Spirit of the arts felt as Swan Lake returns to Covent Garden

By Graham Watts, 02 March 2022

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“those noble thoughts were wrapped up in impeccable and assured dancing”

Reviewed at Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London on 1 March 2022

Swan Lake (Marius Petipa, Lev Ivanov, Liam Scarlett, Sir Frederick Ashton)

The Royal Ballet

Koen Kessels, Conductor

John Macfarlane, Set Designer, Costume Designer

David Finn, Lighting Designer

Orchestra of the Royal Opera House Covent Garden

Yasmine Naghdi, Dancer

Vadim Muntagirov, Dancer

Bennet Gartside, Dancer

James Hay, Dancer

Isabella Gasparini, Dancer

Meaghan Grace Hinkis, Dancer

Yuhui Choe, Dancer

Luca Acri, Dancer

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

National Ballet of Japan’s Raymonda is a feast of excellent dancing

Naomi Mori, 25th April

National Ballet of Japan’s Raymonda is a gem in the repertoire, despite shortcomings in the plot. Lavish production designs, stunning classical choreography and excellent dancers makes this a ballet lover's heaven.

*****

Acosta's Don Quixote for BRB: polished but not quite enough panache

Jonathan Gray, 23rd April

Carlos Acosta's Don Quixote for Birmingham Royal Ballet returned to Sadler's Wells with polished but low-key interpretations across the board.

***11

Natalia Makarova's La Bayadère: a night to remember in Oslo

Vikki Jane Vile, 17th April

Norwegian National Ballet gives a marvellous rendition of Natalia Makarova's La Bayadère. Opening night in Oslo was a strong argument for its place in any season, displaying ballet escapism at its best.

****1

José Martínez unveils his latest Don Quichotte in Palermo

Vito Lentini, 29th March

José Martínez has envisioned a Don Quichotte that recalls the original 19th century choreography while also acknowledging some of the notable 20th century versions and it's splendid looking.

****1

Dutch National Ballet's reimagined La Bayadère triumphs

Mark Vicente, 26th March

Dutch National Ballet's new production of La Bayadère does away with the ballet’s problematic gestures and movements, allowing the choreography to truly shine.

****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.