Daniel McCormick – British Ballet Now & Then

In Conversation: ENB’s R:EVOLUTION

ENGLISH NATIONAL BALLET’S R:EVOLUTION

Opening of 2025-26 Season

In October last year Jodie and Rosie went to see English National Ballet’s quadruple bill R:Evolution at Sadler’s Wells, which opened their 2025-26 season. The programme brought together George Balanchine’s Theme and Variations and Martha Graham’s Errand into the Maze, both from the year 1947, followed by William Forsythe’s Herman Schmerman (Quintet) (1992), and David Dawson’s 2023 Four Last Songs.

Looking back at 2025, this programme unexpectedly ended up being a highlight of the year, as we found so much to discuss …

Rosie: To be honest, I was quite sceptical about this bill. The last time I saw Errand into the Maze was when the Martha Graham Dance Company visited the Barbican in 1999. Even back then I thought it looked quite dated, and the reaction of some audience members corroborated this feeling. And I wasn’t sure how it would “fit” with the other works. But it’s quite clear from the reviews that the variety of dance styles was seen as a highlight, a really strong point of the billing (Murphy; Weiss, “ENB: R:Evolution”; Winship).

Jodie: I know what you mean, but I felt I went in almost completely ignorant—apart from the joyful Herman Schmerman Quintet, I’d never seen any of the other works before.

Rosie: But you’re familiar with choreographic styles of Balanchine and Graham, right?

Jodie: Ha yes, and well enough to know that the combination seemed like a buffet-style spread; choreographic prowess aside, I wondered if this eclectic concoction might turn out to be immiscible.

Rosie: As it was, to me Errand, which was the work I was most hesitant about, looked really fresh. I thought maybe because it was new to the Company, or perhaps precisely because it was in the context of contrasting works. As far as I know, ENB’s never performed any Graham before, but I always think that one of the strengths of the Company is the dancers’ willingness to go for different styles—I’m thinking Akram Khan, Pina Bausch, for example. When it came to it, I relished watching the dancers rise to the challenge of such varied styles, but I did feel a distinct jolt moving straight on to Herman Schmerman after Errand, with only a few minutes’ pause—I was still deep in Ariadne’s world when Herman Schmerman was starting.

Jodie: I agree that the shift from Errand to Herman felt abrupt, almost like a bit of a whiplash. Because everything about them felt different—the form, the structure, the atmosphere, even the colour palette. And being my two favourite works of the quadruple bill, I would have liked to see these bookend the night— I imagine that Errand would have had the audience entranced from the outset.

Rosie: So Herman Schmerman at the end? I’d also love to see the Herman Schmerman Pas de deux with the Pas de cinq. It’s so cool when the five dancers jump over the barrier at the back, look at each other and collapse to the floor, like they’re kids playing a game, and then the duet starts with the couple stepping over the same barrier.

Jodie: The first time I saw the dancers drop behind the riser, I found it a little too tongue-in-cheek—you know, like physical punctuation to the end of the performance, in tandem with a classic blackout. It felt a bit self-conscious. But now I have come to love and appreciate Forsythe’s crisp and unserious customs. It is funny how that happens. But can we go back to Errand? One of the things I loved was that Theseus does not feature in the work, so the woman conquers the Creature of Fear (her fear) by herself, on her own. Who knew?

Rosie: I feel sure that my perception of the work was influenced by “The Truth about the Minotaur”, an episode of the podcast Betwixt the Sheets. By all accounts Theseus was not at all worthy of Ariadne. The programme quotes Graham as conceiving the Woman as a female remaking of Theseus, presumably because it is she who overthrows the Creature of Fear, rather than being the one who helps Theseus to do this.

Jodie: I want to quote Lindsey Winship and her alliteration:“Stark, striking, and stylised”. I also sensed an independent strength. For me, much of that came from Emily (Suzuki)’s performance, the Woman appearing stalwart despite her sinuous voyage into the self. Rhythmically Emily is so precise—punchy and committed.

