The Royal Ballet's Swan Lake offers much to admire

Marianela Nuñez as Odette in Liam Scarlett's Swan Lake

Vadim Muntagirov as Siegfried and Marianela Nuñez as Odette in Liam Scarlett's Swan Lake

Marianela Nuñez as Odile and Vadim Muntagirov as Siegfried in Liam Scarlett's Swan Lake

The Royal Ballet in Act 2 of Liam Scarlett's Swan Lake

The Royal Ballet in Act 4 of Liam Scarlett's Swan Lake

Vadim Muntagirov as Siegfried in Liam Scarlett's Swan Lake

Gary Avis as Von Rothbart in Liam Scarlett's Swan Lake

By Graham Watts, 08 March 2024

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“it is quite difficult to tell at which point Siegfried and Odette fall in love”

Reviewed at Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London on 6 March 2024

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

The Royal Ballet

John Macfarlane, Set Designer, Costume Designer

David Finn, Lighting Designer

Orchestra of the Royal Opera House Covent Garden

Mariko Sasaki, Dancer

Joseph Sissens, Dancer

Giacomo Rovero, Dancer

Gary Avis, Dancer

Elizabeth McGorian, Dancer

London City Ballet’s Momentum: a scintillating mix of old and new

Amanda Jennings, 13th September

Christopher Marney has once again brought together a group of outstanding dancers, superb coaches and brilliant choreography to produce an evening of thoroughly absorbing dance.

*****

Scarlett’s Frankenstein returns to the San Francisco Ballet stage

Terez Rose, 20th March

Seeing Frankenstein in its 2025 incarnation feels worthy and redemptive. It’s as vivid and cinematic as ballet gets.

****1

Drawing from tradition but not in thrall to it: London City Ballet

Carla Escoda, 17th September

While most in the audience at New York's Joyce Theater might not have known the original London City Ballet, their affection was palpable at the close of this program.

****1

Swan Lake: double debuts at the Royal Ballet

Amanda Jennings, 11th May

Two very impressive debuts in the lead roles of Liam Scarlett's Swan Lake with The Royal Ballet, bodes well for the futures of Mariko Sasaki and Joseph Sissens.

****1

Queensland Ballet's Dream: pretty fairytale or dark drama?

Ruth Ridgway, 12th April

The music shimmers and the dancers shine in this twisted tale, a comic ballet but with dark undertones.

***11

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

Graham Watts, 1st March

A compelling performance of this revival, dedicated by Vadim Muntagirov to the people of Ukraine.

****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.