Last Updated on March 24, 2026
Dance Theatre that tells a tale at the Linbury
This year’s London edition of the Van Cleef & Arpels Festival offers a diverse and dynamic lineup, showcasing both classical influences and contemporary innovation.
This afternoon’s performance of Giselle… from François Gremaud., a reimagining of the iconic ballet, embodies the festival’s mission perfectly. The programme, however, extends far beyond this single work. The Lyon Opera Ballet brings Merce Cunningham Forever, a tribute to the legendary choreographer, while the Dresden Frankfurt Dance Company collaborates with students from the Rambert School on Join, a new work by Ioannis Mandafounis, staged at Sadler’s Wells. At Tate Modern, Hagay Dreaming—a thought-provoking piece by Taiwanese-American artist Shu Lea Cheang and Truku artist and practicing shaman Dondon Hounwn—adds a multidisciplinary dimension to the festival. Meanwhile, the Royal Ballet and Royal Opera host two productions at the Linbury Theatre and Paul Hamlyn Hall , with a final production of Balanchine works from the Royal Ballet on the Main Stage.
Beyond performances, the festival offers an array of workshops, further cementing its role as a platform for artistic exchange and exploration. With its blend of historic reverence and contemporary boldness, the Van Cleef & Arpels Festival continues to enrich the global dance landscape.
This afternoon’s performance at the Linbury, Giselle… is the second work in a triptych centred upon tragic female figures from the classical performing arts from Swiss writer, director and actor François Gremaud.
Giselle… works as a performance in its own right while providing a deep insight into the famous ballet, from its position in western dance history to the choreography and various historic dance interpretations. And, it does so in a way that touches at the heart of the original thanks to brilliant one-woman performance by Samantha Van Wissen, an inspiring Dutch dancer/actor who holds together the whole of Gremaud’s palimpsest, a concoction of history, social context, choreography and stagecraft.
This show follows the plot of the classic ballet. In the first act, Albrecht, Duke of Silesia, disguised as the peasant Loys, seduces Giselle, an innocent peasant girl. She dies when she learns the truth. As Van Wissen tells us, the story could end there, but instead, in Act 2, we discover the Wilis and learn that Giselle has joined them. The whole story of Giselle… though, is a triumph of love as Giselle thwarts damnation to forgive and save her lover.
With just a small band of musicians on stage, Sandra Borges Ariosa (violin), Antonella de Franco (harp), Irene Poma (flute) and Sara Zazo Romero (saxophone), a stark black curtained set and just a single chair as a prop, this production depends on Van Wissen’s skill. She dances and acts her way through nearly two hours of compelling storytelling that leaves the audience with a deeper insight into the original ballet. all the while we are entertained by the charismatic Van Wissen with her cornucopia of historical insights and with contemporary references from Beyonce to Michael Jackson. The music from Luca Antignani, based on the original score by Adolphe Adam, somehow holds true with just four musicians on stage.
For those who missed Giselle… there are three more productions at Royal Ballet and Opera as part of the Van Cleef & Arpels festival
Close Up – 20 & 21 March, 7:45pm
Linbury Theatre
Based on Johann Sebastian Bach’s The Art of Fugue, Close Up is an inventive choreographic work that uses video to reveal the different dimensions of body and movement.
Premiered at the Avignon Festival in July 2024, Close Up is performed by six dancers and five musicians from baroque ensemble Il Convito, directed by Maude Gratton. Synthesizing and deepening the research carried out in Noé Soulier’s latest work, this creation continues his exploration of the relationship between dance and live music, already present in Faits et gestes (2016), The Waves (2018) and First Memory (2022). This work also extends his research with live video and the relationship between the camera and the dancers explored in his movie Fragments (2022).
Neither Drums Nor Trumpets – 25 March, 1pm; 26 March, 1pm & 7 pm
Paul Hamlyn Hall
Neither Drums nor Trumpets explores performing rituals, and codified techniques in an unusually layered contemporary collage.
Known for her deft and witty choreographic style, Pam Tanowitz draws upon the Paul Hamlyn Halls’ rich history as a former market, dance hall and storage for theatre scenery, and its current use as a gathering and hospitality space.
BALANCHINE: THREE SIGNATURE WORKS
28 March – 8 April 2025
Closing this year’s festival is Balanchine: Three Signature Works, a programme that highlights the transformative impact of George Balanchine on American ballet.
When Balanchine arrived in the United States in the early 1930s, he redefined the landscape of 20th-century ballet, pioneering the American neoclassical style. This program traces his artistic evolution, beginning with Serenade (1935), the first ballet he created in the U.S., renowned for its ethereal grace. In contrast. Next, Prodigal Son (1929) offers a dramatic, avant-garde take on the classic parable of sin and redemption. Finally, Symphony in C (1947) brings the evening to a grand and exhilarating conclusion, with its dazzling symmetry and crystalline formations.
This final showcase serves as both a tribute to Balanchine’s enduring legacy and a fitting crescendo to the festival’s celebration of choreographic heritage.
Royal Ballet and Opera
Bow St,
London WC2E 9DD
For the full Van Cleef & Arpels Festival programme, check the website
Check our London dance previews for 2025
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