Dances at a Gathering

Set to some of Fryderyk Chopin’s most familiar piano melodies, Jerome Robbins’s buoyant choreography from 1969 underpins a series of plotless dances, each a portrait of human connection and together a joyful kaleidoscope of shifting moods.

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Three ballet dancers perform together wearing light coloured dresses in front of a blue backdrop on a stage.

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Creatives

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Background

Dances at a Gathering was choreographer Jerome Robbins’s first creation for New York City Ballet. He originally intended to only create a pas de deux for dancers Patricia McBride and Edward Villella, but eventually expanded the ballet to include a total of five couples.

The beauty of abstraction

The production

Following speculation of the ballet’s narratives and meanings by critics and audiences during its premiere, Robbins wrote to the Ballet Review, stating unequivocally that ’There are no stories to any of the dances in Dances at a Gathering. There are no plots and no roles. The dancers are themselves dancing with each other to that music in that space.’

History at The Royal Ballet

The history

The Royal Ballet first performed Dances at a Gathering in 1970 when it was brought into the Company’s repertory by Kenneth MacMillan, who was then artistic director. The Royal Ballet premiere included Monica Mason, Lynn Seymour, Antoinette Sibley, Anthony Dowell, Rudolf Nureyev and David Wall, among other stars.

Dance highlight: Pink/Purple pas de deux

Gallery

Two ballet dancers perform together on a stage with a bright blue backdrop. One wears a long pink dress and the other is all in white. (1 of 3) — Mayara Magri and Nicol Edmonds in Dances at a Gathering, The Royal Ballet ©2020 ROH. Photographed by Bill Cooper

Two ballet dancers perform together on a stage with a bright blue backdrop. (2 of 3) — Marcelino Sambé and Sarah Lamb in Dances at a Gathering, The Royal Ballet ©2020 ROH. Photographed by Bill Cooper

Several ballet dancers stand on a stage with a blue backdrop. They all hold their right arm upwards. (3 of 3) — Artists of The Royal Ballet in Dances at a Gathering, The Royal Ballet ©2020 ROH. Photographed by Bill Cooper

Accessibility and resources

There is lift access and there are step-free routes to over 100 seats in the Stalls Circle, Balcony and Amphitheatre. Some seats in the Stalls Circle, Balcony, Amphitheatre and the Donald Gordon Grand Tier are accessed by 9 steps or fewer. There are 10 steps or more to access seats in the Orchestra Stalls.

You can use the assistive listening systems in our auditoriums. Surtitles, captions and translations in English are displayed on screens above the stage and around the auditorium.

Join our Access Scheme for priority access to tickets and to inform us of your access requirements.

See our Accessibility page for more information or view a visitors guide (PDF, 12.0 MB).