The influence of Italian virtuosity on Russian Ballet

Students of the Imperial Ballet School (St Petersburg) in Petipa's Fairy Tale , 1891

Commedia dell'Arte's Harlequin

Photograph, Carlo Blasis' Traité élémentaire, théorique et pratique de l'Art de la Danse

Carlotta Grisi and Marius Petipa, performing in Giselle

Ballet Master Enricho Cecchetti teaching Anna Pavlova

Agrippina Vaganova in La Esmeralda, St. Petersburg, circa 1910 (unknown photographer)

By Graham Watts, 20 July 2017

Loading, please wait...

Lawrence Dunn, 10th March

We profile one of the most advanced and best-sounding concert halls in the UK, and take a look further afield at arts and culture across Manchester.

The world over: Bachtrack’s Classical Music Statistics 2025

Bachtrack, 28th January

How is the classical music world changing? Looking back on a dizzying year, we pay particular attention to performers’ international connectedness. Documenting more than 30,000 events, Bachtrack’s statistics provide valuable insight into an unstable world.

The magical world of composers’ handwriting

Lawrence Dunn, 17th December

From Buxtehude, Bach and Handel, to contemporary composer Liza Lim, we take a tour of the myriad forms of composers’ handwriting and calligraphy – and how music makes itself on the page.

Force of passion: the origins of Ballet Rambert

Alexander Simpkins, 12th December

A century after its founding in 1926, former members of Ballet Rambert recall the joys and challenges of working directly with Dame Marie Rambert, one of the trailblazers of British ballet.

Christmas gifts for music, opera and dance lovers in 2025

Bachtrack, 5th December

What do you buy for the culture lover in your life who seems to have everything? Here are some music and dance-related gifts that Bachtrack staff are giving or hoping to receive for Christmas this year.

Inventing the diva: ballet stars of the 19th century

Elsa Giovanna Simonetti, 3rd December

The great ballerinas of the 19th century were perhaps the first modern celebrities. Rather than bare all, their images cultivated a mysterious, supernatural aura that made them seem unattainable.

Graham Watts

Graham Watts is a freelance dance writer and critic writing regularly for Dancing Times, Dance Europe, Danza Europa, and many more publications. He regularly writes features for Sadler’s Wells, London Coliseum and La Scala. Chairman of the Dance Section of the Critics’ Circle in the United Kingdom and of the UK National Dance Awards he has interviewed many of the greatest names in dance including Maya Plisetskaya, Vladimir Vasiliev, Boris Eifman, Alexei Ratmansky, Andris Liepa, Sir Peter Wright, David Bintley and Dame Gillian Lynne. When not involved in dance Graham is a keen fencer, and has captained the British Sabre team.