During the 1940s and 1950s, Gene Kelly was a performer whose athletic style and classical ballet technique transformed the film musical through his innovative choreography. An American in Paris, inspired by George Gershwin’s symphony, won an Academy Award for best picture. When Kelly was invited to present a new work for Paris Opera Ballet, the premiere in 1960 of his radical jazz ballet, Pas de Dieux was highly acclaimed as ‘a breath of fresh air.’
There’s a particular kind of theatrical alchemy that occurs when heritage meets reinvention. First performed in 2021, in collaboration with Gene’s widow, Patricia Ward Kelly, Starstruck was a one act, revamped version of the original ballet. Christopher Hampson has now created a ‘director’s cut’ with new choreography and an extended narrative.
Amidst the glamorous culture and couture of 1960s, Paris, in a rehearsal studio an ambitious young choreographer is searching for a ballerina for his latest work about the turbulent relationship between Zeus and Aphrodite. While three young girls strut their stuff at the audition, an elegant latecomer saunters in to interrupt proceedings and show off her slinky balletic skill much to the chagrin of the competitive trio.
A romantic frisson is sparked between the choreographer and his new star - offstage as creator and muse, onstage as Zeus and Aphrodite, an exquisite ambiguity where performance ends and true emotion begins. The action also shifts between a moody dreamscape and the reality of creating the ballet about the Goddess of Love.
Above the swirling mist of clouds on Mount Olympus, Aphrodite is spying on Earth below with a telescope, captivated by the leisurely life on the French Riviera, so she and the winged Eros fly off for fun and games on the beach. Parading in a rainbow-feathered bathing costume and parasol, she quickly seduces the very fit Lifeguard with the help of Cupid’s arrow.
The Greek myth is treated as a playful fable, a witty and light-hearted sequence of flirtation, rivalry and intrigue. While there’s an extensive programme synopsis to study beforehand, it’s sometimes tricky to follow the plot, with characters moving between a fantasy and theatre setting.
The Kelly/ Hampson double act is fluent, weaving crisp classical line with the freer pulse of jazz as arms swing, hips swagger and sway. Each step is brilliantly choreographed to the syncopating score of Gershwin's Piano Concerto in F which reverberates with irresistible rhythmic vitality and high energy.
Lez Brotherston's design frames everything with minimalist simplicity - mirrored panels, theatre lamps with a painterly backdrop shifting time and place as costumes reflect Parisian/NYC period chic, Breton T shirts, Holly Golightly lookalike in LBD, sunglasses, Panama and Dior hats.
Marlen Fuerte Castro, as the luminous star of the show, dances with a magnetic ease. Her Aphrodite is poised yet mischievous, her phrasing attentive to every musical accent. Dynamic duets and tangos, in turn, with Yuri Marques as the charismatic Choreographer and Harvey Littlefield as the handsome Lifeguard, are performed with sizzling, sensual grace, reminiscent of the exquisite sequence by Kelly and Charisse in Singing in the Rain. Slick ensemble sequences throughout balance split second timing with polished cohesion, with sassy, Suzy Q side steps, jazz hands and fabulous Fosse-like moves.
The musical score of Ravel, Chopin and Gershwin flows with big-band flair, waltzing melodies to ragtime rhythm that feels both vintage and modern. Scottish Ballet Orchestra play with tremendous zest, timpani motifs, smoky trumpet solos, soulful strings and piano chords in vivacious harmony.
Overall direction is distinctly filmic - scenes unfolding like carefully composed snapshots, echoing Kelly’s legacy on screen. The kinship with An American in Paris becomes most apparent, not through actual reference but through a shared sensibility: ballet loosened by bluesy beat, storytelling shaped with a cinematic eye, and a cool confidence in criss-crossing high art with showbiz idiom.
At its emotional heart, the show celebrates theatrical performance itself, its sheen, its artifice, its sheer sense of enjoyment and escapism. With a photograph of Gene Kelly at the Palais Garnier on screen, this is an affectionate homage to the legendary song and dance star. As the finale gathers pace, in tribute the full company delivers with an exhilarating flourish oozing Hollywood pizzazz.
With witty, romantic imagination, Christopher Hampson blends classic ballet with American musicality to create a choreographic conversation across time. This masterly revival of Gene Kelly’s ‘Pas de Dieux,’ Starstruck is a dazzling, transatlantic Pas de Deux which lands squarely ‘en pointe’.
Showtimes:
Scottish Ballet on tour.
Eden Court, Inverness, 24 – 25 April, 2026
His Majesty’s Aberdeen, 1 – 2 May, 2026
Festival Theatre Edinburgh, 7 – 9 May, 2026
https://scottishballet.co.uk/whats-on/starstruck/
https://www.capitaltheatres.com/shows/starstruck/