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At first, Arpino had difficulty penetrating the layers of Prince’s protection. “To get to him is more difficult than seeing the Pope,” he laughs “But once you become his buddy, he picks your brain When he saw Billboards, he was astounded. He had no idea anyone could have this artistic approach to his music. I whispered, ‘Prince, are you having a good time?’, and he replied, ‘Oh yes, Mr Arpino I’m not coming to the dinner afterwards. I’m going straight home to write something for the Joffrey Ballet.’ [As it turned out, a specially adapted version of "Thunder" and personally master-mixed tapes of all the other songs.] I thought, ‘Sure, he just wants to get out of the dinner.

He’s probably got a hot date waiting for him.’ But later I saw on CNN that he was writing a piece for the Joffrey Ballet, and then I knew it was true.”Prince – as anyone will know who saw his performance, with full supporting cast of bodyguards, at the Brit Awards a few years back – is not an artist ever in danger of not taking himself seriously enough. Prince had never been to the ballet before, and he was rather intimidated. He’s actually very shy.”He sat there in a silk suit covered with gold chains just staring ahead,” Arpino continues “He was leaning on his gold-topped cane, mesmerised. Tomorrow they will be making their first appearance on these shores for more than 20 years.Dressed in a blue, college baseball coach-style cardigan and white slacks, Arpino sits sipping coffee in a smart Turin hotel sitting-room the morning after the performance and recounts how he and His Paisley Park Highness first made beautiful music together “We met through Pat Kennedy,” Arpino recalls “She persuaded him to see a gala show of ours in LA. Since Joffrey’s death in 1988, Arpino, a one-time coastguard, has been the artistic director and has helped the Joffrey earn a reputation as one of the most innovative companies in the States. You don’t want to do Romeo and Juliet every night.”The company was founded by Robert Joffrey and Gerald Arpino 40 years ago.

“The dancers don’t mind the rock ‘n’ roll, as long as there’s a mixed repertoire With any company, you don’t want to do just one ballet. “There’s an audience for classical ballet, and we’re not knocking that We’re just opening it out to a wider audience. People who come and see this might be so intrigued that they come and see something more classical.”Breman takes up the theme. “But there were two nuns in the audience last night and they were clapping with the best of them. It’s suggestive but, as far as I know, nobody’s walked out.”Over breakfast the next morning, Sagami tells me she doesn’t feel that her classical training has been wasted on decadent rock ‘n’ roll. “There will always be critics, but dance can appeal to all different kinds of people,” she contends.