HOT: La Bayadere, Royal Opera House, Covent Garden

My last ever ROH ballet performance (sob)! In all ballet performances the costumes are beautiful, but in La Bayadere I thought the costumes took centre stage, with the lavishness of the beautifully intricate gold beading and the jewelled coloured swathes of chiffon. Once again, Tamara Rojo and Carlos Acosta and my new favourite ballerina, Marianela Nunez, did not disappoint in their stunning performances. Acosta leapt and turned like he had springs on his feet, Nunez was haughty and statuesquely regal and Rojo's delicate and supple frame, so full of expression in her passion and anguish, was enhanced by the midriff (and rib) baring costumes she was wearing as the temple dancer Nikiya.

HOT: Manon, Royal Opera House, Covent Garden

A blustery rainy Saturday night is the perfect weather for getting glamorous and settling into the velvety cocoon of the Royal Opera House. Manon is a classic ballet which I've never seen, and Carlos Acosta and Tamara Rojo are the glamour pairing at the Royal Ballet - so really there was no chance of disappointment. Rojo was a dainty fairy reminiscent of Audrey Hepburn who danced with incredible lightness and grace whilst performing the most eye-popping gymnastics. As for Acosta, I've seen him play the male romantic lead in several ballets now, and I think he does death throes and dying anguish better than anyone. While the sumptious set and 'cool moving props' (Shani's words) were beautiful, the highlight for me was the intricately twisting, flowing but deceptively athletic choreography of Kenneth MacMillan, which was reminiscent of his production of Mayerling.

NOT: The Marinsky (Kirov) Ballet, Balanchine program, Sadlers Wells

Shani tells me that the only ballet troupe she'd bother seeing (besides the beloved Royal Ballet) are the Russians and the Chinese. Unfortunately I came away feeling disappointed at the performance of the famous Marinsky (previously Kirov) Ballet. The three stilted Balanchine works left me quite unmoved and in fact were faintly ridiculous, especially the histrionics of The Prodigal Son. The only performance I really enjoyed was the modernist Middle Duet, where the precise spearing movements of Ekaterina Kondaurova's windmill legs were the perfect match for the counterpoint notes.

HOT: Swan Lake, Royal Opera House, Covent Garden WC2

I was looking forward to my first production of Swan Lake at the Royal Opera House, but given that I'd been travelling on the weekend, I had feared that I'd have trouble staying awake on a Monday night. I needn't have worried - it was probably the most impressive production of Tschaikovsky's classic ballet that I'd ever seen. The set and costumes in Act I and III were full of sumptious tawny colours, gilded like a Faberge egg. The lake scenes had a misty, ethereal quality, and full of fluttering swans it evoked the mystery of the lake. Carlos Acosta's footwork was tight, neat and light but I was most impressed by Marianela Nunez (who was replacing an injured Tamara Rojo). Her interpretation of the two swans was the best I've seen. She danced Odette with grace and lithe elegance and the moment she turned into a swan, while clinging desperately to her lover, was incredibly chilling. In contrast, her Odile was pointed, malicious and disdainful. The performance I attended was sold out, but try to get a ticket (or for the 2009 season) for this stunning production.

HOT: Dances at a Gathering/The Dream, Royal Ballet, Royal Opera House, Covent Garden

Sometimes paying £30 for a stall seat ballet ticket (instead of the usual £15 for amphitheatre) is really worthwhile - you can appreciate much better the ballet dancers' thoroughbred legs, the way their heads whip around as they spot their whirlwind pirouettes and the expressiveness of bodies, from their floating hands down to their dainty arched feet. Dances at a Gathering was a lovely but slightly repetitive and esoteric etude of wafting pastels set to Chopin's music, so I was surprised to discover that the choreographer was Jerome Robbins, as it was very different to the dynamic film choreography of West Side Story and The King and I. The Dream was a combination of all my favourite classical arts - music by one of my favourite composers (Mendelssohn), storyline of my favourite Shakespearean play (A Midsummer Night's Dream), and danced by my favourite ballet company (naturally the Royal Ballet). It was truly delightful, full of humour and charm.

