Polish National Ballet: Delusions – standing up for women’s rights

Polish National Ballet in Izadora Weiss’ Delusions (Roksana)

Polish National Ballet in Izadora Weiss’ Delusions (Virginia)

Daria Majewska as Virginia and Yana Shtanhei as Vita in Delusions (Virginia)

By Graham Watts, 14 June 2026

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“admonished for their titillating gossip about the queerness of their mistress’s relationship”

Reviewed at Teatr Wielki: Młynarski Hall, Warsaw on 11 June 2026

Delusions (Izadora Weiss)

Polish National Ballet

Izadora Weiss, Set Designer

Łuszczyk Katarzyna, Lighting Designer

Yana Shtanhei, Dancer

Vladimir Yaroshenko, Dancer

Daria Majewska, Dancer

Polish National Ballet: two substantial new works by women

Graham Watts, 28th January

If the world is short on female choreographers then there are two in Poland just waiting to be discovered!

****1

Dutch National Ballet's Masters of Movement: mixed results

Mark Vicente, 11th June

Dutch National Ballet presents a triple bill of interesting contemporary works that show off the depth of talent within all ranks of the company.

***11

So Are We: León and Lightfoot is a long overdue triumph

Deborah Weiss, 11th June

The Royal Ballet has acquired a double bill from Sol León and Paul Lightfoot that transcended even the highest expectations. An evening to watch over and over again.

*****

Kontakthof: Echoes of ’78 and Music Music – contrasts in Lugano

Vito Lentini, 11th June

Completely engaging performance of Pina Bausch’s Kontakthof: Echoes of ’78 finds our reviewer disappointed with Music Music from Trajal Harrell in Lugano.

***11

This is Rambert: all in the present tense

Graham Watts, 10th June

Rambert celebrates 100 years presenting a triple bill of recent or new works. The message is clearly to look forward and not back.

***11

National Ballet of Japan's Swan Lake: tragic but mesmerising

Naomi Mori, 5th June

National Ballet of Japan’s revival of Sir Peter Wright’s Swan Lake showed the company in good form, especially among the unified corps de ballet Swans.

****1

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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.