Natalia

Victoria et. al - Of course Anderson has to tone it down a bit. It's a shame that he couldn't tell-it-like-it-is! We're grateful for the candid reports of Victoria & the others who were there. Like I stated earlier: The Competition from Hell (logistically speaking, at least)!!!

Yes, it's on the schedule/calendar on the ABT site. You can also find the exact date for her Rose Adagio there. Wiles is still listed as dancing 4th movement in Bizet, as originally scheduled. Don't recall who is replacing ID in 2nd movement. Although it's much easier for me to attend the Sat matinee (don't need to take time off work), I'm seriously tempted to buy a ticket to the mid-week-evening debut. [i'm assuming this is her debut in the full role. Does anyone know if Wiles has already danced this role on tour?] This is a *major* break for Wiles.

Sorry for Irina Dvorovenko's injury...but... Michele Wiles will dance Medora in the 'Corsaire' performances of June 18 & 22nd (the latter a matinee). That should be something. I also notice that Wiles is dancing one of the Rose Adagios/Tchaikovsky Program.

Thanks for sharing that article, BW. Verrrrry interesting.... The full picture becomes a bit clearer, doesn't it? ;)

The National Ballet of Anywhere boasts at least one gold medalist from either the Jackson, Varna, Paris or Moscow int'l ballet competitions. (Sorry - Youth Am Grand Prix won't cut it!) And the rep *must* include at least one Paul Taylor work, to show that they 'can do modern'!

The National Ballet of Anywhere boasts at least one gold medalist from either the Jackson, Varna, Paris or Moscow int'l ballet competitions. (Sorry - Youth Am Grand Prix won't cut it!) And the rep *must* include at least one Paul Taylor work, to show that they 'can do modern'!

Victoria - Thanks for posting your candid & honest impressions. WHEW - sounds like a competition from hell! Such disorganization shows a lack of respect for those who worked hard to compete. The YAGP folks could learn a thing or two from the Jackson IBC organizers; now *there's* a group of true professionals who know how to run a competition like clockwork.

Thanks, Victoria. Now you've *really* piqued my interest to find out how it went! For the time being, get some rest...

Victoria, how did it go? Did you bring back any interesting impressions?

TwinkleGal - This sounds like a junior-level national competition similar to Youth America Grand Prix here in the US. In other words, SURE you can post this here! Unfortunately, I don't have advise from the competitor's perspective but I bet that some of our members who've competed in YAGP (or their parents) could offer some words of wisdom! I'm especially happy to hear from someone who is entering a competition in the UK, as there seems to be a misconception in some circles that ballet competitions are 'not the English thing to do' or 'Madam would be turning in her grave' etc, etc, to think that English dancers are entering competitions. Of course, reality tells us that English (or English-trained) dancers do enter & often win competitions, especially at the pre-professional level (Prix de Lausanne, for example). Good luck & please let us know how you fare. At the very least, I'm sure that it will afford you valuable experience for "the competition of life"! Any ex-competitors (or parents) have any advise for Twinkle-RBS-Gal?

Me again. I just read Alexandra's review for the Post...and am CRYING my mascara off with the 'fruit-of-the-loom' bit. That's a classic!

I saw it on opening night (Thursday)...and I'm purposely not reading Alexandra's review til I write this! Did not even look at the hard copy of the Post!! 'Journey Home' What a cornucopia! I guess that's the cross-cultural melange that earns grants nowadays. That must be part of the game because I don't get the point of putting together pure African-American singing with European classical dance, danced by mostly-Caucasian dancers (there were, I think, two African-Am gentlemen among the corps). Ah, well... LOVED Sweet Honey's a capella singing! As Balanchine once suggested, I decided, halfway through this mess, to close my eyes & enjoy the wonderful music. Simply divine. Impossible to concentrate on the potpourri that was going on below...except that every now and then some guy was dragged across the stage on some Africanish-hobby-horse. I guess that's what it was. My neighbor thought that it was a bed. They must have paid a lot to commission that beauty, so choreographer Septime Webre must have felt compelled to drag it around every five minutes. Most disappointing lighting I've seen in ballet, in ages...lots of spots...impossible to discern what dancers were up to, especially when wearing brownish/muted costumes. Impossible for the dancers to compete for attention against those five vividly-clad singers on the raised stage behind them...or that equally-vividly-clad sign-language interpreter downstage (audience-left). Not that the hearing impaired could have read her hand signals during half the show, due to the spotty lighting. The choreography - WHAT choreography? Hard to see, and what I could see seemed pedestrian. Sorry, I thought that a week or so would calm my negative feelings but, alas, I still see it as a mess. On the other hand.... The evening's first work, 'Blue Until June,' to Etta James' jazzy-blues vocals, truly works as choreography. Trey McIntyre - who is this awesome, musical choreographer? What a golden guy; don't let him get away too far! Very emotionally charged performance from the wonderful dancers. And the stage was well lit - hey! could see the dancers! Lovely costumes. A cohesive, total work of art. Bravo! Amanda McKerrow & John Gardner were fluid, romantic, sublime in the one "old-fashioned-classical/Europeanish" work in the program, Ben Stevenson's 'Three Preludes.' Dare I say that I'm growing fonder of Mckerrow & Gardner in the mature years of their careers? Between McKerrow's recent WB performances & her Odette/Odile at ABT last year, she just keeps getting better as a dancer AND actress, with wonderful emotional qualities that I failed to notice a decade ago. And, finally, a word about the lack of balance in this program. I have no problems with 'ethnic' programming...but TWO large (45-plus minute) Afro-Ethnic ballets sandwiching a 10-minute European-style pas de deux? I say: make it an Afro Night of three jazzy works...or three totally different styles of ballet...but this almost seemed like 'Afro Night with a Tiny Bon-bon for Euros" which made one wonder why they bothered with "Three Preludes," as it was so out-of-place amidst the powerful message of African-American music. - Jeannie p.s. - I'm sorry that I missed the February 2002 program of Washington Ballet, which, I heard, offered a far-more-balanced slate of ballets.