HOT: Rambert Dance Company, Sadlers Wells, Rosebery Avenue EC1R

This mixed bill from 'Britain's leading contemporary dance company' was one of the most enjoyable modern dance productions I've seen in a while. Scribblings started with a dramatically oversized lampshade swinging like an ominous pendulum as dancers writhed, leaped and ran backwards (!). I particularly the enjoyed the melting and tangled pas de deux as the pair reminded me of claymation animated characters, twisting up and sinking into the ground. Carnival of the Animals (set to Saint-Saen's music) was witty and joyous, and I loved the delicate filigree of the waltz. Anatomica #3 started with the bizarre vista of many Queen Elizabeth clones dressed in a pink hat, pink shift dress, holding a white handbag. One by one each dancer stripped to reveal rippling muscles to don streetwear, ending the evening with pounding drumbeats and dramatic physicality.

HOT: Serenade/Rushes/Homage to the Queen, Royal Ballet Royal Opera House Covent Garden

Thanks to a £18 Facebook friends offer, I decided to take the opportunity to introduce Huy to the ballet and Annette to the Royal Opera House. A programme of three disparate works demonstrated the wide possibilites of ballet - it's not all swans and tutus. Serenade was a calm, elegiac work from Balanchine; Rushes was a modern, athletic work (with a dynamic pas de deux with Carlos Acosta and Alina Cojocaru) and Homage to the Queen was a sumptuous ballet in the grand classical tradition, with a firecracker performance from Kenta Kura, the highlight of my night.

HOT: Sleeping Beauty, Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, WC2

I always love the Royal Ballet but as far as ballet outings go, Cynthia and I agreed that Sleeping Beauty was far too long. The story of Sleeping Beauty played a neglible role, as the 3 hours was padded with country dances, royal balls and random visits from Red Riding Hood and Puss-in-boots. Nevertheless, Tamara Rojo was gorgeous as Sleeping Beauty (what beautiful arched feet) and Frederic Bonelli was dashing as the Prince. And I loved the evil witch's black outfit!

HOT: New York City Ballet London Coliseum

After the debacle of the dire Pina Bausch, I felt that I owed Debora a decent night out at the ballet. Luckily, the world famous NYC ballet (who haven't performed in London in years) didn't disappoint. I particularly loved the Broadway medley, with its fluid lines and gorgeous 30s style dresses in block colours, and the dynamism of the West Side Story suite.

NOT: Pina Bausch Tanztheater Wuppertal at Sadler's Wells

I didn't think I was that much of a modern dance dunce but I hated this extremely influential work, the 'unmissable modern dance event of the year'. Cafe Muller was ugly, pointless and boring although The Rite of Spring, danced on a dirt floor, had it's moments - mostly due to the scale of some of the unison movements and the incredible Stravinksy score.

HOT: Sampled at Sadler's Wells Rosebery Avenue, Islington

I think its a great marketing idea to perform snippets of upcoming performances to introduce audiences to new art forms. Sadlers Wells does this brilliantly - for £5 standing (£10 seated) you can get right up close to the physicality and skill of flamenco, ballet, hip hop and contemporary dance.

HOT: Romeo and Juliet at Royal Opera House Covent Garden

A sumptuous and passionate ballet interpreted by Profokiev's music and Kenneth MacMillan's flowing choreography, although I think I liked Mayerling better. I was apprehensive about my cheap 'partial view' ampitheatre seats but if I hadn't been wedged into my seat by the extremely fat woman next to me (initially I couldn't flip my seat down as her massive thighs overhung my side) I probably could have craned my neck to spot the obscured bottom right corner of the stage.

HOT: Carlos Acosta with Guest Artists from Ballet Nacional de Cuba at Sadlers Wells

A joyous and vibrant performance from the high-leaping Carlos Acosta and his old ballet company. I've never seen anyone do a switching full turn grand jete like him and it drew gasps from the audience. I liked the company's style too - at times comical, classical, jazzy and emotional. All that litheness and lightness made me feel like a cloven-footed lump of lard.