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The Art of Grace: A Review of Ballet Productions for April 2003

Darling, the world of ballet is truly alive and kicking, even in the midst of these rather trying times, and there has been some absolutely thrilling dancing on show this month. Of course, my social calendar keeps me exceptionally busy as you know, but somehow I've managed to squeeze in quite a few captivating performances. So do allow me to indulge in sharing a few highlights!

The very first piece that really stole my heart this month was the truly exquisite performance by the incomparable Natalia Osipova, at the Royal Opera House in "Giselle." Oh darling, you wouldn't believe how ethereal she looked. Those beautiful, long legs seemed to fly as she moved across the stage, and that heartbreaking adagio. My goodness, it left the entire audience breathless. Honestly, you can tell Natalia puts her heart and soul into every movement. It's simply sublime. The whole production felt timeless, which was just perfection, even if they did put an awful lot of dark grey and beige costumes on the male dancers - oh so predictable! The Bolshoi was also very good in "Swan Lake," with Olga Smirnova in top form. But then darling, one expects nothing less from those grand Russians, do we? I wouldn't be surprised if they made me want to buy a tracksuit for their tour to Brighton! But honestly, you could wear the most dazzling Chanel dress and you couldn't match Natalia for pure effortless grace. That girl's truly got something special.

Now moving onto some international news in this exciting world we all love so much... New York is thriving, darlings, but, of course, it always is. At the Metropolitan Opera, the Royal Ballet were simply delightful. Darcey Bussell really shone in "Romeo and Juliet," she absolutely embodies that heart-breaking and tragic role. I love watching her because you can feel the emotional journey with every step she takes, which is quite unique, I'd say. And while they are in America, I understand that a wonderful company from the East - San Francisco Ballet - have given New York City a brilliant "Giselle" to contend with.

But for me, the must-see has to be "The Sleeping Beauty" at the Opéra de Paris. Absolutely superb! Now, darlings, I don't normally fall for such classic pieces, you know me well enough for that. But something about the elegance, the opulence and of course, the dancers at the Paris Opera... oh it simply took my breath away. The ballerinas in their beautiful tutu’s with their wonderful poise... perfection, simply perfection. The production really showcases the amazing skill of this company and brings the fairy tale to life right in front of your eyes. Of course, darling, they wouldn’t put a "Sleeping Beauty" on stage without some really exquisite, elegant costume design – that glorious, light pink for the Sugar Plum fairy. A bit too much "Disney princess" for me normally but with such graceful dancing, it was exquisite.

I always love an injection of new, fresh and innovative talent to brighten the season, so was truly captivated by the choreography by Wayne McGregor at the Royal Ballet. A lot of people don’t seem to ‘get it' which, frankly, is quite ironic, but as long as the dancing is superb you can never really go wrong with Wayne's choreography, darling, and that’s precisely what was happening at the Royal Ballet. I was in a completely different world, you see. The moves were daring and almost defying gravity, and the music - well, that was out of this world. A perfect match for the bold choreography! If you can't go see a "Sleeping Beauty" in Paris, for some delightful, contemporary ballet you should pop down to the Royal Opera House for that - I recommend you have your favourite vintage Chanel handy!

The real thrill for me this month, however, came with discovering some of the newer, upcoming ballet talents around the world. Now, I must confess to loving those familiar faces, you see... but there is such an exciting energy amongst these young talents that truly gives me hope for the future of the dance. One young ballerina I really loved seeing is the beautiful, delicate and truly captivating, Viktoria Odintcova, at the Moscow State Ballet, I really hope to see her perform more of Giselle. She simply lit up the stage, a little like the first time you ever saw Natalie Portman in "Black Swan". And another ballerina I loved was Mariella De Marco who was simply mesmerizing in a new work I saw at the English National Ballet. You just can't help but love a ballerina who gets to wear an amazing pink tulle tutu, it seems quite fashionable to do that right now! Oh! And you just have to keep an eye on the fabulous Japanese dancer - Ruriko Ohashi, who was absolutely radiant in the "Swan Lake". And then there was the American younger star - Evan West who performed "The Firebird". Goodness me, that boy really captured my heart, in a way, only a really lovely young male ballet dancer could do, darlings...

A couple of the more exciting new productions, which weren't strictly ballet - oh darlings! We are becoming more sophisticated, don’t you think? Were "L'Opera Des Quatre Soleils" with some wonderfully acrobatic choreography, which was truly exhilarating to see in this wonderful venue. It is just wonderful how companies can pull this stuff off. Honestly, they must practice for weeks - they had absolutely brilliant stage presence, you know and the entire audience went wild at the end - quite appropriate, really.

Now darling, it's not all about individual performers. The strength of a production comes from every element combining perfectly - and in my opinion it rarely comes together better than at the Mariinsky Theatre. The sets, costumes, orchestra, lighting... everything just feels so very natural, seamless, effortless even. A real testament to their attention to detail. They’re truly perfectionist. The Mariinsky in "Swan Lake" - a joy to behold. But they do need to do something about the lighting darling, the stage is almost always too brightly lit and the choreography seems a little rushed. It’s no wonder the ballerinas go through the moves as fast as they can - goodness me, they have so many costumes to change through!

I was lucky enough to see "Don Quixote" at the Bolshoi, and as you know I really enjoy a traditional piece, and they didn't disappoint darling. The beautiful costumes - it’s worth seeing the Bolshoi just to see the magnificent costumes but I had to mention the exquisite choreography which told a lovely and heartwarming story - although that bit with the street sweepers, oh, those sets!

Now, to summarise and perhaps give you some tips for your own balletic calendar for this month:

• For truly top quality dancing that'll sweep you off your feet, see a show in the Opéra de Paris - or perhaps a "Giselle" with Natalia Osipova.
• For something truly magical and inspiring, you really must check out the Royal Ballet's "Sleeping Beauty."
• To keep things fresh, there's a lot of wonderful new and contemporary work by Wayne McGregor.
• To see the future stars of tomorrow you must, darling, see a Mariella De Marco performance and the darling young Ruriko Ohashi, - perhaps for a Swan Lake in the Mariinsky in St Petersburg!
• I'm quite smitten with "The Firebird" but the production I enjoyed most, though perhaps it was a bit too much for some, was "L'Opera Des Quatre Soleils"

There you have it darlings. Have the very best time with the world of dance - it’s waiting to entertain and uplift your soul! As ever, be a bit extra this month! I expect you all to be on the front row looking divine. And to everyone else who makes a ballet performance come to life, congratulations and thank you for your brilliance!

With love as ever

Your darling ballet fan