Nevertheless he swings, he swoons, he balances with limbs entwined around the narrow bars, reaching up to an imagined starry sky (it’s actually the high ceiling of a Royal Ballet rehearsal studio in Covent Garden). This is the iconic opening of the ballet Pierrot Lunaire, where a childlike clown is wonderstruck by the sight of the moon. This season Pierrot will be danced alternately by Royal Ballet principal Sambé, one of the company’s leading men, and soloist Joshua Junker. It’s deeply layered, comedic but based in darkness, a place of huge contemplation, self-discovery and curiosity.”View image in fullscreen 'It’s scary!’ … Marcelino Sambé, left, and Mathew Ball rehearsing Pierrot Lunaire. Pierrot Lunaire is 40 minutes long and, unusually, for these performances the ballet will be performed as a standalone piece, rather than as part of a double or triple bill.