Danses Concertantes, commissioned by Ninette de Valois in 1955, was MacMillan�s first major work. An early sign of the incredible artistic output that would follow, the work�s critical success spurred MacMillan to abandon performing in favour of choreography. It is followed by Different Drummer, MacMillan�s complex and haunting balletic interpretation of Woyzeck, Georg B�chner's play about a soldier�s descent into madness. The mixed programme concludes with Requiem, his 1976 work for Stuttgart Ballet, created in memory of its late artistic director, MacMillan�s friend and former Royal Ballet dancer and choreographer John Cranko.