Scottish Ballet Double Bill, Sadler's Wells

Scottish Ballet offers London a programme first seen at last year’s Edinburgh Festival – a daring combination of works by two of the most interesting choreographers working today.

Emergence is the work of Canadian choreographer and dancer Crystal Pite, and Scottish Ballet is proud to be the first British company to perform her work.

Created in 2009 for the National Ballet of Canada, Emergence explores the dynamics of a beehive. It starts with a single male figure teasing a female dancer to pupation.

From then on, the swarm gradually emerges from a dark channel at the back of the stage and goes through a variety of patterns and shapes to a pulsating electronic score. Sometimes capricious, sometimes synchronised like a well-drilled military outfit, insect formations mirror the interactions of a corps de ballet; and Pite, one of the best at marshalling large groups of dancers on stage, delves into that symmetry with gusto to stunning effect.

Before that comes MC 14/22 (Ceci est mon corps), a celebration of masculinity from French Albanian choreographer, Angelin Preljocaj. Twelve male Scottish Ballet dancers were especially coached by a member of Preljocaj’s own company to execute a physically and psychologically demanding work; bare-chested and entirely committed, they do it full justice.

MC 14/22 was inspired by Biblical themes – life, death, good and evil. A moment of breathtaking beauty comes when the dancing reaches an abrupt halt as the men form themselves into a Last Supper tableau, lit from above to emulate a Renaissance painting.

This piece progresses well beyond that, to explore the male body and all the permutations of men’s interaction, where moments of tenderness give way to aggression and a touch of sado-masochism; collaboration gives rise to challenge and confrontation.

Together these two works make for one of the most unforgettable evenings on offer this season; and having seen the performance at the Edinburgh Festival last year we have no hesitation in recommending it.

Age Guidance: 16+

Free pre and post show talks: 9 June