Giselle; Triple Bill
The Royal Ballet
In my view, the debuts of Marianela Nuñez and Lauren Cuthbertson in Giselle have been the highlights of London’s current ballet season. I wish I had the writing abilities of Théophile Gautier, the man who first turned dance criticism into a respectable profession, to be able to convey the excitement I found at each performance. Alas, only a great romantic writer like Gautier could come up with one-word definitions that encapsulate the distinctive qualities of great artists — in his words, Marie Taglioni’s ethereal dancing was ‘Christian’, while Fanny Elssler’s more sensuous and earth-bound style was ‘pagan’. Besides, times change and flippant metaphors are often looked down on as synonymous with poor writing.
Nuñez, who opened the run of Giselle, opted for a vibrantly sanguine approach to the great Romantic role, regarded by many as ballet’s equivalent of Hamlet.
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