London City Ballet bring mixed programme - including two UK premieres - to York Theatre Royal
We are incredibly lucky in Yorkshire to be able to access world-class live performance from national and international touring companies visiting our theatre spaces – and next month there will be the opportunity to enjoy some rarely seen dance pieces when London City Ballet arrives at York Theatre Royal.
The award-winning company will be performing two UK premieres as part of a mixed bill of work including a revival of Glen Tetley’s Firebird to mark the centenary of the American choreographer’s birth. “He was a very influential choreographer in the 1980s and 90s and I thought for this centenary celebration it would be great to honour his work,” says Christopher Marney, artistic director of London City Ballet. “Firebird particularly appealed to me because it hadn’t been performed in the UK before. It is a beautiful gothic reworking of the ballet.” Set in the Edwardian era, and originally made for the Royal Danish Ballet in 1981, it tells the story of a young woman who is trying to break free from the constraints of a controlling family. “It is a lovely uplifting fairytale,” says Marney. “She liberates herself, embraces her differences, becomes this beautiful creature, falls in love and has a positive influence on the people around her.”
Marney managed to persuade the designer of the original production, John MacFarlane, to come out of retirement and revisit his design. “Firebird was one of John MacFarlane’s first big ballet commissions and he went on to design for the Royal Ballet and other companies. When I spoke to him, he had such fond memories of that time and he said ‘I’m in.’ He has been wonderful travelling up to London working on the costumes which are a big element of the look of the production. The costume design blends Edwardian dress with lots of different periods and a fantastical element too. And the set is beautiful; it looks almost like a storybook.”
Subscribe to the YP’s Lifestyle newsletter
The other UK premiere is internationally renowned choreographer John Neumeier’s celebrated Ghost Light, a piece he created in 2020 and which he is revisiting and reworking for London City Ballet. “I wanted something that contrasted with Firebird, and this is very pared back,” says Marney. “A ghost light is the one light that stands at the front of the stage to illuminate it when the building is empty. Audiences will come in and the stage will look like it’s an empty theatre. The premise of the ballet is really about shining a light on all of the artists that have once performed in the theatre throughout the years. There are lots of stories and relationships that run through the ballet. It is almost a collage of different styles of dance and pairings. We have the wonderful international star Alina Cojocaru performing as a guest artist and she is an integral part of this ballet.”
London City Ballet was originally founded at Sadlers Wells theatre in 1978 and in the 1980s and early 90s was widely recognized as one of the world’s leading dance companies – Princess Diana was its patron – until it closed in 1996 due to financial struggles. Marney re-established the company in 2024, with Sadler’s Wells again as its base, and since then it has gone from strength to strength. As a previous director of the Joffrey Ballet Company in Chicago and London’s Central School of Ballet, he has wide experience of programming tours and curating and commissioning diverse programmes. “There has been a wonderful outpouring of love for the company,” says Marney. “Demand for tickets is high and venues have been supportive, co-commissioning work. Firebird is a co-production with York Theatre Royal and the Opera de Vichy in France.”
This is the company’s third successful season and in June it won the Best Independent Company award at the National Dance Awards 2026. Over the summer they toured Europe; the autumn tour begins in York, then visits several UK venues before going to New York and France. “We have expanded our reach but we are staying true to the original ethos of bringing affordable and accessible dance to as many people as possible,” says Marney. “I’m pleased to be bringing the works of Tetley and Neumeier to stages across the UK and I believe they will have a big impact on audiences seeing them for the first time.”
London City Ballet: Firebird is at York Theatre Royal, September 18 at 7.30pm and 19 at 2.30pm and 7.30pm. Post-show Q&A after the performance on September 18. Open class at 11.30am on September 19. Details and tickets yorktheatreroyal.co.uk