IT’S exciting to see a young dancer triumph in a role for the first time. But it’s just as exciting to see an older dancer come back from a long absence to triumph in a role we thought was behind her.
The Royal Ballet’s Leanne Benjamin was determined on Monday night to prove that Juliet, that slip of a girl, was still hers. Benjamin is a 39-year-old woman who gave birth in June but you would never know it. On stage she looks young enough to be a teenager, and she sailed through the demanding role with an impetuosity and lightness that made the years fall away.