10 and 17 November. The illustrated farewell, The wind, Untouchable at ROH

I saw this triple bill twice and enjoyed it on both occasions. The first piece, by Twyla Tharp featured Sarah Lamb with Steven McRae and Mayara Magri with Joseph Sissens. It starts off with Lamb and McRae dancing a pas de deux before being joined after approximately 10 minutes by other members of the company. The dancing was precise and engaging, to music - The Farewell - by Haydn.

Next came The Wind, a new ballet by Arthur Pita who had choreographed Metamorphosis. This piece also featured Edward Watson as Mawarra - a ghostly warrior figure overlooking the action. This takes place on a windswept ranch in Texas to which Letty Mason arrives by railroad. She attracts the attention of the cowpunchers as well as the cattle buyer Wirt Roddy. She marries one cowpuncher, only to be raped on her wedding night by Wirt. In revenge, she shoots him. I noticed much more detail the second time. Whether this was the more emphatic acting by Francesca Hayward over Natalia Osipova as Letty, I'm not sure. both got great applause - and flowers - at the end. The husband was played by Thiago soares the first night and Tomas Mock the second. Wirt Roddy's part was taken by Thomas Whitehead and Mattew Ball on the two nights.
The stage was somewhat dominated by three huge windmachines and a railroad track to the right hand side of the stage. The machines were so powerful that their effect could be felt in the Grand Tier. The were used to power visual effects such as the bride's veil streaming out from her bonnet. All in all, I found this an engaging thirty five minutes, with music composed and played on electric violin and slide guitar by Frank Moon.
Finally, we had Untouchable, choreographed by Hofesh Shechter to music of his and Nell Catchpole's composition. The piece seemed to me more abstract, consisting of twenty members of the Company moving in and out of a parade formation. I found my concentration drifted likewise which is not to take away from the piece. It's just that it didn't command my undivided attention.