I'm planning to attend Varna. It's a lot of fun, not just because of the ballet.

Subscribers can buy 'extra tickets' from April 1 to April 9. Same ole 202/467-4600 InstaCharge number, though. Although I am a legit subscriber (Tuesday nights), the operators have never asked me for any special identification or subscriber number, whenever I make such calls...which leads me to believe that all folks can call in...hence, my desire to let ALL OF YOU know about this. I wouldn't wait 'til April 10 to call. Ari - They called my voice mail to alert me about the 7 pm starting time for the gala, too. I've written it on my ticket.

Hi, everyone! I returned from Rossiya this past weekend. It was such an exhausting three weeks in Moscow that I did not even realize, 'til I returned home, that the World Championships in Nagano, Japan, had come & gone. Now *that's* a first for me to miss & totally 'blank out' on such an event! I've since seen some of the videotapes of the various finals and caught-up on the news & have the following quick thoughts. perhaps some of our skating-ballet enthusiasts could chime in, too? * Shen & Zhao won CHINA's first-ever gold medal in the Pairs event. Congratulations, China!!! They were far & away the 'class act' of the field, even with a couple of mistakes in the free skate. * Russia's #2 pair took the silver. They really need to crank up the emotional level & charisma factor if they wish to keep rising. Love their long lean lines, though. * How on earth the USA's Ina/Zimmerman squeaked in for a bronze medal above Petrova/Tikhonov -- who weren't all that great themselves -- is beyond me. * Russia's Alexei Yagudin won gold in the men's singles with dash & panache. He actually seemed to be better at Worlds than at Olympics. What a string of perfect 6.0 scores! He deserved them. * The USA's Tim Goebel won silver - 'Quad King' just keeps getting better & better. Artistry is a tad better than at Olympics, too. Maybe there is hope... * The host country, Japan, copped two bronze medals in the singles events - Takeshi Honda for the men & the lyical Fumie Suguri in the ladies...I adore her flow & balletic lines. So delicate & less in-your-face-sassy than Sasha Cohen. [sasha placed 4th, just as in Olympics.] * Russia's Irina Slutskaya was BRILLIANT in all phases of the competition, winning the gold medal that has eluded her for so long. * USA's Michele Kwan rallied for the silver medal with a fine long program after making major errors in the short program (after which she was in 3rd place) * In Ice Dance, RUSSIA took the Gold...a bit of surprise, as they skipped the entire autumn Grand Prix season with injuries. However, they had the quickest & most dynamic free program amongst those who chose to compete at Worlds. (The Olympic gold medalists, Anissina/Peizarat, have turned pro; the Italians passed & didn't show up.] * Canada's Bourne/Kraatz won the silver with their crowd-pleasing Michael Jackson medley * THE controversy of the year: Israel's Galit Chait & Sergei Savnovsky won a bronze, topping the more seasoned & favored Lithuanian team of Dobriazko/Vanagas. Soon after the competition ended, Vanagas filed a protest with the ISU, to which he attached the signatures of 30+ fellow-competitors (including the US champs, Lang/Tchernichev). I haven't seen the video of the ice dancing competition yet, so can't comment on whether or not the Israelis were deserving of that medal. I have always admired their speed...but they often sacrifice precision for that speed. Not sure what happened this time & why so many folks are hot-and-bothered about the results. Comments, anyone? - Jeannie

