Exit with dignity

PETER WRIGHT, the grandest living figure in British ballet, has recalled a visit to Henley with Kenneth MacMillan when they were both promising young dancers.

The 96-year-old (his birthday is today) was working with the South African-born choreographer John Cranko and roped into helping out with a small stage effect mid-performance during Beauty and the Beast.

Wright told the Telegraph: “Two numbers afterwards, I was doing a Spanish dance. At that moment, I had only my Spanish boots and a jockstrap on but I thought I’d just sneak out, do what I needed to do and then I’d finish getting changed.

“Well, Kenneth and I were hidden behind two arches, blending in, but my bit of scenery hadn’t been fixed very firmly and whumped down on the floor — and there I was. I thought, ‘What on earth am I going to do?’”

At this point, he holds out one arm in an elegant port de bras and adds: “So, I stood up, looked at the audience, gave my arm to Kenneth and we marched off the stage together.”