THE seasons can't come round quickly enough for Birmingham Royal Ballet's well-known artistic director David Bintley. Two years of building work on the company's £30m Birmingham Hippodrome performing base is hitting finances and Bintley admits he's cutting back on costly new works until 2003.

Fortunately, there's no knock-on effect for the North-East, where 11 years of annual BRB tours have built up a formidable following at Sunderland's Empire Theatre. "I receive more letters from Sunderland fans than any other theatre we tour too," reveals Bintley.

He aims to entertain again with another double-bill which gives the region's growing dance audience the chance to see a triple bill of new and less familiar work on two nights and the crowd-pleasing, lavish, Swan Lake on three nights.

Bintley's latest creation, The Seasons, leads off the triple bill programme on Tuesday and Wednesday. He quickly puts distance between his work inspired by Verdi's ballet music for Les Vepres siciliennes and Vivaldi's Four Seasons, made famous by Nigel Kennedy.

"I've been carrying around the idea for the past 15 years and it really didn't have anything to do with music you might hear on a Pizza Hut commercial," he jokes. "My piece is colourful and dynamic but the changing of the seasons is created in abstract. No snowflakes or leaves falling.

"I wanted to cleanse my pallet after creating the epic full-length Arthur cycle where you had more swords, crowns and tables than you could shake a stick at."

The North-East premiere of The Seasons, which involves 25 dancers, shares the stage with Prodigal Son (which dates back to Balanchine and Prokofiev) and Bintley's much-loved show-stopper 'Still Life' At The Penguin Caf. Here costumes claim the eye as penguins comically operate a watering hole for endangered animals.

"I know that many people will opt for Swan Lake because it is so familiar to them. They know what to expect from lovely music and opulent sets, but, in my experience, this isn't always the case. Some people have got bored with Swan Lake," explains Bintley.

He confesses he will be leaning on the company's established work for 2002 and most of 2003. This is not much of a hardship in view of the stream of choreography in BRB's back catalogue which can easily stand a second showcase.

Harsh facts have had to be faced with regard to the costs of running a national ballet company as it awaits the Hippodrome's re-opening on November 13.

"We are suffering a little bit and the next couple of years are going to be tight. Dropping our ballet for a tenner policy at Sunderland did come as a surprise to me, but I don't tend to be too involved in cash matters. I'm a financial idiot. However, I suspect that adult prices will stay at £15 for some time and under-16s prices are now £7.50."

Bintley is also busy creating a Christmas cracker of a production to mark BRB's return to "modern classical" rivalry with Northern Ballet and English National Ballet.

"I don't want to give too much away, but it is based on a fairy tale and will rival The Nutcracker in terms of entertainment. Our Nutcracker is already arguably the best, but it is too big to tour to Sunderland. That is something I intend to put right with my new work," promises Bintley.

* The Triple Bill runs on Tuesday and Wednesday. Swan Lake runs Thursday-Saturday. Sunderland Empire Theatre Box Office: 0191-514 251