To all Washington-area readers: Yesterday, I telephoned the Kennedy Center's Insta-charge office (202/467-4600) for 'extra' Bolshoi tickets, above & beyond my subscription night. Box office for single ticket sales opened at 10 am; I called at 10 am; was on hold for 30 minutes; by the time my call was answered, almost ALL seats were gone. No joke. Thank goodness that I was able to obtain a single seat for each of the shows that I wish to see. However, when I tried to purchase adjoining seats for friends, they were unable to get me anything decent. Bottom line: RUN to the telephone, with your credit card, if you would like to see the Bolshoi in DC. The engagement is as follows: Tues., June 11 - "Evening at the Bolshoi" (gala of many excerpts) Wed, 12th - Swan Lake (Grigorovich vers) Thurs, 13th - Bayadere (Grigorovich vers) Fri, 14th - Bayadere Sat, 15th matinee - Swan Lake Sat, 15th eve - Swan Lake Sun, 16th matinee - Bayadere - Jeannie

I'm OK, Alexandra! I've actually been swallowed up by "Chicken Wars"...anybody who follows US-Russia trade relations knows what this is all about. I now have about five or six 'unwritten reviews' including the phenomenal 'Scheheradaze' at the Kirov on March 10, when the Bolshoi's Tsiskaridze brought down the house. Believe it or not, he eclipsed Vladimir Malakhov (guest in the other two ballets on the bill - 'Chopiniana' & 'Petrushka'). I'm also dying to find the time to tell you about two delightful productions that I recently attended at the Maly-Mussorgsky, 'Giselle' and 'Esmeralda.' This company rarely (ever?) tours North America but are often seen in Japan. I was very taken by the precision of their corps de ballet in 'Giselle' - better than (gulp!) the Kirov-Mariinsky. The soloists, too, are fine, although most of them -- and this sounds AWFUL, I know -- have a flaw of some sort which explains why they are at the Maly instead of the Mariinsky, e.g., too short. This is, on the whole, a shortish company, which makes sense with the smaller stage dimensions. Both 'Giselle' and 'Esmeralda' starred Anastasia Lomachenkova -- a very fine blonde dancer but, alas, less-than-ethereal in romantic roles. Definitely a creature of this earth! I was more impressed, in 'Giselle,' by the dancing of the dynamic Tatyana Miltseva & Dmitri Salimbaev in the Peasant Pas de Deux. Yeah, I'll do details about the "Armide'/'Pulcinella' at the Conservatory, too. I got your message, Paul. This has been one heck of a week & the Russians are steadfastly holding to the poultry ban. On a lighter note, I did ny first cross-country skiing EVER on the Finnish Gulf last weekend. Yes, on the Gulf. If the ice breaks, I'll find myself floating to Helsinki on a chunk of ice. I was screaming my head off with laughter; I'm sure that my Russian buddies thought that I was totally nuts (as I am, just to have tried it). Sorry, must run. Kevin - I got your photos. Please update our friends on the festival programs!!!! - Jeannie Moscow (present location) [ March 19, 2002, 05:11 PM: Message edited by: Jeannie ]

Andrei - I have seen the Sergeyev version on the video starring Komleva. It is superior to the new Ratmansky; even the 1995 Vinogradov version is superior in the designs/glamor factor, at least, and I was not a very big fan of the Vinogradov version with Cinderalla dancing in wooder clogs. But at least the Sergeyev & Vinogradov versions had a cohesiveness & 'basic vision' that is lacking in this mish-mash. I definitely praise the performance of Vishneva on opening night, as well as Makhalina's stepmother & the two stepsisters. Unfortunately, they can only do so much to save this pedestrian choreography & CHEAP-TACKY sets & costumes. Worst of all is the lack of cohesive vision in every aspect of the creative powers, e.g., choreography, sets & costumes. It seems very much thrown together at the last minute. Really pathetic, IMO, for a highly-touted Mariinsky Festival opener.

p.s. - I hope that others, who attend Saturday's performance with a different cast -- which will be the official opening of the Mariinsky Festival -- will post comments. Perhaps I am being too harsh? Perhaps changes will be made (sure hope so)? I'll pass Saturday's opening & attend the Maly 'Esmeralda' instead. Back to the Mariinsky for Sunday night's Diaghilev mixed bill with my Bolshoi hero, Tsiskaridze, guesting as the Golden Slave. Da svidanya! p.s.s. - I've had NO trouble whatsoever in obtaining Russian-priced tickets and making it through the door. I go by myself & (am told) have a decent local accent & wear the fur hat & all else. Maybe that's why. I know of other non-Russians who have had problems. I pay about 450 rubles for my tix (about $15 max) for great orchestra seats, row 7, or bel-etage front row. Nyet katastrofa. [ March 06, 2002, 12:30 PM: Message edited by: Jeannie ]

