★★★☆☆

For any major ballet company to thrive, new work must be embraced alongside the classics, and this is what Royal Ballet director Keven O’Hare is doing with his latest contemporary triple bill.

Unfortunately, it does not make for an entirely successful evening. Opening night saw the world premiere of Kyle Abraham’s The Weathering, a piece, we are told, about loss. The lighting is interesting: lamps are dotted around the stage and then rise and fall during the various dances. The individual solos and pas de deux work better than the larger group pieces, where the men look ragged. Anna Rose O’Sullivan is on form in her swift variation, but overall the piece disappoints; Ryan Lott’s score is uninspiring and I was left unmoved.

Crystal Pite’s Solo Echo is the second work of the evening and is far more effective. Set almost in total darkness, save for a backdrop of glistening snow, this ballet is melancholy but at the same time paired with a sense of hope. Led by some of the younger members of the company dressed entirely in black, Solo Echo works well, but I do wonder why so many contemporary choreographers love a dark stage – a burst of brilliance would not go amiss. 

The final piece is the best of the bunch – Christopher Wheeldon’s DGV: Danse a Grande Vitesse. The music, by Michael Nyman, was composed for the launch of the French high-speed train, the TGV back in the 1990s, and it certainly has a thrilling impulse about it. The dancers look good, with the women in flattering leotards by Jean-Marc Puissant, and the entire piece generates energy, just like a train accelerating through the countryside. 

The four lead couples zip through their variations and all the dancers look like they are enjoying themselves.  Wheeldon has created some compelling images which stick in the mind: dancers are held aloft, legs bent, bodies arched; the corps speedily move in geometric patterns. It is fun to watch as the piece gathers pace and brings the evening to a close. 

The Weathering, Solo Echo and DGV: Danse a Grande Vitesse are at the Royal Opera House until 7 April