Dance Review by Kathrine Sorley Walker

A PERFECT ROSE FOR MACMILLAN

Every quality needed for Princess Rose in «The Prince of the Pagodas» is possessed by Nina Ananiashvili, who made her debut in the part with the Royal Ballet at Covent Garden. This exquisite ballerina, a guest from the Bolshoi Ballet, is not only a distinguished technician but also a sensitive and expressive artist, readily responsive to Benjamin Britten’s music and Kenneth MacMillan’s intricate and challenging choreography.

Ananiashvili is distinctive in personality and looks. She comes from Georgia and has an exotic glamour that is far removed from the extrovert brilliance of other Soviet stars. On Friday, her appreciation of a work very unlike anything in her home repertoire established her as a natural MacMillan dancer, and her enchanting delicacy and romantic tenderness would equally suit Frederick Ashton’s style in «Ondine» or «The Two Pigeons».

Her poignant depth of feeling added a new dimension to «Pagodas» and emphasised the important fairy-tale contrast of fear and love. It was augmented by Errol Pickford’s eloquent interpretation of the key role of the Fool, a character who emerged at last as a magical and mysterious guardian of the good.

Alexei Fadeyechev, also from the Bolshoi, was admirable in the title role, equally forceful in his exhilarating fight with four opponents and in his metamorphosis as the tormented Salamander. He and Ananiashvili exactly fulfilled the purpose of guest artists - they extended their own experience while providing the right kind of stimulus for the resident company.

Everyone on stage looked their best. Deborah Bull’s Princess Epine is increasingly authoritative and Anthony Dowell is an impressive scene-stealer as the old Emperor.