Something old, something new and something borrowed in an eclectic night of virtuoso dance.

Joan Sutherland Theatre, Sydney Opera House

May 1, 2014

Variety, they say, is the spice of life, and if contemporary dance is your thing the Australian Ballet’s triple bill, going by the name of the opening work, Chroma, is a great night out. And good news too if you’re a classical balletomane with a phobia for the more industrial side of modern dance – there is little to fear here in an evening that is in more ways than one a contemporary homage to the past.

The new first, and Wayne McGregor’s 2006 Royal Ballet commission, Chroma, is probably the most ‘out there’ work on the program – a piece which apparently had clubbers cheering in the aisles along with the regular Covent Garden patrons on its first showing. It certainly sounds groovy, being a mixture of Joby Talbot’s original music and hits by the White Stripes. From the first noir-infused arrangement of Aluminium from the White Blood Cells album (a definite whiff of Gotham City in the air), through a string of recognisable arrangements, it’s a marvellous score (I was reminded of the American composer Michael...