Dance

Miyako Yoshida talks about her deep connection to Giselle, bringing her own production to London with the National Ballet of Japan, and the challenges of being an artistic director. “I was just lucky that I met Sir Peter Wright!” says a very modest Yoshida, referring to the start of her career.

Alina Cojocaru, one of the finest dance artists working today, has divided her career across several companies. She has danced the canon of classical roles as well as creating new works with the world’s top choreographers. Her next performances are with London City Ballet, a small touring company. She is delighted to be back.

The great ballerina Alessandra Ferri talks with candour about her long career and how excited she is to become artistic director of the Vienna State Opera Ballet. In June, she will hang up her own shoes for good, appearing in a role created for her in 2015, in the New York premiere of Wayne McGregor’s Woolf Works with American Ballet Theatre.

Sir Matthew Bourne is eagerly describing the importance of telling a story through dance. “I don’t believe in scenarios in programmes. I want people to go on the journey of the piece without knowing what’s going to happen next. It’s like watching a great film – you don’t know what the end is, and it affects you. Why should dance be any different?”