Emily Suziki and Rentaro Nakaaki performing Errand into the Maze © ASH

Rosie: Of course I was thrilled that Emily was the first cast for Errand. She is such a superbly versatile dancer with such impressive dramatic gifts. I first noticed her in Pina Bausch’s Rite of Spring, but she is equally suited to classical roles, such as the Satanella pas de deux that she performed in the Emerging Dancer Competition in 2020 (we wrote about her at the time). She was chosen for the first cast when William Forsythe brought his Blake Works I to ENB, and Mats Ek created the role of the Daughter on her in his adaptation of the Rite of Spring (2022). But probably my favourite was her rendition of the Ratchuli, the Georgian character dance from Tamara Rojo’s adaptation of Raymonda. She just blazed with fun and energy. I’m really happy that she’s the poster girl for the 10^th anniversary of Akram Khan’s Giselle, and performing with James (Streeter) on first night.

Jodie: I just want to say one more thing about Errand, about Ariadne’s dress —it’s understated, yet so audacious against the minimalist set. It all feels very Modern…

Rosie: Very different to the nude tones of the Four Last Songs costumes. Some of my friends absolutely loved Four Last Songs. I do understand in a sense. The dancers perform it so well, with such conviction, and there is an appealing melancholy about it and a sense of spirituality that comes from the poignant music, written by Richard Strauss when he was nearing the end of his life. I think the atmosphere arises too from the seamless choreography that shows the dancers merging into configurations which then unravel and move calmly into new patterns. There are many beautiful moments, notably when dancers rest for a moment of unison into a gentle gestural pose. Like the one where their right hand makes a soft curve by their cheekbone, while their elbow is resting lightly on the wrist of the other arm. To me it’s a really pensive pose, and it reminds me a lot of Macmillan’s wonderful Requiem, which he made in 1976 to the music of Gabriel Fauré.

Sangeun Lee, Lorenzo Trossell and-Gareth Haw in David Dawson’s Four Last Songs © ASH

Jodie: Yes, I found some of the movement phrases poignant, and I was quite captivated by stolen moments of gentle gesturing and fleeting instances where the women moved their arms freely, invoking statuesque figures in an overgrown Garden of Eden.

Rosie: You like to capture the movement through imagery, don’t you?

Jodie: Indeed I do!

Rosie: But I find it disappointing that this work, which was made only a couple of years ago, is so dominated by male dancers lifting and tossing female dancers. In fact, I found a review that put my thoughts into words better than I could. Lucía Piquero of Gramilano wrote “I doubt there were 30 straight seconds in which a female dancer moved without being lifted or manipulated by a man, other than when walking or running”.

Jodie: Oh yes, I furiously agree with that. The throwing of women was incessant to my eyes: by the third throw it had lost its impact. I enjoy a refined and minimalist choreographic palette, but I feel there were just too many lifts. Especially as when they weren’t in the air, the women were being held, dragged, and manipulated on the ground. I was yearning for more between the running and the lifting. On my way home I tried running along the streets like a Four Last Songs dancer—arms outstretched, wrists flexed, searching for hope skyward, wondering how I might have developed the choreography …

ENB dancers performing David Dawson’s Four Last Songs © ASH

Rosie: Of course the women in the Herman Schmerman Pas de cinq are a completely different species. My knowledge of the ballet comes from a YouTube recording of the Bolshoi Ballet. All the dancers are in black (the original Versace designs, I believe), and the women all look like Amazons, but I like watching it with ENB partly because there are Amazonian dancers in the Company like Alice (Bellini), but they’re juxtaposed with pocket rockets like Carolyn (Galvao). And then there’s Swanice Luong, who dances as if to the manner born. She’s one of the dancers who followed Aaron Watkin to ENB from Semperoper Ballet in Dresden, and so has had experience of dancing Forsythe’s works. There’s a lovely Instagram reel of her talking about Forsythe’s influence on her (English National Ballet).

ENB dancers performing Herman Schmerman Quintet © ASH

Jodie: I only ever see lines when I watch Forsythe’s works, lines and their point of initiation. The architecture of the body and the vacant spaces between sing with such style, swagger, and slick. It’s truly a task not to move in your seat. Herman Schmerman reminds me so much of Blake Works I, or rather Blake Works I reminds me of Herman Schmerman–same font, different colours.

