A darkly delightful double bill of dance
Scottish Ballet’s latest double bill is a fist of firsts: Emergence is the first work world-renowned choreographer Crystal Pite created for a classical ballet company; it is the first time Emergence has played in Scotland in a decade; and it is the first time Entress, created by rising star Julia Cheng, has played anywhere ever.
Kickstarting this momentous evening is Entress, an atmospheric ballet that Christopher Hampson, Chief Executive and Artistic Director of Scottish Ballet, described as being about ‘transformation’ before the curtain rose.
It is a hard transformation on show, though. Verging on bleak, there is a moodiness that pervades the work, with the protagonist seemingly descending into Hell in the opening beats. From there, she is locked in combat with the ensemble who are costumed in all black, fighting the darkness to the frenetic strings and drums of Isobel Waller-Bridge’s intense score.
In such an environment, you are challenged to contemplate on what it means to change. How painful can it be? Is it worth it? Does struggle equal metamorphosis? Will what comes after always be beautiful?
Played with rigour by Kayla-Maree Tarantolo, the protagonist emerges from this journey a new woman. She is ensconced in a white, sheer fabric, and out of the cocoon comes the butterfly who now leads the ensemble rather than moving against it. It is an exquisite image, tinged with a mournfulness of what had to happen for this moment to come to pass.
In contrast, Emergence is all about the unity of the dancers. There is no battle against them; there is only the ensemble. Characterised as ‘the architecture of the hive mind’, the synchronicity of the company shows off their adept technique and finesse. They are one and they are all. The formations they come together as makes you question, “what does it mean to be an individual?” before you move on to, “what does it mean to be a collective?” Is there a difference between the two or are they one and the same? Set to almost discordant sounds, Emergence believes the two can coexist, and is, in fact, dependent on each other.
Played together, Emergence and Entress are both beautiful ballets that haunt you in different ways. They are not just feasts for the senses, but works of art that demand your attention and your interpretation. Together, they go to the very bones of nature, and asks, what does it mean to be human? It is only a hardened soul who will not be moved by the answers they provide.
Emergence & Entress played at Theatre Royal in Glasgow on 10th September 2026 with further performances scheduled until 12th September, and will also play at His Majesty’s Theatre in Aberdeen from 25th September to 26th September 2026, at Festival Theatre in Edinburgh from 1st October to 3rd October 2026, and at the Bergen International Festival from 7th June to 8th June 2027.