Artiste: Vakhtang Chabukiani

A ballet to be enjoyed for its visual spectacle, strong and purposeful choreography and a pacy momentum that builds into a rousing finale.

The story may be a bit thin but the quantity of its dancing makes up for it. Laurencia is a ballet little known in the west (though the Mikhailovsky Ballet brought it to London in 2010). Combining the jollities of Don Quixote with the revolutionary fervour found in Flames of Paris, Laurencia is really just an excuse to fill the stage with non-stop dancing.

The Russian ballerina Galina Ulanova is a true legend in the world of classical ballet. Her dramatic interpretations plumbed deep into the human soul and revealed its full gamut of emotion and poetic beauty.