Rosie: Again, I like that image! Talking of colours … The orange-red velvet costumes worn in this production do give the work a different visual impact and even a different mood, I think. Forsythe said he was “curious to see if it altered the perception of the work” (qtd. in Sulcas 17), and I thought the dancers were channelling more cool and fun than the recording I’m familiar with.

Jodie: Yes, even though I’ve just said it’s the lines in the choreography that hit me when I’m watching, I get that mood that you’re talking about. But also I thought that Dani (McCormick) and Noam (Durand) really seemed to have the measure of the choreography with great ripples through the body, fearless off-balance movements, to say nothing of the exciting syncopations.

Swanice Luong and Alice-Bellini performing Herman-Schmerman’s Quintet © ASH

Rosie: One of my friends said that Herman Schmerman was her favourite of the four pieces because of its fast-paced choreography and its technical challenges. But I feel that Theme and Variations is more exacting and exposing—there’s just nowhere to hide. Like that series of tours en l’air into pirouettes from 5^th position for the male principal, and the sequence of pas de chat into soutenu, then pirouette from 5^th for the ballerina. When Aaron introduced the work into ENB’s rep, he wanted to make sure that the tempo was appropriate for Balanchine, so it was coached by Cynthia Harvey who used to dance it at “Gelsey Kirkland tempo” (qtd. in Weiss “George Balanchine” 8). I have to say that for me tempo is crucial to Balanchine works. Earlier this year the Royal Ballet performed a triple bill of Balanchine works, and a really important contribution to my enjoyment was that the music was conducted by Fayçal Karoui, who was music director of New York City Ballet for over five years.

ENB dancers performing Theme and Variations © ASH

Jodie: I so enjoy hearing your many stories of the ballet—particularly when you so meticulously debrief on the multiple casts, noting the subtle but never insignificant nuances between their performances, always calling into question personal, and perhaps in this case even national style (though discussing the orchestral conducting it may be).

Rosie: Of the casts I saw, my favourite principals were Dani and Julia (Conway), both “home-grown” dancers, so to speak: they were both winners of Emerging Dancer (Dani in 2018, Julia in 2019). Dani was a gracious partner, supporting Julia and mirroring and complementing her lines, and he nailed those ferociously challenging tours en l’air with pirouettes from 5^th position. Wonderful rhythm too. As soon as Julia came on stage I noticed a beautiful “spring” in her steps, making all her movements appear light and breezy. As well as beautiful lines and ports de bras, she did those wonderful turns that I love—really speedy with those sloooow endings that make the dancing look both exciting and easeful. To me she seems to be developing a true ballerina aura too, which makes be very happy.

References

English National Ballet [@englishnationalballet]. Interview with Swanice Luong. Instagram, 3 Oct. 2025, https://www.instagram.com/reel/DPWszkkDFJC/.

Murphy, Siobhan. “English National Ballet: R:Evolution review”. The Stage, 2 Oct. 2025, https://www.thestage.co.uk/reviews/english-national-ballet-revolution-review-sadlers-wells-london.

Piquero, Lucía. “Review: English National Ballet’s R:Evolution – a beautiful dance down memory lane”. Gramilano, 5 Oct. 2025, https://www.gramilano.com/2025/10/english-national-ballet-revolution/.

Sulcas, Roslyn. “William Forsythe’s Herman Schmerman (Quintet)”. Programme for R:Evolution at Sadler’s Wells, London, 2025, pp. 16-17.

“The Truth About The Minotaur”. Betwixt the Sheets, hosted by Kate Lister, BBC Sounds, 30 May 2025, https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0lf466w.

Weiss, Deborah. “ENB: R:Evolution at Sadler’s Wells showcases tenacity, legacy and talent”. Bachtrack, 2 Oct. 2025 https://bachtrack.com/review-revolution-balanchine-graham-forsythe-dawson-english-national-ballet-sadlers-wells-london-october-2025.

—. “George Balanchine’s Theme and Variations”. Programme for R:Evolution at Sadler’s Wells, London, 2025, pp. 8-9.

Winship, Lindsey. “English National Ballet’s R:Evolution review – a triple whammy of Balanchine, Forsythe and Graham”. The Guardian, 3 Oct. 2025, https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2025/oct/03/english-national-ballet-revolution-review.

