What makes a good dancer? That’s the million dollar question. Charisma is part of it — that je ne sais quoi that some people have that makes you want to watch them instead of the other one. I always think of charisma as being like a lightbulb and some people have the ability to turn it on. Either you have it — or you haven’t.
Charisma alone isn’t enough, though. Charisma gets people’s attention — but to sustain that attention there needs to be more. There has to be technique too. Like any artist, the dancer has tools. Michelangelo and Picasso had their palette and a dancer has their technique. But that isn’t enough either. You can have an excellent technique overall, but watch a performance that demonstrates technique alone and it’s like watching an exercise.
Those dancers who made a lasting impression — not just on the world of dance, but on the art world in general — did more. They spoke to people. Dance is a universal language and they, however they did it, tapped into it. The images that they created are left with us for ever.
The final of Strictly Come Dancing is on December 17 on BBC One at 6.40pm. West Side Stories — The Making of a Classic is on BBC Two, Boxing Day, 5.20pm
Cyd Charisse (above)
I remember the first time I saw Singin’ in the Rain. Charisse does a very famous number with Gene Kelly and she was amazing, very, very sexy. She is my favourite dancer of that era.
Martha Graham
You could call her the Picasso of dance. There is before Martha Graham and after Martha Graham. Before her, women were just flapping about, being pretty girls. She was a revolution, a gutsy roar of dance. She would act with every vein of her body.
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Sylvie Guillem
She got a lot of criticism from purists about her hyperextension but I think she used it perfectly — and she raised the bar. Now all ballerinas have to raise their leg 180 degrees as she did. She had amazing star quality and charisma. She is one of those who can fill a theatre with just her name.
Vaslav Nijinsky
He was the first male superstar. He was Sergei Diaghilev’s muse and danced to Stravinsky’s music. He was famous for his leaps — but he was more than that. He was a cultural sensation.
Fred Astaire
The ultimate class act. He does these incredible numbers that last for minutes and he doesn’t even break a sweat. The ease and the elegance came after weeks and weeks of rehearsals.
Mikhail Baryshnikov
Of all the people I have seen dancing, I think he is the best. I saw him in the Seventies at his peak. He had an incredible technical ability but beyond that, he was a star — he had a twinkle in his eye. Unforgettable.