The Red Shoes - Characters & Cast

Her primary motivation is an overwhelming, intrinsic need to dance. When Lermontov asks her, "Why do you want to dance?" she replies, "Why do you want to live?" This fundamental drive is later complicated by her deep love for Julian Craster. Her motivation then becomes a desperate, and ultimately failed, attempt to reconcile these two all-consuming passions: her art and her love.

Vicky begins as a passionate, ambitious, but relatively unknown dancer from an aristocratic background. Under Lermontov's mentorship, she transforms into a celebrated prima ballerina, finding in dance a purpose that she equates with life itself. Her arc is a tragic trajectory from aspiring artist to a star consumed by her own art. The introduction of her love for Julian forces upon her an impossible choice. Her internal conflict intensifies until she can no longer distinguish between her identity as a performer and her own self, leading to her mental breakdown and death. Her journey is a literalization of the ballet she performs, a life imitating a tragic art.

Lermontov is motivated by a religious devotion to his art. He seeks to create transcendent beauty and believes this can only be achieved through discipline, sacrifice, and the complete sublimation of personal life. He sees human love as a "doubtful comfort" that makes a great artist mediocre. His motivation is to find the perfect vessel for his artistic vision and ensure that vessel remains pure and dedicated solely to its purpose.

Lermontov is a static character in the sense that his core belief never wavers: art is supreme and demands total sacrifice. His character is partly based on the real-life impresario Sergei Diaghilev. He begins as a brilliant, discerning, and demanding impresario who discovers and molds Vicky. As she falls in love, his possessive and manipulative nature becomes more pronounced. He does not seek romantic love from Vicky but demands her complete artistic soul. His arc is one of a creator who, in his obsession, destroys his greatest creation. In the end, after Vicky's death, he is left shaken but announces to the audience that the performance will go on, albeit with a spotlight on an empty space, a testament to his cold, unwavering devotion to art above humanity.

Initially, Julian's motivation is purely artistic: to create music. After falling for Vicky, his motivation shifts to building a life with her. He believes they can have both love and successful careers, but when faced with Lermontov's ultimatum, he prioritizes their love and asks her to leave the ballet world. His motivation is a desire for a life where love is the central, defining element, a direct contrast to Lermontov's philosophy.

Julian starts as a brilliant, unrecognized music student whose work is plagiarized by his professor. He is discovered by Lermontov and given the opportunity to compose the score for "The Red Shoes," which launches his career. He falls deeply in love with Vicky, initially sharing a harmonious artistic partnership. However, as their love deepens, he becomes a rival to Lermontov, representing the claims of life and love against the demands of art. His arc sees him evolve from a pure artist to a man who, like Lermontov, demands a choice from Vicky, asking her to sacrifice her passion for their life together. He is ultimately left devastated, holding Vicky as she dies, having inadvertently contributed to the impossible pressure that destroys her.