Nicholas Johnson (1947-2007).

Nicholas Johnson (1947-2007) One of the most interesting dancers of British ballet's Golden Age, Nicholas Johnson performed with a technical grace, enormous vivacity, and a rare immediacy that emerged as much from his acting skills as his dancing. He died of cancer in January. He joined The Royal Ballet from The Royal Ballet School in 1965. Excelling in such roles as Albrecht in Giselle and Colas in La Fille Mal Gardee, he became a principal by 1970. Five years later he joined London Festival: Ballet (now English National Ballet) as a principal. There he danced all the leading roles and created Mercutio in i Nureyev's staging of Romeo and Juliet. He took a leave of absence in 1984 and appeared opposite Natalia Makarova in the London revival of the musical On Your Toes. When he retired from dancing in 1990, he pursued acting and found international fame in David Pownall's one-man show Nijinsky, Death of a Faun, which came to New York in 1997. His dancing-and his impeccable Polish accent (acquired from his mother) helped.