Sensuous contemporary ballet meets the energy of musical theatre in ‘Ballet To Broadway: Wheeldon Works’, to be screened at Cardigan’s Mwldan on Thursday, 22 May (7.15pm).

These four distinctive short works include ‘Fool’s Paradise’, ‘The Two of Us’, ‘Us’, and ‘An American in Paris’ show the remarkable choreographic range of Royal Ballet Artistic Associate, Christopher Wheeldon.

Luminescent and shimmering, ‘Fool’s Paradise’ marked the first of Wheeldon’s many collaborations with composer Joby Talbot. It was created in 2007 for Wheeldon’s own company, Morphoses, and first performed in 2012 by The Royal Ballet.

The wistful songs of Joni Mitchell set the scene for the UK premiere of ‘The Two of Us’, a duet of deep intimacy and yearning. It was created in 2020 for the Fall for Dance Festival in

New York, and had American ballet dancers Sarah Mearns and David Hallberg in its original cast.

‘Us’ is a tender duet danced by two men. It was created in 2017 for BalletBoyz and is set to Keaten Henson’s music.

The Royal Ballet celebrates Wheeldon’s extraordinary success in musical theatre by performing the ballet scene from his Tony Award-winning musical ‘An American in Paris’.

Set to Gershwin’s jazzy melodies, the musical is inspired by the 1951 film of the same name starring Gene Kelly and Leslie Caron. The musical went on to win four Tony awards.

The full musical depicts a blossoming romance between the American G.I. Jerry Mulligan and a French ballerina, Lise Dassin.

The ballet excerpt was Wheeldon’s take on one of the most memorable scenes from the film – an extended sequence in which the two central characters dance through Paris.

The show on 22 May will be streamed live from The Royal Opera House, London.

Tickets are available now from www.mwldan.co.uk or by phoning 01239 621 200.