Dangerous Liaisons

In 18th century France, letters fly between the mansions of two bored aristocrats as they spin a web of heartbreak and ruin. It might seem like a game, but lives will be ruined and love irrevocably lost.

From the original scandalous novel, the acclaimed film starring John Malkovich and Michelle Pfeiffer and iconic retelling Cruel Intentions, this dangerous story has been thrilling audiences for over 200 years. 

Northern Ballet‘s bodice-ripping adaptation is set to Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons, played live by Northern Ballet Sinfonia. 

You’ll feel every heartbeat of this intimate performance.

Northern Ballet transforms Pierre Choderlos de Laclos’ scandalous 18th-century novel into a sensually charged ballet where aristocrats weaponize love with devastating effect.

David Nixon‘s adaptation follows two nobles who manipulate desire for sport, targeting the virtuous Madame de Tourvel and the naïve Cécile Volanges. Joseph Taylor’s calculating Vicomte de Valmont exerts control through lifts that shift from brutal to tender, while Matthew Koon’s Chevalier Danceny leaps with youthful hope destined to unravel. Vivaldi’s “The Four Seasons,” performed live by Northern Ballet Sinfonia, underscores scenes where whispered letters seal fates and reputations collapse.

Nixon’s choreography threads psychological warfare into every gesture. What begins as flirtation becomes a brutal reckoning, exposing the human cost of pride, pleasure, and power. This is ballet as emotional bloodsport: exquisite, erotic, and utterly merciless.

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