Fans of Swan Lake – arguably the greatest of all classical ballets – had an unexpected treat at Covent Garden Dance Company’s 2025 Ballet under the Stars at Hatch House near Tisbury. A serious viral illness forced the withdrawal of Lauren Cuthbertson, and the change of soloist meant two changes to the programme, including a heart-stopping finale pas de deux from Swan Lake, performed by the exquisite Emma Hawes, with her dance partner Gareth Haw.
It was a great disappointment for regular audiences, who were looking forward to the return to Hatch of the famous dancer, a principal guest artist with the Royal Ballet. Everyone hoped for a speedy recovery for Lauren, but Emma Hawes, leading principal dancer with English National Ballet, was no mere stand-in. She captivated everyone with her beautiful shapes and feather-light classical perfection, in a touching pas de deux from Giselle, with Haw, who is also a leading principal dancer at ENB.
They followed this, rounding off a magical evening, with the great Swan Lake pas de deux, possibly the most famous in all classical ballet, here given a matchless beauty and poignancy by a ballerina whose return to Hatch will be eagerly awaited!
A joyful smoulder
The evening lived up to the name ‘ballet under the stars’ on both Friday and Saturday – Sunday’s rain did nothing to dampen the experience, and if the stars were mostly hidden in the sky, they were very much on show on stage under the marquee in the beautiful 17th century walled garden.
Courteney Celeste Fox, probably the Caribbean’s most famous dancer and now the Cultural Ambassador for the Bahamas, gave a joyfully smouldering performance of In Time, a new work which she choreographed, danced to a score composed and performed by Bahamian jazz trumpeter Giveton Gelin, who also performed two solos.
For lovers of contemporary dance, there were two astonishing pieces created by Ekleido and danced by company founders and joint artistic directors Hannah Ekholm and Faye Stoeser. Performing to a powerful and mainly electronic score, the pair – dressed in gothic-influenced glittering black – gave the world premiere of their new work, Clinquant, this year’s Dicky Buckle Fund new work.
The fund, created in memory of the noted dance critic, is supported by Covent Garden Dance Company, and enables the creation of new works by emerging choreographers. The second piece, the mesmeric, almost robotic Splice, saw the two dancers in shiny black and white, like balletic space travellers!
Each of the dozen pieces – performed in three acts, between the three courses of dinner – showcased exceptional dancers. It was thrilling to see Joy Womack and Xander Parish in Stravinsky’s The Firebird, Zai Calliste’s seductively virile Hereafter, and Royal Ballet principals Sarah Lamb and William Bracewell in the enchanting pas de deux from Prokovief’s Cinderella.
Next year marks the 20th anniversary of the founding of Covent Garden Dance Company, which will return with Ballet under the Stars on 24th to 26th July 2026.
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