Juan Rodriguez – the name alone is enough to send shivers down your spine. But as the lead in the English National Ballet’s all male line-up, Juan is ruffling more than a few feathers, as stripped to the waist he performs some of the most revolutionary moves in classical ballet to date. KATHERINE MACALISTER REPORTS.

A battle of the sexes will be unfolding at the New Theatre next week as the boys take on the girls in a bid to beat them at their own game It’s sexual equality in a whole new package and Juan Rodriguez is leading the pack.

So what’s all the fuss about? Well, Men Y Men is the prelude dance to the famous ballet Giselle, in which the male cast showcases the very best testosterone-fuelled talent the company has to offer, giving them the chance to shine in an evening which would otherwise be all about the girls. Men Y Men also tests the dancers to their limit, and partners them together in daring and challenging athletic movements, which have received rave reviews.

So is Juan, pictured right second from right, enjoying being in the eye of the storm? “Well we weren’t used to the boy-boy partnering so it took a long time to get used to. I was having to lift men two heads taller than me, so yes we did laugh a lot in rehearsals, but you get used to it. And yes it is much more difficult because men are much heavier, but that has been an interesting challenge and it’s great to be doing something a bit different,” he says in his strong Spanish accent.

Juan came to Britain on a ballet scholarship aged 16 and has stayed ever since, landing the lead roles for the English National on many occasions. But in macho Spain, how did he come to love ballet? “All Spanish dancing is based on classical ballet so there are often ballet schools attached to the local schools,” he tells me, “and I always loved it. But it wasn’t until I was 12 and entered the summer exams that I realised I was any good. Until then it was just about having fun.

“My parents always supported me,” he continues “and told me ‘if you want this, go to the top and follow your dreams’, and now they are so proud. And getting a scholarship abroad was a massive deal.”

And yet there is stlill a stigma attached to ballet, even after films like Billy Elliot and the Ballet Boyz paved the way. “My brother and his friends always used to say ‘why do you do ballet?’ But when they came to see me they changed their minds and asked ‘how do you jump like that?’ and ‘we didn’t realise it was part dance part acting’. But dance is a bit of everything which is why the theatres are still full wherever we go and that keeps ballet alive.”

Juan is still as passionate about ballet today as he was then. “You have to focus all the time because otherwise it’s very hard. But after a performance when the audience applauds, claps and screams it makes it worth all the sweat and pain and the aching shoulders and sore back.

“And it’s an exciting time to be a male ballet dancer because this is one of the best ballet companies in the world, so it’s an incredible level of dancing because of the sheer energy levels.”

And what can we expect from the prelude performance?

“We are bare-chested and unrestricted by costume, so you can see every movement on the torso,” he tells me, seriously. Hang on, let me grab my coat - I’m there.

Juan Rodriguez is dancing a solo in Men Y Men and will also be dancing the Peasant pas de deux in Giselle which opens at the New Theatre on Tuesday. Box office on 0844 8471588