Ruth Leon recommends… The Tart Adage – Royal Ballet

The Tart Adage – Royal Ballet

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland burst onto the Royal Ballet stage in 2011 in an explosion of colour, stage magic and inventive, sophisticated choreography. Joby Talbot’s score combines contemporary sound worlds with sweeping melodies that gesture to ballet scores of the 19th century. Bob Crowley’s wildly imaginative, eye-popping designs draw on everything from puppetry to projections to make Wonderland wonderfully real.
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In this exuberant Christopher Wheeldon version for the Royal Ballet, Alice encounters a cast of extraordinary and instantly recognizable characters. Here is a little taste of it from 2017, the matchless Laura Morera as the highly strung Queen of Hearts performing a hilarious send-up of The Sleeping Beauty’s famous Rose Adagio (usually known as ‘The Tart Adage’), to a playing card corps de ballet, a sinuous caterpillar and a tap-dancing Mad Hatter.
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