English National Ballet welcomes the new year, and a new director, with a confident Swan Lake. Aaron S Watkin inherits a company in good shape. Under Tamara Rojo, it has upped its reputation and profile, particularly through bold commissions of new work. But the big, traditional productions are still the company’s bread and butter. In this revival, they’re at home in the technical demands of the world’s favourite ballet.
Emma Hawes is a long-limbed, thoughtful Swan Queen. She unfurls into the grand swan poses, with delicate preening gestures – a woman still remembering her transformation into a swan. In her duet with Aitor Arrieta’s prince, she shows the pull of different emotions: her fear as she glances aside, looking out for threats, and the gradual way she relaxes into intimacy.
