Tchaikovsky Trilogy

The Peter Schaufuss Ballet performs a trilogy of Tchaikovsky-scored ballets over the course of a week, with the opportunity to see all three in a row on Saturday. Danish choreographer/director Schaufuss was once an acclaimed performer and director of English National Ballet, but his record as a choreographer is less strong and some of his shows have been somewhat misguided (the Rolling Stones and Princess Diana ballets spring readily to mind). Schaufuss's versions of 'Swan Lake' (Mon, Wed, Sat), 'Sleeping Beauty' (Tue, Thur, Sat) and 'The Nutcracker' (Wed, Fri, Sat) date from 1997 and investigate the psychology of these well-worn stories, looking at the idea of a child in an adult world. Last seen here over a decade ago, the verdict first time round was not one of universal adulation, but the saving grace is likely to be the cast, with the excellent young Danish dancer Alban Lendorf and, in a rare return to the London stage, the great Irek Mukhamedov.