Brave leap forward

Adam Cooper reckons there's something of the Superman about Junior, his starring role in the revival of Rodgers and Hart's rarely performed On Your Toes. 'It's great fun. He's a music professor who's hidden his vaudeville past. Then he whips his glasses off, Clark Kent-style, and gets to be Fred Astaire!'

And there's something of the Superman about Cooper, too. Best known as The Swan in Matthew Bourne's all-male Swan Lake, a role he reprised in the hit film Billy Elliot, Cooper is not just a star ballet dancer in this production of On Your Toes. He gets to do jazz, tap, sing, act and tell a few jokes, too. And he has done the choreography as well.

Something of a stretch then? 'Well, it's not as much as you might think. Before I joined the Royal Ballet I had all-round training in tap, jazz and all kinds of dancing. And I had singing lessons up to the age of 18. But I'd never done it on stage.'

Given his range of unsuspected talents, it's no wonder that Cooper felt creatively stifled in the ranks of the Royal Ballet. With juicy roles at a premium, he was eager for escape. 'When Matthew's Swan Lake came up I was feeling really frustrated. There was hardly any new work created in the ten years I was there, so I literally jumped at the chance to try something new.

'I hope I can do it when it comes back to Sadler's Wells next year. It's a fantastic vehicle for me. It has a special place in my heart. It started me off on this great adventure.'

And On Your Toes, a 1930s Broadway musical comedy originally intended as a film showcase for Fred Astaire, certainly is an adventure. Cooper is joined in the cast by Royal Ballet colleagues Irek Mukhamedov and Sarah Wildor (Cooper's wife) for a show that demands much of its performers.

'It's not done very often because it's so hard to cast. It's not easy to find ballet dancers who can sing and act as well, but I think we've cracked it this time. Swan Lake was the greater physical challenge, but this is more of a performing challenge. Everything has to be in tip-top shape - the acting, singing and dancing.'

So did he balk at the idea of tackling the choreography as well? 'Singing was something I definitely wanted to pursue. I read the script for On Your Toes and thought it would be terrific for me. It was only later that it was suggested I do the choreography, and I thought, "Is this wise?" With the choreography, I was led where the music took me. The story has got set ballets, vaudeville, tap and a jazz ballet, Slaughter On

Tenth Avenue, in the middle.

'But it's not a period piece. We've tried to make it modern. And I get to show off a bit - it's got to be showy in order to work!'

On Your Toes also fits into Cooper's mission to bring ballet down off its high horse and broaden its appeal, one reason he's so proud of his involvement in Billy Elliot.