You'd think that at the age of 80, having run the Bolshoi Ballet for 30 years and danced with the Kirov for 20 before that, and having choreographed probably the definitive Soviet drama-ballet of the last half of the 20th century, Yuri Grigorovich would ease up. Yet the spry octogenarian is still running his own troupe, the new-ish but committed ensemble from Krasnodar in southern Russia.
To celebrate his 80th birthday, Grigorovich has brought them to London along with a few leading dancers from the Bolshoi. It's a one-off, three-part gala of his ballets, bits of which are good, bits of which are not.
First the good. Seeing even an excerpt from the monumental Spartacus is an eye-popping, mind-boggling treat. Its dramatic thrust and choreographic bombast are a reminder of Soviet balletic optimism, plus the sheer technical whizz-bangery of Russian dancers. Subtlety there is none, spectacle and phenomena there is.
Grigorovich brings equal energy to his version of The Golden Age, although his unique brand of oomph works less well in The Nutcracker, a filigree ballet that needs a lighter touch.
The problem for Grigorovich is that not all the Krasnodar dancers are up to his moves, and an excerpts program robs his ballets of their context.
Perhaps that doesn't matter so much for this well-deserved celebration. What does is the valedictory mood. Not to Grigorovich himself, but to his era of balletic absolutism, when drama-ballets were pushed to their technical and theatrical limit, and that was all we wanted.
Yuri Grigorovich 80th Birthday Tribute
Royal Opera House
Floral Street, WC2E 9DD
