Rupert Christiansen
White Swan
Tatiana Leskova: A Ballerina at Large (Translated by Donald E Scrimgeour)
By Suzana Braga
Quartet Books 312pp £18 order from our bookshop
Russian ballerinas are a race apart. They seem to live until they are a hundred and even on their deathbeds can still turn a pirouette or hold an arabesque. Their spines are steel ramrods, their memories elephantine. They can also be a wee bit obstreperous.
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