The trademark beauty of the women in satin gowns was featured most memorably in Bamboo Blues against a setting of windswept muslin drapes as was the flowing hair swept rhythmically in unison in the bath house scene in Nefes.

These images and the dozens of extraordinary vignettes of human behaviour ensured it was a wonderful event. My unforgettable moment was in Nur Du (Los Angeles) where Dominique Mercy dons a frock and in the acerbic tones of an aging actress gives his views on tinsel town. ‘The problem with Hollywood is they shoot too many films and not enough actors.’

Dance GB (Great Britain)
A tent was erected in the ground of the Royal Naval College at Greenwich to house Dance GB, a programme shared by our three national dance companies. For my money it was the baby of the three, National Dance Company Wales that won gold in a delicious ballet by Christopher Bruce.

Dream is the perfect antidote to the 2012 Games.  Opening on a nostalgic 40s country fete atmosphere with tug-of-war, egg-and-spoon and three-legged races it then updates. To the evocative strains of Ravel’s Bolero (with memories of the Torville and Dean skating duo) in clever dance interpretations, they tackled everything from synchronised swimming to hurdles and archery with a neat gymnastic link: all finding perfect balance between humour and technical skill.

Scottish Ballet’s offering, Run for It, by Martin Lawrance to John Adams’ music, showed just how good this company look in high power neo-classical works. It was a sophisticated piece of choreography finding its best moments in the excellent duets. English National Ballet was also looking good – what you could see of them.

The highlight this year was Frederick Ashton’s Les Rendezvous featuring Eri Nishibara. She is an absolute charmer with graceful delicate arms who captured both the style in her épaulement and the intricacy of Ashton’s footwork. Takeshi Watanabe was an able partner who came into his own in his solo which he delivered with exuberance.

The Royal Ballet School get a week of performances at the Linbury Studio Theatre where even the tiniest get a showing and climaxes in the showpiece matinee on the Opera House stage. This year the programme included Un Ballo by Jiří Kylián and John Neumeier’s Yondering. These two works, technically challenging and demanding mature artistry were an inspired choice for the graduating students who proved up to the task and were simply superb.

Uneven Ground by Paul Boyd brought a tequila sunrise ambiance to the stage, as laidback guys punctuate their slouching gait with bursts of macho bravura. That is until Marta Navarrete Villalba removes her baseball cap, shakes out her long dark hair causing sparks to fly and testosterone levels to soar: a great piece for the young dancers.

In Alastair Marriott’s Simple Symphony Anna Rose O’Sullivan partnered by Marceline Sambé, and Yaoqian Shang with Esteban Hernandez showed technical wizardry; fast, clean and musical in the tricky choreography. I am sure these are names we will be hearing more of.

Paquita showed the quality of the female ensemble while Brazilian, Mayara Magri, in the lead proved herself a true ballerina with glorious line and technique both limpid and strong.

The Grand Défilé brings the entire student cohort onto the stage and a lump in the throat to witness the dedication and passion of these young dancers.