A minicab driver accused of knocking down and killing one of Britain’s top ballet dancers will stand trial in April next year, the Old Bailey heard.
Abdul Qayyum, 44, allegedly failed to give way to Jonathan Ollivier’s motorbike in Farringdon before hitting him with his cab last August.
The professional dancer, 38, was due that day to give his final performance in the lead role of Lucas in Matthew Bourne’s The Car Man, at Sadler’s Wells Theatre.
He suffered fatal head injuries in the collision, falling from his motorbike and hitting a lamppost.
Qayyum, from Slough in Berkshire, appeared at the Old Bailey this morning to plead not guilty to causing death by careless driving.
Judge Anthony Morris QC freed the minicab driver on bail until a trial on April 10.
Following his death, leading figures in the ballet and arts world paid tribute to Northampton-born Mr Oliver, who had won plaudits for his starring role as The Swan in an acclaimed Swan Lake.
