Does Ballet Need Narrative?

McGregor, who is fifty-four and was recently knighted, emerged on London’s contemporary-dance scene in the early nineties, and began choreographing for ballet companies (including the Royal Ballet and the Paris Opera Ballet) a decade or so later. Although he has always had some interest in narrative, he is best known for an abstract, tensile style (exemplified by his breakthrough ballet, “Chroma,” from 2006). In recent years, he has incorporated aspects of science and technology, including A.I., into his dances. For “Woolf Works,” he takes a multimedia approach, with a score by Max Richter and film elements by Ravi Deepres.