In Conversation: English National Ballet’s Emerging Dancer 2021

Emerging Dancer: a celebration

This year’s Emerging Dancer was a bit different to the usual event, in that it was a celebration of the competition, performed by past winners of both the Emerging Dancer Award and the People’s Choice Award. The programme was diverse, spanning the Romantic era to new commissions, and produced by James Streeter, First Soloist of English National Ballet, as part of the Dance Leaders of the Future programme. Julia and Rosie watched it on English National Ballet’s YouTube channel.

For us it’s really important that Emerging Dancer continues to give opportunities to choreographers and dancers to work together on new pieces. Traditionally there’s been an emphasis on the stars of the future in terms of dancers, but it’s also great to see new choreographic works by lesser known and less experienced choreographers, who may become the choreographic stars of the future.

Alison McWhinney and Junor Souza perform No Man’s Land as part of ENB’s Emerging Dancer – A Celebration photo: Laurent Liotardo

Rosie: In 2018 there was an amazing work by Mthuthuzeli November called Point of Collapse that he created for Precious Adams. I was transfixed by it. Then last year Stina Quagebeur made a duet titled Hollow for Emily Suzuki (who has fast become one of my favourite ENB dancers—elegant, classical and dramatic in equal measure) and Victor Prigent, which they went on to perform as part of the Solstice programme at the Festival Hall in June of this year. But it was also performed by Alison McWhinney and Junor Souza. I was disappointed that I didn’t see this additional cast as well as the original dancers.

Julia: I was particularly taken by Alison and Junor’s performance of Liam Scarlett’s No Man’s Land pas de deux. Both dancers’ connection was so profound yet so subtle: you could really see their connection through the movement being performed, for example, the way Junor’s arms created harmonic lines framing the elegant curves of Alison’s upper body.

Rosie: Sometimes you can really see how the choreographer uses the particular talents and personality of the dancer or dancers they use. I felt this keenly in the case of Mlindi Kulashe’s Self Tape that he made for Rhys Antoni Yeomans. Mlindi is with Northern Ballet, although he studied at ENB School, and we saw his Mamela… in 2018. That was about frustration and entrapment, but for Rhys he made a piece of a very different nature. Rhys won the People’s Award last year, and I can see exactly why: he has an ebullient stage presence and is able to perform a lot of virtuosic “tricks”, as if to the manner born.

Rhys Antoni Yeomans performs Self Tape as part of ENB’s Emerging Dancer – A Celebration photo: Laurent Liotardo

Julia: I found the first section of this solo very quirky and humorous, perhaps reflective of his character, as he dances with a camera on a tripod, as if working out where best to place it to record his “performance”. The second section was also quirky in its use of gesture and unusual rhythms, but in addition displayed Rhys’ technical facility with constant quick, unexpected changes of weight, and leaps and turns that seemed to appear from nowhere.

Rosie: A dancer who is very different to Rhys is Aitor Arrieta, another favourite of ours.

Julia: Yes, indeed! He always strikes me as a very elegant and refined dancer, ideal for the classics, and princely roles. He reminds me of James Streeter in the way he carries himself, and the style of the Grand pas classique that he danced with Julia Conway really highlighted these qualities of Aitor’s—as the title suggests, in fact.

Rosie: We went to see him in Christopher Wheeldon’s Cinderella in Southampton, remember? I found him tender in this role. He won Emerging Dancer jointly with Rina Kanehara in 2017 performing the Esmeralda pas de deux. But he also has a lot of dramatic potential: we saw this in Manon, didn’t we? And even more so in Akram Khan’s Giselle. That performance of Giselle was very special, because it was Crystal Costa’s final performance with the Company. I miss her—she was my number one Mistress in Manon.

Julia: Yes, she brought out a warmth in the character, as well as humour—she sometimes seemed a bit ditsy. Remembering this performance of Giselle makes me really excited to see Aitor in Akram Khan’s Creature at the start of next month.

Rosie: Another dancer I love as Lescaut’s Mistress in Manon is Rina. She has a natural radiance, but she is also very funny in that role.

