#TBT: Natalia Osipova in "Don Quixote" (2008)

November 18, 2020

Natalia Osipova, a current principal of The Royal Ballet, is known for her Kitri and the charismatic bravura she brings to the stage. However, as Dulcinea, the idealized heroine danced by the same ballerina in Don Quixote, Osipova portrays a softer character with pixieish charm. In this clip from 2008, filmed at a guest performance while Osipova was a soloist with the Bolshoi Ballet, she seems to barely skim the floor, floating through Dulcinea’s variation.

Incredibly lifted and light on her feet, Osipova perches at the top of each balance, holding just a moment longer than expected, and accentuates delicate ballonnés on pointe with a suspended battement. Infamous for her jump, Osipova leaps higher and wider with each jeté in her diagonal at 1:06. Yet the magic of her performance is equally in the details: each precipité is as musical, bright and essential as each grand jeté. Happy #ThrowbackThursday!