Romeo and Nikiya ? Not a new ballet, nor yet your critic slipping a cog. Rather, a tribute to two exceptional Royal Ballet debuts as this week began at Covent Garden.
In watching Zenaida Yanowsky, I am constantly fascinated by the intelligence of her interpretations, by her communicative grace, and how she shapes choreography with real felicity. Her debut on Monday as Nikiya in La Bayadère was a rewarding display of her gifts. She sees that Nikiya is a young woman passionately in love with Solor. From this premise, everything else must spring: her rejection of the Chief Brahmin; the joy of her meeting with Solor; even her simplicity when meeting Gamzatti, and the fury of her attack on her rival with a dagger, and her terrified remorse. Thus, too, the emotional uncertainties of her dance at Solor's betrothal, and the spectral radiance of her dancing as a Shade.
