The Dream – Titania and the Fairies (Akane Takada; The Royal Ballet)

Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, interpreted by Frederick Ashton, is a classic of The Royal Ballet’s repertory. Akane Takada performs the role of Titania, Queen of the Fairies. Watch on ROH Stream from Friday 19 March: The high-spirited misadventures of the two pairs of mortal lovers from Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream combine with the humorous cavorting of Bottom, played by a male dancer who dances en pointe after his ludicrous transformation. The ballet culminates in a powerful pas de deux for Oberon and Titania, which moves through a stormy conflict of wills to a harmonious union. Felix Mendelssohn’s witty, gossamer-light music for the play provides a perfect partner to Frederick Ashton’s inventive choreography.