A PROGRAMME of little ballet bon-bons, all soaring leaps and classic shows of prowess, would doubtless have reduced the packed house to cheering ecstasies.

But Carlos Acosta received waves of rapturous applause for something less obvious: a broodingly intense collection of solos and duets (by contemporary choreographers) where a grounded stillness, an emphasis on counter-balances within partnering, and an articulate use of the upper torso presented fresh challenges for Acosta's physicality, stamina and artistry.

For the Royal Ballet's Zenaida Yanowsky too, her presence – akin to an elusive, ethereal "memory" in some encounters – fosters the sense of an underlying narrative rooted in love, loss and grieving.

You could say there was a third partner in their performance: Chris Davey's lighting designs that shrouded the space in a velvety gloom, then pierced it with precisely defined pools and shafts of brightness that repeatedly kept Acosta and Yanowsky isolated, or apart.

From time to time, the black-clad members of the SCO Chorus emerged soundlessly from the shadows, as if waiting to gather Yanowsky into their midst, before their thrillingly sonorous rendition of Morten Lauriden's O Magnum Mysterium set the seal on Acosta's concept of a relationship severed by death.

Perhaps what touched us – pleased us – most in this haunting, mystical production was how Acosta, now almost 40, is taking his artistry on, in rewardingly new directions.

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