Spartacus, The Bolshoi Ballet 21/07/2010

It would be pretty impressive for any one who regularly reads a newspaper to have missed the sensation that is the Bolshoi's young star Ivan Vasiliev (pictured), dancing the title role in this performance. Almost every newspaper has had a feature article, many full page, and several had interviews with the man himself. This is practically unheard of in ballet, so what's so special about this man?

I was expecting to see the second cast, and running late, didn't pick up a cast sheet before the first act. By the interval I was utterly bemused - how was it possible that the lauded Vasiliev could be better than the man dancing this evening! Of course it all made sense when I discovered that the Bolshoi had rearranged the performance dates, and that the genius on stage was in fact the 21 year old from Vladivostok. His famous leaps deserve every bit of their hype - he flies through the air, with both grace and fervour simultaneously. His turns are full of energy and abandon yet without being the slightest bit messy. He spirals out of them effortlessly. And yet for all this technical genius, we could still have been left wanting, but Vasiliev's acting is every bit the match for his dancing. Every movement of his muscular shoulders spoke volumes, particularly in Spartacus's monologues, and he accurately portrayed both the fierce anger of a man trapped by circumstance and the passion of a man in love.

Gushings of the wonder of Vasiliev aside, there are some very striking elements to Spartacus; the masculinity of the corps,  Khachaturian's music, and the absolutely stunning tableaus that see out each act. The crucifixion of spears, and the finale are moving, haunting. The choreography is heavy in places, and occasionally the stage feels overcrowded. In the other lead roles, the part of Crassus (Alexander Volchkov) is rather static and pathetic, not to mention camp, which is certainly not helped by the gold wig and armour. There is something of the ethereal about Spartacus's love Phyrgia who was beautifully danced by Nina Kaptsova. Aegina, Crassus's manipulative Courtesan, danced by Maria Allash, wasn't convincingly alluring and had slightly soft ankles, but pulled it off well enough.

So Spartacus - some great bits, but not overwhelming in and of itself. This really was all about Vasiliev - with him in the title role, everything hangs together. By all accounts the second cast failed to lift this production out of mediocrity. I have never seen anyone dance like Vasiliev - finally I understand why people camped for days to get tickets to see Nureyev and Fonteyn. I will travel the globe to see him dance. And so should we all.