Even at its most fantastical, dance is powerful because its roots are in real life. And ballet’s history links it ineluctably to the politics of its day. The ties between life and art are a complex web. For an example, take last Tuesday at the Royal Opera House, where tsarist Russia’s most enduring classical ballet, Swan Lake, was revived in a production starring the Russian-born Vadim Muntagirov, who has been a leading light of British ballet his entire career.
Before the performance began, he dedicated his performance to the people of Ukraine, a sentiment emphasised when the Royal Ballet’s director, Kevin O’Hare, addressed the audience, expressing the solidarity of the entire company with the people of Ukraine. The Ukrainian national anthem was played. Everyone stood, including – as far as I could see – all the Russians in the house.
