Emergence | Scottish Ballet

Gene Kelly’s multifaceted brilliance as an entertainer has delighted generations of movie-lovers, and his pioneering choreography has influenced generations of dance-makers. We honour his creative legacy with Starstruck, returning to the stage in 2026 enhanced and extended. Think of it as the director’s cut.

From Olympus to Hollywood and Paris, dancers, screen legends and Greek gods are starstruck by love as mythology meets backstage drama, with the sparkling Jazz Age music of George Gershwin and Maurice Ravel performed by the Scottish Ballet Orchestra.

In collaboration with Gene Kelly’s widow, Patricia Ward Kelly, Scottish Ballet lovingly revived the original ballet in 2021, adding a delightful new twist, and wowing audiences and critics alike.

In this new two-act Starstruck, CEO/Artistic Director, Christopher Hampson CBE, builds on a love story that mirrors the worlds of gods and mortals, juxtaposing the romantic tensions between a Star Ballerina and a Choreographer, and their mythological counterparts, Aphrodite and Zeus.

Prepare to be transported into a glamorous world where jazz meets ballet, and the stars align!