Julia; Yes, I enjoyed watching her in this year’s new commission by Nikita Goile, dancing with Georgia Bould and Alice Bellini. You can really see her own interpretation of Goile’s choreography, and personal choices performing the movement material, like the individuality of the hand gestures close to her face.

Georgia Bould, Alice Bellini and Rina Kanehara perform Lilith’s voice in Emerging Dancer – A Celebration photo: Laurent Liotardo

Rosie: Yes, we saw a completely different side of her, which I’ve seen only in corps de ballet roles, such as Akram Khan’s Giselle. But here, in Goile’s Lilith’s Voice she was the central figure and showed a dramatic, even tragic, weight in her dancing, as well as an intensity of presence. This is another advantage of new choreographies—they can bring out unexpected qualities in dancers, thereby helping the dancer to develop, and helping us, the audience, to see the dancer in a different light and so not be tempted to typecast people in our minds.

Julia: Indeed – ENB dancers are incredibly fortunate to have such diverse experiences with the Company.

Rosie: I thought the evening came to a rip-roaring climax with Shiori Kase and Dani McCormick in Flames of Paris. One of the things I really enjoyed about watching this celebration was seeing some of the same pieces with different dancers.

Julia: In 2019 we saw Flames of Paris with Julia Conway and Rentaro Nakaaki. That was the last competition before the pandemic, and the performance was a clear winner for us. I was so excited for Julia when she won. I think we have said this before—she has always worked in a focussed way and seems so eager to continue to develop her skills, using her personal talent and aiming to achieve her full potential. But did you know that it was Shiori who coached Julia in 2019?

Julia Conway and Aitor Arrieta perform a Grand pas Classique, part of ENB’s Emerging Dancer: A Celebration photo: Laurent Liotardo

Rosie: No, I did not! That’s so interesting. I would love to see Julia as Aurora—she emits a sense of composure in the face of technical challenges that would suit the role, I think … This was abundantly clear in that fiendish diagonal of rélevés with développés and turns in her solo variation from Grand pas classique. But Shiori won the Emerging Dancer Award in 2011, the second year of the competition, and she has since shown herself to be a beautiful classical ballerina, most recently in Solstice, in which she danced both the Coppélia and Le Corsaire pas de trois; I mean, her technical assurance in Flames of Paris was just captivating. Here she also showed a cheekiness in her dancing. And I loved her fouettés with changing port de bras from fourth position to fourth position with the other arm. I found out from her Instagram that she and Dani (whose full name is Daniel Alejandro McCormick-Quintero) participated in the US International Ballet Competition in 2014, when she won the Gold Medal. One of the joyful things about this performance was Dani’s full adoption of the role of Philippe, as well as his full engagement with all the technical and stylistic challenges of the role—and let’s face it, there are plenty. In this he reminds me of Jeffrey Cirio; I can’t really give any higher accolade.

Shiori Kase and Daniel McCormick perform a pas de deux from Flames of Paris in ENB’s Emerging Dancer – A Celebration Photo: Laurent Liotardo

Julia: Indeed – it was a great performance from Dani! I particularly liked Ivana Bueno and Victor Prigent’s partnership in the extract from La Sylphide. Ivana’s phrasing was incredible; her épaulement was to perfection and the way in which she combined Bournonville’s small movements with more expansive turns and jumps was beautiful to watch.

Ivana Bueno and Victor Prigent perform La Sylphide as part of ENB’s Emerging Dancer: A Celebration photo: Laurent Liotardo

Rosie: I always think that Bournonville choreography is deceptively simple. Our students tend to think that Bournonville’s ballets are much easier to perform that the Petipa classics like Sleeping Beauty and Swan Lake. I was impressed by Victor’s articulation of all that intricate batterie, which is so challenging. I also felt that he and Ivana portrayed a wonderful sense of the human and supernatural worlds and their attraction for one another.

Julia: And finally, it was great seeing James Streeter at the end of the performance cheering his colleagues for their brilliant work and dedication toward this year’s performance. He made particular mention of the mentors, who are all dancers in the Company. For me, this shows that despite the challenges the Company faced during the pandemic, ENB dancers continue to find ways of developing their careers and exploring new skills.