The reviews are in for Madam, The Royal Ballet's two-night tribute to its founder, Dame Ninette de Valois, which played the Linbury Theatre at the Royal Opera House on 3-4 November as part of the Royal Ballet School's centenary. Curated by Lauren Cuthbertson and Kevin O'Hare, the 90-minute programme mixed filmed memories from Monica Mason, Antoinette Sibley, Anya Linden and Wayne Sleep with six de Valois solos and work by those who followed her, from Ashton and MacMillan to McGregor and Wheeldon. The dance critics were warm across the board. Marcelino Sambé and Anna Rose O'Sullivan in Chroma, Yasmine Naghdi and Ryoichi Hirano in Concerto and Caspar Lench's Vestris were the most often praised. The reservations were small: a wish to see more of de Valois's own choreography, and, for one critic, a few solos danced with more technique than drama.
4.3 / 5 from 3 criticsThe verdict: six reviews in. BroadwayWorld gives it five stars, and London Unattached and The Stage give it four; Seeing Dance and Gramilano publish no rating, and The Times sits behind its paywall. Across the three ratings the average is 4.3 out of 5. Everyone agrees the evening made a persuasive case for de Valois as the architect of British ballet, and the duets draw the warmest praise, above all Chroma for Marcelino Sambé and Anna Rose O'Sullivan and Concerto for Yasmine Naghdi and Ryoichi Hirano.
What are critics saying about Madam?
BroadwayWorld
"A brilliant, and fitting programme"
Reviewer: Matthew Paluch
Matthew Paluch thinks putting six of de Valois's solos side by side was the masterstroke, showing the range and style that define British ballet. He singles out Yasmine Naghdi and Ryoichi Hirano in MacMillan's Concerto and Lauren Cuthbertson with Lukas B. Brændsrød in Wheeldon's new Beautiful Shadow, and his one regret is that de Valois stopped choreographing to make room for others.
"I'm sure Madam was watching from ballet heaven and I'm sure she is pleased."
London Unattached
"The Royal Ballet Honours Ninette de Valois"
Reviewer: Teresa Guerreiro
Teresa Guerreiro admires the contrasting Job solos, Martin Diaz's elongated Elihu against Marco Masciari's clawing Satan, and Caspar Lench's effortless Vestris, coached by Wayne Sleep himself. She would have liked a longer extract from Checkmate, and found student Soren Chisholm's Peace with Honour daring and promising.
"…time stood still as Yasmine Naghdi and Ryoichi Hirano performed the 2nd Movement of Concerto…"
Seeing Dance
"An enduring legacy"
Reviewer: Nicola Claire
Nicola Claire counts five outstanding moments, with Sambé and O'Sullivan's Chroma the best of the night, alongside Lench's Vestris, Aurora Chinchilla's Sleeping Beauty variation and Olivia Findlay's Betrayed Girl from The Rake's Progress and the closing Beautiful Shadow. She is more critical than her colleagues of some of the de Valois solos, finding the Black Queen and the Red Knight technically strong but short on character.
"…an intimate and beautifully conceived celebration of de Valois and the centenary of The Royal Ballet School…"
Gramilano
"The Royal Ballet's intimate tribute to Ninette de Valois"
Reviewer: Jonathan Gray
Jonathan Gray praises the understated curation, the filmed memories over tea and cake, and the Royal Ballet School's account of Jessica Lang's The First Voice, danced to de Valois's own poems. The glimpses of her ballets reminded him how vivid a choreographer she could be, especially for men, and how seldom her work is now seen live.
"Madam was a captivating celebration, charmingly presented and, like all good entertainments, it left you wanting more."
Also reviewed by: The Stage (Siobhan Murphy, four stars, "Lovely moments to savour") and The Times (Debra Craine, "Madam review — celebrating the architect of world-class British ballet"), whose reviews sit behind paywalls.
The Royal Ballet School's centenary began on the main stage last month, and our roundup of A Centenary Celebration gathers what the critics made of that gala. This morning we have also rounded up the reviews for Birmingham Rep's new The Snowman, which comes to the Peacock Theatre this Christmas.
Madam was performed at the Linbury Theatre at the Royal Opera House on 3-4 November 2026.
For more information, visit the official website.
