Diana Vishneva: On the Edge, London Coliseum

Culture Whisper says ★★★★★. Read our Diana Vishneva review here.

London audiences are in for a treat with the arrival of Russian ballerina Diana Vishneva at the Coliseum. A star principal with both the Mariinksy Ballet and American Ballet Theater, she is known for spectacular technique and dramatic intensity that has won her praise in all the greatest lead roles.

As is now the wont of ageing star ballerinas who have conquered the classical world, like original trailblazer Sylvie Guillem and more recently Natalia Osipova, she is moving away from her Russian classical roots in order to explore new avenues in contemporary dance. We very much look forward to seeing how the great Vishneva will negotiate the new challenges posed by two specially created pieces: Jean-Christophe Maillot’s Switch, a pas de trois, and Carolyn Carlson’s solo Woman in a Room.

Jean-Christophe Maillot: Switch
In a minimalist flat to a Danny Elfman score, three people, Vishneve and a couple work out a strange and jealous relationship around a ballet barre. Vishneva has proven magnificent in everything from Petipa to Ashton; in this piece Jean-Christophe Maillot, Ballets de Monte Carlo director, sends her slinking about the stage, dripping Russian hauteur in a silver Lagerfeld gown.

Carolyn Carlson: Woman in a Room
To remind us of Vishneva’s extreme adaptability, Switch is juxtaposed with a solo inspired by Virginia Woolf, created by Californian choreographer Carlson who, according to Vishneva, ‘understands a woman’s soul.’ The piece is by far more everyday, tracing the dancer trying on shoes and chopping lemons. But Vishneva’s dramatic intensity can be tempered to the most mundane, and she captures loneliness as well as the whimsy of tossing fruit into the audience.
The London Coliseum is a huge venue for one dancer to fill - but Diana Vishneva is star enough to see it done. Book while you can.