The Hammond in Chester has announced that an acclaimed contemporary ballet company is bringing its latest tour to the Manning Lane school.

Yorke Dance Project begins its autumn 2017 tour at The Hammond on Friday, October 13 ahead of performances at the Royal Opera House as part of Kenneth MacMillan: a National Celebration.

The company will present Rewind Forward, a mixed bill including Sir Kenneth MacMillan’s rarely-seen Sea of Troubles. An intimate work for six performers, Sea of Troubles takes as its starting point the death of Hamlet’s father. With the appearance of his father’s ghost, Hamlet’s tormented world becomes a nightmare.

Jane Elliott, choreographer and senior teacher at The Hammond, worked on the original production of Sea of Troubles in 1988.

She said: “Working with Yorke Dance Project to help bring Sea of Troubles back to life has been a great experience. The piece was originally created for Dance Advance, a small touring ensemble of former Royal Ballet dancers, to help bring Sir Kenneth’s work to new audiences around the UK. Now, 30 years later, Yolande and her dancers are doing the same thing. I can’t wait for Chester audiences to see this wonderful company.”

The Rewind Forward programme also includes:

Robert Cohan’s latest work Twilight, a new version of 1979’s Songs, Lamentations and Praises danced to music by Vivaldi;

Self by Charlotte Edmonds, the first participant of The Royal Ballet Young Choreographer Programme, inspired by the famous trio from MacMillan’s Manon and set to a commissioned score for four solo cellos, girl treble and electronica by Donna McKevitt;

Yolande Yorke-Edgell’s Untethered, a work about self-discovery and transformation set to music by the string quartet Brooklyn Rider.

Yorke Dance Project comes to Chester just ahead of its performances of Sea of Troubles at the Royal Opera House where it joins the five national ballet companies - The Royal Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet, English National Ballet, Northern Ballet and Scottish Ballet - for Kenneth MacMillan: a National Celebration, The Royal Ballet’s marking of the 25th anniversary of MacMillan’s death.

A former dancer with Rambert Dance Company, Yolande Yorke-Edgell set up Yorke Dance Project in Los Angeles in 1998 where she was performing with the Lewitzky Dance Company.

She subsequently returned to the UK and danced with Adam Cooper and Richard Alston Dance Company before re-forming Yorke Dance Project in 2009. The company has won acclaim for presenting new work alongside the choreography of past masters.

The Hammond performance on October 13 is at 7.30pm. Tickets £12, concessions £10. Call 01244 305362 or visit www.thehammondschool.co.uk for details.