Male Dancers

Nicholas Johnson

OK, so I know no one has heard of Nicholas Johnson – but he was one of my favourite dancers in my youth, and I recently learned that he died in 2007, at the age of only 59. In trying to find out more about his life, I was a …

Vladimir Vasiliev

I saw Vladimir Vasiliev and his wife Ekaterina Maximova in Spartacus in 1974 (showing my age again!). This is what I had to say about their performance: “I cannot honestly say that I have ever seen better dancers than Maximova and Vassiliev… Vasiliev had the physique and technique of the …

Baryshnikov in performance (ballet)

I realize I’ve written several posts on Baryshnikov without including any clips of him dancing what he does best (in my opinion) – traditional, classical ballet. I confess I never liked his later work: I respect his desire to work on more contemporary pieces, but I never felt he looked …

Rudolf Nureyev

I have to confess, Nureyev is not my favorite ballet dancer, even though he’s commonly regarded as one of the greatest male dancers who ever lived. Like many great artists, he had amazing charisma and a sense of showmanship which dazzled his audience, and meant you didn’t notice his flaws! …

Donald O’Connor

While we’re in that era, I mustn’t forget Donald O’Connor – though sadly, many do. If mega talents like Astaire and Kelly hadn’t been around, I’m sure Donald O’Connor would have been much more successful than he was.