Swan Lake, Royal Albert Hall, London

3.00

English National Ballet's gargantuan Swan Lake-in-the-round is back, complete with dry ice, demon king entrances and a starry new prince. Vadim Muntagirov, ENB's boy wonder, made his debut at this performance.

It's a high-pressure way to dance your first Swan Lake: Muntagirov had to deal with the huge auditorium, Derek Deane's rotating arena choreography and a last-minute switch of ballerina. He gave a performance that showed what the fuss is about.

There have been plenty of baby ballerinas, female dancers making their names when still in their teens. It's rarer for men, because partnering needs upper-body strength that takes years to develop. Just turned 20, the Russian-born Muntagirov is a slender, boyish prince. You can see the effort: slight though Daria Klimentová is, Muntagirov has to heave her up for the big lifts. But he's a surprisingly steady and tender partner once she's in the air. His instincts are good, and the strength is coming.

Klimentová stepped in to replace Polina Semionova, who was stuck in Germany with visa trouble. She's already danced leading roles with Muntagirov; they have a good rapport. She's an assured Swan Queen, making her dramatic moments stand out against the hurly burly of Deane's production.

Deane takes on the arena by throwing out spectacle in all directions. The traditional choreography, created for a proscenium-arch theatre, gets carefully rotated, dancers turning so that every section of the audience gets a slice of each number played directly to them. The corps de ballet is hugely augmented, with up to 60 swans flocking across the big stage.

It leaves little room for Swan Lake as lyric drama, but the company performance is upfront and lively. With a performance in the round, every dancer is in the front row for somebody: they respond with conviction.

To 19 June (0845 401 5045)

Independent Comment
blog comments powered by Disqus
News in pictures
World news in pictures
Arts & Ents blogs

Children’s Books: Recommended read – ‘A Monster Calls’ by Patrick Ness

Thirteen-year-old Conor awakes in bed one night to discover that the yew tree outside his house has ...

Made in Chelsea – Series 5, Episode 11: Louise plays and wins at Spencer’s game

It’s hard not to feel sorry for doe-eyed Andy. He spends months pining after Louise, has huge nostr...

The Returned: ‘Simon’ – Series 1, episode 2

Fragility of life looms large over an episode that closes with the scarring on Julie's stomach. Whil...

       
Independent
Travel Shop
Lake Como and the Bernina Express
Seven nights half-board from £749pp Find out more
Dubrovnik and the Dalmatian coast
Seven nights half-board from only £859pp Find out more
Prague city break
Three nights from only £199pp Find out more
 

ES Rentals

    Beards, brawn and body art

    Beards, brawn and body art

    Meet London’s new batch of male models
    Scandi-geeks descend on Nordicana for fan-convention

    Scandi-geeks descend on Nordicana for fan-convention

    British love of shows such as The Bridge, Borgen and The Killing shows no sign of fading
    Behind the rhetoric what is really being done to combat desertification?

    The Great Green Wall of Africa,

    Behind the rhetoric what is really being done to combat desertification?
    Laughter Inc: the cheering growth of the chuckle industry

    Laughter Inc

    The cheering growth of the chuckle industry
    The bad science scandal: how fact-fabrication is damaging UK's global name for research

    The bad science scandal

    How fact-fabrication is damaging UK's global name for research
    To the manor born: The female aristocrats battling to inherit the title

    Female aristocrats battle to inherit the title

    A passionate protest is gathering pace among the women of Britain's aristocracy, who believe that men should no longer automatically inherit the family pile and title.
    Love struck: Photographs of JFK's visit to Berlin 50 years ago reveal a nation instantly smitten

    In pictures: JFK's visit to Berlin in 1963

    Photographer Ulrich Mack accompanied Kennedy on the entire trip. The results are an astonishing record of a watershed moment.
    Eat shoots and leaves: Mark Hix gets creative with fresh peas, mangetouts and sugar snaps

    Mark Hix gets creative with English peas

    English peas and their offsprings, such as mangetouts and sugar snaps, are great tossed into a salad, says our chef.
    Ceviche with a smile: Chef Martin Morales has turned South America's elegant cuisine into one of London's hottest food trends

    Chef Martin Morales: Ceviche with a smile

    Morales has turned South America's elegant cuisine into one of London's hottest food trends
    Incredible edible: Guerrilla gardeners are planting veg for the masses in West Yorkshire

    Incredible edible: Guerrilla gardeners

    Holly Williams joins the volunteers who have turned a small town into a thriving community with a guerrilla gardening scheme that has provided a blueprint for sustainability.
    Seasoned to taste: The restaurants that draw happy diners back year after year

    Seasoned to taste: Food institutions

    In an industry famed for short-lived success and pop-up pretenders, it takes something special to stick around.
    Anatomy of a waiter: Service staff spill the secrets of their trade

    Anatomy of a waiter: Staff spill their secrets

    Next Sunday is the first ever National Waiters' Day. To celebrate, we share tales from the restaurant trenches by those in the front line.
    Drink in the sun: The season's best wines

    Drink in the sun: The season's best wines

    From complex English sparkling wine to juicy Sicilian reds...
    Iran election: Farewell Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, we’ll miss you – but not that much...

    Robert Fisk

    Farewell Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, we’ll miss you – but not that much...
    India sends its final telegram -(Stop)-

    After 163 years India sends its final telegram -(Stop)-

    Mobile phones and the internet have superseded the once-essential service