The reviews are in for Three Short Ballets, Northern Ballet’s annual visit to the Linbury Theatre at the Royal Ballet and Opera, which opened on 29 September with a gala in tribute to the philanthropist Aud Jebsen. The bill sets a new commission from Tiler Peck, Grandes Études, danced to Liszt played live by pianist Rose McLachlan, beside revivals of Hans van Manen’s 5 Tangos and Mthuthuzeli November’s Fools, a South African township retelling of Romeo and Juliet; on the opening night three pas de deux shared with The Royal Ballet were added. The critics part company on nearly every piece. Peck’s ballet strikes most of them as pretty rather than lasting: half an hour of “distilled pleasure” for British Theatre Guide, too sweet for Gramilano. 5 Tangos is the highlight of the night for SeeingDance but feels flat to Gramilano and London Unattached, and Fools rescues the evening for Gramilano even as London Unattached finds it short of plot. The one thing several of them agree on is the guest solo from The Royal Ballet’s Cesar Corrales in 5 Tangos.
The verdict: seven reviews in. Only Bachtrack gives a score, three stars; The New York Times, British Theatre Guide, Gramilano, SeeingDance and London Unattached publish no rating, and The Times sits behind a paywall. Opinion divides piece by piece, and the guest appearance by Cesar Corrales is the moment most often singled out.
What are critics saying about Three Short Ballets?
Bachtrack
"diverse and captivating"
Reviewer: Graham Watts
"The middle work in the triptych of “short” ballets was a welcome opportunity to catch Hans van Manen’s 5 Tangos, now one year shy of its fiftieth anniversary. Van Manen’s hybrid of the smoulder of Argentine tango and the coolness of classical ballet, both highly disciplined, has become a twentieth century classic. The Northern Ballet cohort danced with precision and a necessary degree of mutual flirtation, but I didn’t get any fieriness until Cesar Corrales (guesting from The Royal Ballet) burst onto the stage for a truly scintillating solo of immense virtuosity. It was a highlight of the evening and a superb reintroduction of Corrales to the stage after a lengthy period of injury."
The New York Times
"Tiler Peck the Choreographer Channels Tiler Peck the Dancer"
Reviewer: Roslyn Sulcas
On Tuesday night, Northern Ballet, based in Leeds, performed Peck’s new “Grandes Études” in its London premiere at the Linbury Theater in the Royal Opera House, on a program with Hans van Manen’s “5 Tangos,” and Mthuthuzeli November’s “Fools,” a theatrically effective and strongly performed take on “Romeo and Juliet,” set in a South African township.
The gala opening evening had a few extras too: three pas de deux that combined principal dancers from Northern Ballet and the Royal Ballet, and a smoldering star turn from the Royal Ballet principal Cesar Corrales in “5 Tangos.”
British Theatre Guide
Reviewer: Vera Liber
"Four graces, I think, in classical pose and delicate pastel dresses, alone on stage, are soon joined by their fleeting partners (men in coordinating bolder coloured silk) in duets and tantalising trios, as they float and spin and run on the music. Elegant, playful, faces speak of emotion: Balanchine also said (his quotes are memorable): “put a man and a girl on stage and there is already a story; a man and two girls, there’s a plot.” But it’s for us to work that out. Kaho Masumoto’s solo is a happy one. Half an hour of distilled pleasure..."
Gramilano
"Northern Ballet’s Three Short Ballets is rescued by Fools"
Reviewer: Jonathan Gray
"Luckily, Northern Ballet saved the best until last. Based on R L Peteni’s novel Hill of Fools, Mthuthuzeli November’s Fools (a bit like West Side Story but set in a South African township) displayed the company as an ensemble of exceptional dance actors, their performances vividly depicting a divided community and the love that tries to bridge it. The choreography draws deeply on South African movements, rhythms and traditions, and the growing sense of antagonism and barely contained aggression between the two groups is excellently conveyed. Sarah Chun and Harris Beattie were completely believable as the young lovers, their duets tender and affectionate (his gentle touch to her stomach suggesting she is expecting their child), and Antoni Cañellas Artigues boils with so much rage he ends up killing Beattie’s character in a brutal climax to the violence. November, who also composed the music for Fools alongside Alex Wilson, has a definite talent for creating powerful dances that can tell a story with clarity and conviction. It will be exciting to see what he does next."
SeeingDance
Reviewer: Zoë Hewitt
"Hans van Manen’s 5 Tangos was the most enjoyable work of the evening. The opening ensemble takes a little time to gather heat. Then ‘Vayamos al Diablo’ arrives, and with it a male solo that suddenly sets the piece alight. The dancer spins with remarkable speed and precision, his sharply angled tango poses snapping into place."
London Unattached
"Northern Ballet Revives Two Works Alongside a Brand New Piece"
Reviewer: Teresa Guerreiro
"The problem with Fools is that it doesn’t really have a plot. The youngsters love each other, the tribes oppose them, somebody will die. The unnamed Juliet character is pregnant and full of foreboding, but is persuaded into lengthy loving pas de deux by the optimistic, ever-playful Romeo character. At first, as the ensemble engage in vibrant dances, it’s unclear who belongs to each tribe, which is confusing. Nevertheless, the rousing orgy of violence marking the ballet’s culmination, where the young man is graphically stabbed by the brother, is deeply theatrical and never fails to grip the audience."
Also reviewed by: The Times ("Northern Ballet review — sparks fly in a night of tango and virtuosity"), whose review sits behind a paywall.
Production photographs of Fools by Emily Nuttall and Colleen Mair.
For more of this week’s dance verdicts, read our roundup of English National Ballet’s Rhythm Riot at Sadler’s Wells.
Northern Ballet’s Three Short Ballets was at the Linbury Theatre, Royal Ballet and Opera, from 29 September to 2 October 2026.
