Joan Sutherland Theatre, Sydney Opera House
November 5, 2015

The Australian Ballet largely cater for devotees of the poise and splendour of narrative works; those delicious, honeyed fables of romance and magic. But when on occasion they allow themselves to plug the lexicon of 19th–century ballet into the high-voltage power and break-neck velocity of the modern masters of the art form, the results are heart-stopping. Having such a savvy director at the helm of this company, namely David McAllister, this contemporary triple bill doesn’t swap the rigour of balletic discipline for unrestrained, bleeding-edge experimentalism. Shot through with the technical clout you would expect from this world-class company, 20:21 strikes a finely judge equilibrium between crafted execution and choreographic invention.

Created in 1972, Symphony in Three Movements is a study in vim and vigour; the epitome of the sleek, glossy, all-American polish of George Balanchine. Set to the music of his most fruitful collaborator, Igor Stravinsky, this score muddles in between the primordial wantonness of The Rite of Spring and the pared-back refinement of the composer’s neo-classical output, and an atmosphere of aesthetic transition is similarly superimposed on Balanchine’s movement.