With Monaco’s Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo set to come to the UK, Mark Monahan explains how the world’s second smallest country is able to house an internationally-renowned ballet troupe.
Monaco has never lacked glamour or excitement. Its setting is stunning: a sparkling corner of the Côte d’Azur, with the 1,800ft-high Tête de Chien promontory towering behind it on one side and the 3,800ft Mont Agel on the other. Its annual Grand Prix is the most prestigious in Formula One, its royal family a constant presence in the pages of high society magazines, and its famous casino in Monte Carlo (the best-known of Monaco’s five quartiers) so lucrative that, as far back as 1869, the ruling Grimaldi family was able to abolish income tax, hence the tiny principality’s reputation as a playground for the rich and famous.
In recent decades, however, Monaco has acquired yet another alluring string to its bow. And what’s more, this is one you can enjoy without needing a billion or two in the bank, or even a plane ticket to the south of France. For Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo is one of the most dynamic ballet companies around, widely acclaimed for its superb dancers, vivid, original productions and determination to make ballet more accessible. And just a year after bringing one show to London’s prestigious Coliseum, the 50-strong company is, this month, back to perform another: its striking version of Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet... Keep reading on The Telegraph
Monaco has never lacked glamour or excitement. Its setting is stunning: a sparkling corner of the Côte d’Azur, with the 1,800ft-high Tête de Chien promontory towering behind it on one side and the 3,800ft Mont Agel on the other. Its annual Grand Prix is the most prestigious in Formula One, its royal family a constant presence in the pages of high society magazines, and its famous casino in Monte Carlo (the best-known of Monaco’s five quartiers) so lucrative that, as far back as 1869, the ruling Grimaldi family was able to abolish income tax, hence the tiny principality’s reputation as a playground for the rich and famous.
In recent decades, however, Monaco has acquired yet another alluring string to its bow. And what’s more, this is one you can enjoy without needing a billion or two in the bank, or even a plane ticket to the south of France. For Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo is one of the most dynamic ballet companies around, widely acclaimed for its superb dancers, vivid, original productions and determination to make ballet more accessible. And just a year after bringing one show to London’s prestigious Coliseum, the 50-strong company is, this month, back to perform another: its striking version of Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet... Keep reading on The Telegraph