The celebrated Duet from Keaton Henson’s Us will appear as part of a ‘Still Pointless’, a 30-date UK tour celebrating 25 years of the all-male company BalletBoyz. The tour begins with five performances at Sadler’s Wells (12-16 May) before further dates across England. Choreographed by Christopher Wheeldon, the sequence is taken from Us, which originally formed part of a double-bill Them/Us. It was commissioned by BalletBoyz and debuted at Sadler's Wells in 2017, with the piece originally conceived as a duet and then later expanded to incorporate the entire BalletBoyz dance corps. Click here for details of the tour.
The work features an intense, brooding score by Henson, rich with strings. Interviewed in the the Times in April 2025, Wheeldon said of the piece
Us is an exploration, without being overt, of various connections between men. In some cases, [these are] romantic connections, in others brotherly connections, in others connections that can come from a more macho antagonistic culture, men trying to alpha each other.
Them/Us, for six dancers, opens with the suggestion of a cruel and unfeeling regime of regimented movements, from which its principal soloist is excluded; it then resolves into the (aforementioned) passionate duet, with two bodies coming together to combat the lonely atmosphere. Acclaim for the production resulted in an immediate two-week transfer to the West End, where it played at the Vaudeville Theatre. It was revived in 2019. The duet recently appeared at the Royal Ballet in May 2025 in the four-part showcase– Ballet to Broadway: Wheeldon Works, where it was praised by critics.
…using the grounded language of contemporary dance and the music of Keaton Henson…this male-bonding duet [was] an affecting look at friendship and intimacy.
The Sunday Times (Debora Craine) 11 May 2025 ****
Joseph Sissens and Matthew Ball made the most of this sensitive, 10-minute study in tender touch. The bare-chested pair folded into each other, rolling away in spirals, always drawing back together for contact head to head, back to arching back or via upside-down carrying or gentle hip lifts. This was dancing of both quality and equality, rounded, strong and resonant with human beauty.
The Stage (Donald Hutera) May 12 2025 ****
…a male duet built on chemistry and balance. Matthew Ball and Joseph Sissens dig into the steps, taking each other’s weight, grasping hands or pulling away. With a strong contemporary dance influence, the movement is fluent and grounded.
The Independent (Zoe Anderson) 10 May 2025 ****
Henson’s ballet roots are firmly established – his mother was a principal ballerina in The Royal Ballet – and he has worked with several acclaimed choreographer. His collaboration with BalletBoyz goes back to the score for Young Men, which will also feature in the 'Still Pointless' programme. A feature-length dance film, which went on to win the 2017 Rose d’Or and Golden Prague awards -watch Henson discuss the score here. Shot on location in France, the film stars the BalletBoyz dancers as soldiers experiencing the brutality of the First World War in a captivating hybrid of drama and dance, combined with Keaton’s strikingly haunting music and the eloquent choreography of Iván Pérez.