A SET OF FOUR SHORT WORKS DEDICATED TO THE PAS DE DEUX

Acclaimed Cuban dance superstar Carlos Acosta presents his new narrative work Carmen as part of this exciting mixed programme, which also features a trio of brilliant short ballets by Liam Scarlett, Jerome Robbins and George Balanchine. His new work incorporates the music and gripping story of Bizet's Carmen, with Martin Yates adapting Bizet's score to make use of the Royal Opera Chorus and flamenco singing to add to the Spanish flavour of the piece.

The Royal Ballet's Artist in Residence, Liam Scarlett presents his dark and brooding 2012 work Viscera. Using music by American composer Lowell Liebermann, Scarlett's work is centred around a sensual pas de deux.

Jerome Robbins's 1953 work Afternoon of a Faun is set to Debussy's seductive Prelude a l'apres-midi d'un faune and was inspired by watching two young dancers rehearsing a pas de deux, obsessed by their reflection and seemingly unaware of the dance's sexual undertones. A risque creation, this work is now one of Robbins' most enduring creations.

George Balanchine's 1960's Tchaikovsky pas de deux was inspired both by the extraordinary abilities of New York City Ballet dancers Violette Verdy and Conrad Ludlow and by the music, a newly discovered piece from Swan Lake that had gone missing following Tchaikovsky's death.