Perego in reviews Tait in reviews recent Grey Gala reviews

The various numbers were introduced by distinguished speakers. Matz Skoog, AD of English National Ballet, Alexander Grant, a Principal with Sadler's Wells Royal Ballet when Dame Beryl was also a principal, Petter Jacobsson, Ronald Hynd, Galina Samsova, Patrice Bart, Eva Evdokimova etc. all spoke warmly and touchingly of Dame Beryl and the significant influence she had been in their careers. Grant, in particular, recollected the impact of her Lilac Fairy in the the RB's ground-breaking 'Sleeping Beauty' in New York in 1949. 'Margot trembled in her dressing-room' he said 'but Beryl just blazed'. Ronald Hynd, speaking of her directorship of Festival Balet, recalled her encouraging a reluctant young male dancer whom she considered to be a gifted classicist. 'I guess I'm just not ambitious enough' he said. 'Darling' she said, clasping his hand, 'let me be ambitious for you'. 'She was ambitious for all of us', Hynd said.

There wasn't a slack moment in the dance programme - it cracked along. An excellent pas-de-deux from Bintley's 'The Seasons', danced by BRB's Nao Sakuma and Chi Cao was followed by a pdd from 'Le Corsaire' danced crisply by ENB's Monica Perego and Yat Sen chang. A wonderful surprise came next - 'Adagio for Strings' to the Samuel Barber music, choreographed by former RB soloist Anthony Dowson for ENB school pupils. Six black-leotarded boys and one white leotarded girl (Sonia Aguilar) maoeuvered themselves slowly, gracefully and mesmerisingly around, above, below and beside a large pole, which was passed among the group, sometimes used like a barre and sometimes like a pole-vault. I'm fairly sure 'Adagio for Strings' will pass into ENB's mainstream repertoire before too long.

Of the rest, out of loyalty to the Irek fans, I will mention his splendidly mustaschio'd pdd fom Ronald Hynd's 'Rosalinda' with the Chilean ballerina Marcela Giocoechea. She was lovely - he was as cheekily scene-stealing as ever.

Wayne Seep himself performed a brief tap number, singing a bluesy number as he went. He still does amazing turns and spins and got huge, well-deserved cheers from the audience.

Unquestionably, to me at least, the best item was Christoper Wheeldon's impressive 'Souvenirs' to Barber music danced by four young RB couples in formal ballroom attire. It is a bold, romantic piece which to me resonates with memories of Ashton's 'La Valse', yet it is definitely Wheeldon's own unique work. Exciting.

A lovely and genuinely inventive pas-de-deux from David Nixon's 'Madam Butterfly' for NBT to the Puccini music was exquistely danced by Chiaki Nagao, partnered nobly by Neil Westmorland, but was perhaps a little too long, while an excerpt from Christopher Bruce's 'Grinning in Your Face' danced by Rambert's peerless Paul Liburd partnered by Antonia Grove seemed almost too short.

BRB's Marion Tait and Alain Dubreuil, consummate professionals, made the tango from Ashton's 'Facade' sophisticated fun, what with her cheeky; camp asides to the audience and his absurdly pompous bossiness. A real treat.

And now we come to the advertised 'La Bayadere' - Pas-de-deux Act II - Darcey Bussell and Jonathan Cope of the Royal Ballet. Or rather we don't come to it - it didn't happen. Without a word of explanation this item, scheduled between the two last -mentioned items 'Grinning in your Face' and 'Facade', simply didn't take place. Since many of the tickets for this gala were probably sold on Darcey Bussell's name alone, I think the audience were owed an announcement from the stage. Some investigation needed, I think.

The final number was a glittering 'Don Quixote' pas-de-deux from ENB's Thomas Edur and Agnes Oaks. They were poised, confident and by now I guess rather practised in the roles. She in particular looked cool, comfortable and totally in command (we never get a chance to see either Oakes or Edur dance with other partners, which is a pity as the results could be interesting).

Despite the inexplicable omission mentioned above, I think the evening was a wonderful success, and a worthy tribute to Dame Beryl. There will probably be more. As she said herself from the stage 'most people don't have such nice things said about themselves until they're dead'....