The guile and pathos of Guillem’s Manon: Sylvie Guillem’s triumphant return to La Scala

ByGramilano Reading Time: 2 minutes

Guillem Murru ManonAfter concentrating on contemporary dance, and mostly new works, since leaving  the Kitris and Odettes with which she made her name, has made a surprise return to the full-length narrative ballet with one of her most celebrated roles. After having not worn pointe shoes for almost a year the decision was certainly something of a gamble. In the original programming she was to alternate the role of with – “the new Guillem”: could it have been a personal challenge, a desire to remind audiences who the real Guillem is?

With or without Zakharova, there was tension in the house as fans waited to see how she could match up to the hardest confrontation of all, that of herself in the same role in , six years ago. Then she was partenered, as now, by and with a surprising début from as Monsieur GM. The applause was deafening.

There was no reason to be apprehensive: Guillem has returned better than ever. Maybe her contemporary dancing has given her new perspectives, maybe a break from this repertoire has given her fresh insights: whatever, we’re grateful that she has given us these memorising and memorable performances at .

Guillem controls every inch of her body, from her eyes to her toes. Nothing is casual, each movement has a purpose. With such a wide range of emotions to play with, Manon is a gift to a dancer capable of extracting all the possibilities of the character and communicating each nuance to her audience. Guillem is one of those dancers.

It is not her wonderful feet, or her elegant line, or her hazardous leaps that have the greatest effect, but her ability to play with dynamics and her momentary suspensions, the qualities which can be expressed only when all the rest is firmly under control. This was a lesson in dancing from a dancer’s dancer (and there were quite a few famous colleagues among the audience), a woman at the top of her craft who can combine artistic maturity with a technique still capable of expressing her wishes. This is rare. We were lucky.

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Graham Spicer, aka 'Gramilano', is a writer, director and photographer based in Milan. He was a regular columnist for Opera Now magazine and wrote for the BBC until transferring to Italy. His articles have appeared in various publications from Woman's Weekly to Gay Times, and he wrote the Danza in Italia column for Dancing Times magazine. Graham was the historical advisor on Codice Carla, the 2023 documentary on Italian ballerina Carla Fracci.

Graham also works as a dance photographer, and his photos have appeared in many books, theatre programmes, and magazines, including Dancing Times, Dance Spirit and Ballet2000, as well as all the major Italian newspapers.

He is a member of the Dance Section of The Critics’ Circle.

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