ENB 'Romeo' reviews 'Romeo' reviews Perego in reviews recent ENB reviews

How the committee thing works I know not, but on this occasion it clearly failed. The result was that neither the Kirov, Rambert or ENB sold as they might have. ENB seemed to do well enough on the 3 nights I was there but it was still not as full as I've known it before.

The opening night was led out by Tom and Ag (Thomas Edur and Agnes Oaks). I was luckily seated in the stalls area but up and near the boxes which gives a lovely view. I was also next to one of the aisles down which the dancers make entrances and exits - at times indeed they stand there too, also surveying the stage and the party going on. I'm an absolute sucker for having the dancers go by like this. There is a palpable frisson and sense of involvement and if you didn't know it, you become incredibly aware of just how beautifully dancers move.

The bad points of the production remain: the moving balcony and the design of Paris's headgear that makes him look like a pencil which has unfortunately been attacked by a pile driver and so been given a silly wide brim at the very top - very funny!

But that's about it on the complaints side: the choreography is robust, Tom was wonderful, Ag mellow and aching and the troublemakers in the piece troubling. It was good first night, which you'd expect of them.

I also got to see Monica Perego and Vladislav Bubnov in the leads. He, currently a Senior Soloist and tipped to become a principal before too long, worked hard and diligently. The last thing I remember Perego in was Coppelia, as Swanilda, which made me grin with happiness: the role is custom-made for her. Her Juliet is also natural (if less natural to her) but over time her dramatic skills have been growing to match her fast, gutsy technique. In the set pieces they meshed well I thought but at other times they looked a little less complete - one gets spoiled by Edur and Oaks who know each other so well and get more rehearsal time as well, I'd imagine.

I have to mention Daniel Jones who as Tybalt or friend of Tybalt (depending on performance) was stunningly thuggish. He doesn't walk like other dancers but has the swagger of somebody convinced of his ability to beat to a pulp anybody up for bother within a 100-mile radius. Shi-Ning Liu also does well as Tybalt but Jones’s version was one of the best and most original I've seen in years.

The last performance I got to was Erina Takahashi dancing with Patrick Armand. This time I was in the back row of the amphitheatre ­ and a more distant, high and unpromising seat it's impossible to find. Certainly from that height and with such odd perspective it all becomes more a spectacle than a piece of ballet. While Takahashi is physically the nearest thing to a Juliet I didn't really warm to what seemed a colourless performance - but she is young and has lots to learn yet. And expecting somebody so young to project out to an audience of 5000 is asking a lot. The one dancer I didn't see and wanted to was Daria Klimentova, of whom I heard lovely reports.

My conclusion is that the ENB R&J works and at the Albert Hall it’s worth getting a seat nearer the action if possible (but not right by the stage - that's too close). It also reminded me to suggest that the national critics would be well advised occasionally to get some less advantageous seats and report what they see from where about 50% of the audience normally sit..