Embassy Row

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By James Morrison

DANCING WITH DIPLOMATS

The diplomatic dance - that pas de deux of pinstriped envoys sidestepping around a negotiating table - is often not a pretty sight, says British Ambassador Nigel Sheinwald.

But ballet, that is a "universal art form," he said Monday, as he hosted a dinner for visiting members of London's Royal Ballet on the eve of the opening of a week of performances at the Kennedy Center.

"The diplomatic dance is not very elegant, but all of you are ambassadors of dance. All of Washington is looking forward to your performances," he said.

Two of the dancers, Federico Bonelli and Hikaru Kobayashi, said they were ready to answer the ambassador's call to be diplomats for one of the world's premier classical ballet companies.

"The great thing about art is that it is international," said Mr. Bonelli, an Italian and one of the stars of the ballet company. "So if we are ambassadors, I think that's great."

The two dancers are on their first visit to Washington since they got married in September. They met when they were members of the ballet company in Zurich and later joined the London company.

Before she went to Zurich, Ms. Kobayashi was a member of the Paris Opera Ballet, the first Japanese citizen to join the French dance company.

Between the Tuesday night opening and the final performance Sunday, they will have little time to explore Washington. Their days begin with midmorning dance classes, basically exercise sessions, followed by rehearsals that take up the rest of the day before showtime.

With all the dancing, leaping and turning, they maintain the typical dancer's physique, muscular and thin, and burn through calories like a wildfire.