The story

Sir Anthony Dowell joined the Royal Ballet in 1961. He was promoted to principal dancer in 1966 and became one of the best classical dancers of his era. Amongst his most notable roles were as Oberon in The Dream (1964) and Troyte in Enigma Variations (1968). As artistic director of the Royal Ballet when Tetsuya Kumakawa arrived at the company Dowell is uniquely positioned to give a professional and personal insight in to the Japanese dancer. Here he explains to CNN what made "Teddy" stand out from the crowd.

CNN: When did you first see Tetsuya Kumakawa dance?

Sir Anthony Dowell: I first saw him dance when he was a student at the Royal Ballet School. I suppose he was 17-18 when he joined there and he was known as the whiz-kid; Technically incredible, super proficient and an amazing talent. Read full article »