Magical music and magnificent dancing

8:11am Monday 3rd March 2008

MAGIC moments are not random affairs - they come about by design.

This Birmingham Royal Ballet triple bill is a carefully constructed lightning tour through some defining eras of the Jazz Age and it works for a number of reasons.

First, Colin Towns' Mask orchestra effortlessly flits from the pop cool of Dave Brubeck to the chocolate-smooth ensemble work of Duke Ellington, stopping off at Coleman Hawkins' house along the way. And second - not forgetting the energised dancing of people like Tyrone Singleton and Carol-Ann Millar - there is the attention to detail. Jean-Marc Puissant's designs are highly derivative of the legendary Blue Note record label, all smoke, bold borders and dreamy tones.

Take Five is familiar territory with Brubeck's understated piano work providing the perfect backdrop for some utterly breathtaking dance, while The Orpheus Suite explodes in a cacophony of shrieking horns and frenetic routines. However, it is the Shakespeare Suite that fulfils the promise pledged by the earlier works as a collection of the Bard's characters reinvent themselves courtesy of Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn's musical Midas Touch.

All That Jazz is the nearest thing to the Cotton Club that we are likely to see this side of the Pond.

JOHN PHILLPOTT

Editor's choice