Scottish Ballet: Emergence review – riveting visions of gods and insects

Theatre Royal, Glasgow
The premiere of Julia Cheng’s Entress and a bold return for Crystal Pite’s Emergence both explore collective power

It is a significant moment for a choreographer to create work for a large ballet company for the first time. This is the thread that joins these two Scottish Ballet performances: the world premiere of Entress by Julia Cheng and a restaging of Crystal Pite’s Emergence, choreographed for the National Ballet of Canada in 2009 and first performed by Scottish Ballet at the Edinburgh international festival in 2016.

Coming from a varied dance background that includes hip-hop and waacking, Cheng received Olivier nominations for her choreography for Cabaret and Fiddler on the Roof. She brings an assured patience to the myth-like Entress (from an old Scottish word meaning “right to enter”); scenes exploring groupthink, purging and transformation are allowed time to develop.