The programme So Are We marks the first time a British company has performed the work of choreographers Sol León and Paul Lightfoot. Tristram Kenton took a first look at Covent Garden.
Dynamic Duo: Dance Legends León and Lightfoot at the Royal Ballet – in Pictures
Anna Rose O’Sullivan and Vadim Muntagirov in Shoot the Moon from So Are We at the Royal Opera House. Photograph: Tristram Kenton/The Guardian
Thu 11 Jun 2026 12.21 EDT
Salle de Danse
Salle de Danse, one of two pieces in the programme So Are We.
Lauren Cuthbertson and Lukas B Brændsrød in the other piece, Shoot the Moon.
Melissa Hamilton and Martín Díaz in Salle de Danse, originally choreographed as a film during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Hannah Grennell, Mica Bradbury and Annette Buvoli in Salle de Danse, with set, costumes and lighting by León and Lightfoot.
Leo Dixon and Viola Pantuso rehearsing Salle de Danse, which is inspired by a dancer’s daily class and set to music by Ilya Demutsky.
Vadim Muntagirov, Sol León, Anna Rose O’Sullivan and Paul Lightfoot in rehearsals.
Royal Ballet principal Marcelino Sambé in Salle de Danse.
Díaz and Hamilton rehearse Salle de Danse.
Marianna Tsembenhoi in Salle de Danse.
Lightfoot and León during rehearsals. They have been a choreographic duo since 1989.
Shoot the Moon
Cuthbertson, a Royal Ballet principal, in Shoot the Moon, which also has set and costumes by León and Lightfoot.
Muntagirov and O’Sullivan rehearsing Shoot the Moon, which has music by Philip Glass.
León in rehearsals for Shoot the Moon, which was first performed by the Nederlands Dans Theater in 2006.
Cuthbertson and Brændsrød rehearsing Shoot the Moon.
Shoot the Moon has lighting by Tom Bevoort.
Matthew Ball and Natalia Osipova in Salle de Danse. So Are We is at the Royal Opera House, London, 11-20 June.
