern Ballet presents Victoria. A full-length ballet by choreographer Cathy Marston, this is a detailed account of the life of the British Queen, based on her diaries as refashioned by her daughter Beatrice. Winner of the South Bank Sky Arts Award for Dance, this performance of Victoria was captured especially for the screen.

From Friday 5 March Northern Ballet premieres Have Your Cake, a tongue-in-cheek work inspired by the lockdown, in particular the earlier craze for baking banana cake. Choreographer Kenneth Tindall's short film playfully explores friendship, love and togetherness through a group of friends making the best of their circumstances.

Coming on Friday 19 March is the premiere of What Used To, No Longer Is, up-and-coming choreographer Mthuthuzeli November's first collaboration with Northern Ballet. Originally from South Africa, November is a dancer with Ballet Black and has been winning plaudits and awards, including an Olivier, for his choreography. Created entirely remotely in a Northern Ballet first, this new work explores the evolution of life, the passing of time and the human response to the beauty of an ever-growing life, even in the most difficult of circumstances.

Still available until Friday 26 February on Sadler's Wells and BBC Arts Dancing Nation is an excerpt from Kenneth Tindall's States of Mind, an abstract response to the events of the past year.