Studies in Blue

Read the program book ahead of your performance - complete with synopsis, company artist roster, artistic and production team biographies, and more.

See casting information for Studies in Blue.

We invite you to our Meet the Artists event taking place in the Lyric Opera House one hour before the performance. Simply present your ticket to the usher to gain free admittance.

Choreography: Andrew McNicol | Music: Peter Gregson

In this Joffrey commissioned piece, McNicol creates a vastness in Yonder Blue with minimalist costuming and unique lighting. McNicol draws inspiration from writer Siri Hustvedt’s illuminating book A Plea for Eros. In the book, Hustvedt describes “yonder” as a word that shifts and moves, implying distance between one place and another. “Blue” similarly holds multiple associations of honesty and melancholy.

Choreography: Stina Quagebeur | Music: Jeremy Birchall

Praised for her masterful blending of classical and contemporary ballet, Quagebeur intuitively communicates universal journeys, whether they be abstract or narrative. Described in 'Dancing Times' as a choreographer who “managed to express abstract ideas through dance with the sort of clarity that indicates serious talent," Quagebeur’s world premiere of Hungry Ghosts conveys the blight of addiction, and the longing to feel connected amidst devastation. She describes this work as “the story that statistics can’t tell and that words alone cannot do justice to.”

Choreography: Liam Scarlett | Music: Phillip Glass

Hummingbird takes flight in a breathtaking expression of human emotion. Set to Glass’s three-movement 'Tirol Concerto' for Piano and Orchestra, Scarlett articulates profound love and longing through the progression of three pas de deux. Surrounded by the striking artistry of John Macfarlane’s stage design, Scarlett’s dynamic choreography invites audiences to embrace compassion, reminding us of what it feels like to be human. Dance Europe hailed it as a “perfect mix of music, choreography, staging…it takes your breath away.”

Andrew McNicol is a freelance British choreographer and Artistic Associate at English National Ballet School. He has been noted as “a name to watch” and “talented beyond his years.”

Born in Belgium, Stina started dancing and choreographing by the time she was 7. At the age of 11 she came to England to study at the Royal Ballet School, and continued her training at the English National Ballet School, joining the company at age 18. She has been choreographing throughout her career as a dancer and was named Associate Choreographer of the company in 2019.

Born in Ipswich, he trained at the Linda Shipton School of Dancing and then The Royal Ballet School before graduating to The Royal Ballet in 2005. He was promoted to First Artist in 2008. In 2012 he retired from dancing and was appointed Artist in Residence with The Royal Ballet.