What do seventeen tiara clad ballerinas; a cast of men in jeans and a bearded man on a tricycle have in common? Precisely nothing. It is for this reason that Director David Bintley compiled three such diverse ballets for reprisal, suggesting that in order to make for an entertaining evening, variety really might be the spice of life.

I say Ballet, you say - Swan Lake, probably. Universally acknowledged as one of the greats in the classical ballet calendar, Sir Peter Wright’s production in the care of the company does nothing less than impress. 

It was the vision of choreographer Sir Frederick Ashton to create ‘a grand ballet’ from the past, calling upon both myth and legend in order to craft a little piece of the Golden Age amongst our often less than lustrous lives. Wednesday saw the opening night of David Bintley’s 2009 revival for the Birmingham Royal Ballet, highlighting his unmatched skill for immersing ‘real people’ into a truly fantastical world.

Like book-ends to a fantastic career, Wednesday 17th June marked the 20 year-long residency of Director David Bintley with Birmingham Royal Ballet.

There was a standing ovation. Someone shouted “this is off the scale”. As the curtain fell on the 20th anniversary of Sir Peter Wright’s Coppélia, Beth Baker-Wyse explores why this might just be ‘the most beautiful ballet in existence’.

From early 20th century productions to recent in-company commissions, Beth Baker-Wyse uncovers how in moving stateside, we are exploring dance at its most ‘vivid and memorable’.

Reviving three of the great Sir Frederick Ashton's earliest and most intriguing works, David Bintley guides the Birmingham Royal Ballet towards an interpretation still startling resonant with the theatregoers of today.

Conceiving, creating and crafting ballets involve hard work. Audiences are not always appreciative, nor storylines straightforward nor colleagues co-operative in the journey to producing a popular ballet.

I say: Poker, Striptease and Pom Poms, you probably wouldn't say: Ballet. Well for six exclusive performances you would be mistaken.

When the Loughborough Students' Union exec made a video meant exclusively for campus freshers, no-one could have predicted the results...