I first saw Wheeldon’s Alice in Wonderland in 2012, when it was relatively fresh, so was excited at the opportunity to see it again, both as the ballet aged, and as Wheeldon continues to tinker with it. I can’t claim to remember the 2012 production verbatim, however there were nuanced changes — or at minimum it felt fresh with a new, largely young cast. The night we saw it there were a considerable number of young performer taking major roles, including our Alice — whose youth and sparkle were apparent, this is a star in the making.
What i really appreciated, however, was that despite being over 10 years old, it did not seem to have aged in the way that many contemporary ballets do — it still felt as relevant and playful, as delightful and as challenging as it did 13 years ago. The true sign of a classic, getting better as it ages.