You truly appreciate the bonkers skill of leading ballet dancers when you watch them close up. In a bright-lit studio at the Royal Opera House, Darcey Bussell coaches two stars in the romantic classic Giselle. Hannah O’Neill glides gentle as mist; Reece Clarke jumps like billy-o, feet crossing furiously in mid-air. It’s awe-inspiring.
They make a darkly handsome pair. He’s from the Royal Ballet, she’s from the Paris Opéra. He’s Scottish, she’s Japanese-Kiwi. They discovered dance at opposite corners of the world – but when the music plays, minds and bodies are in perfect synch. Bussell, herself a noted Giselle, polishes their gleaming performances: “When you’ve got the facility, you might as well show it off.”