A Prince at the ball dressed as a milkman, complete with white shoes and white bow-tie over a long-sleeved leotard & white trousers. That is The Milkman of the Kirov. Kudos to Andrei Merkuriev, who had to dance in this get-up and maintain a straight face. He survived, sort-of. Oh yeah - he got to break the monotony by wearing a burgundy backpack (containing the glass slipper) during his Act III travels around the world in search of the girl who lost her slipper. I've attended perhaps about 50 ballets at the Mariinsky Theater in my lifetime, plus many on tours in various cities around the world. Until last night I could boast not one dud. Dud #1 is here, in the form of Alexei Ratmansky's new 'Cinderella' to the Prokofiev score. Minimalistic sets by Ilia Utkin & Yevgeny Monakhov. Mish-mash of costumes by Elena Markovskay. Conductor: Mikhail Agrest (NOT the pre-announced Gergiev!) My summary for the major aspects of the show: Choreography: C-minus Sets: D Costumes: C-minus, except for corps ladies gowns in Act II, which get B-plus Dancing/performances: A-minus (against all odds) Orchestra/musical performance: A (they couldn't see what was on stage) CHOREOGRAPHY - Ratmanky delivers an uneven work. Nice adagios for Cinderella & the Prince and fine solos for Cincers/Vishneva. A very cute 'boxing scene' in Act III as the stepsisters fight for who-will-try-the-shoe-on-first. Nice 'tango lesson' for the Dance Teachers in Act I. Then again, the corps work was so goofy; it didn't go with the sophisticated costumes. A LOT of the problem with the choreography was that it did not go along with the designs. (Did Ratmansky meet the designers, one wonders?) DESIGN CONCEPT - The problem, in a nutshell, is that there was NO concept. It starts promisingly: the usual Mariinsky curtain is replaced by a black-and-white one depicting New York City skyscrapers. Curtain up & we are in (I think) the garment district, as I see four mannequin-like figures placed on two narrow-and-steep metallic staircases on either side of the stage (leading into the wings). Stepmother & stepsisters are being coiffed by three male hairdressers. Cinderella is off to one side polishing one of the metal staircases. OK - so this is supposed to be an apartment in NY...uh, in the garment district? This motif was NEVER carried beyond this scene. Later, we are in a typical European ballroom in a palace & the [pas de deux takes place in a garden with Italian pines. Huh??? Sorry, you get the picture. Oh, and there is a big metallic wheel in the back of the 'NY Apartment' which pivots at the end of Act I to become the chandelier for the Act II ballroom. Whoopee-doo. COSTUMES - Besides the horrendous Milkman get-up, we have a little off-white silk chemise for Cinders, goofy black-with-hot pink for stepsisters, a Chinese silk robe for Stepmother, loud primary-color pants & tops for the four season fairies (all males), aqua-colored jeans for a male arabic dancer in the Act III travels scene...audience laughed at that outfit! Then we had elegant corps outfits for the ball -- sleek 1930s-style fashion model gowns in tones of burgundy/maroon & black plummed hats for the ladies and traditional tuxedos for the men...but they had goofy dance steps that didn't go with their look. Ugh! FINALLY, THE DANCERS (saving grace of the night): Most of the dancers were quite magnificent despite the paltry material. Diana Vishneva was delightful in the fluidity of her dancing (boneless limbs, seemingly) and keen musicality. Vishneva has the "it" factor & the audience rose at the end of the performance to acknowledge her greatness. Too, she benefitted from the more interesting choreography of the night; it's as if Ratmansky spent ten-times longer crafting her solos than he did on all else. As the Prince, Andrei Merkuriev soared in his entrance at the ball. He is a tall-ish dancer with a lovely technique, although I find his acting monotonish. And that gawd-awful Milkman outfit was too distracting on him! Yulia Makhalina, in carrot-top wig, was hilarious as a Stepford Wife of a Stepmother. Kudos, too, to company vet Margarita Kullik as the short & rolly-polly stepsister & dazzling newcomer Viktoria Tereshkina as the more svelte stepsister. [Remember how much I admired Tereshkina's Gold Fairy in Wash, DC?] The Queen from 'Sleeping Beauty' in DC was Elena Bazhenova...and you should see her as a bag lady/fairy godmother here! Quite a difference. Roman Skripkin was touching as Cinder's alcoholic father. The four male fairies were: Spring - Anton Lukhovkin; Summer - Dmitri Pikhachov (magnificent tours en l'air!); Fall - Maxim Zyizin; and Winter - Sergei Popov. Each fairy was accompanied by female corps dancers in assorted tutus...including platter skirts with little snowballs on the edge for winter. Special accolades to the two Dance Teachers, who appeared not only during the tango dance scene but also in Act II, leading the corps de ballet at the ball. They were a knowing sophisticate Ti-Eun Ryu and greasy-haired gigolo Alexei Semionov. Both are fantastic actors, as well a great dancers. [And it was good to see Ti-Eun on pointe again, as she usually dances only character-shoe roles in the classics.] The final act includes the 'travel scene' in which the Prince/Milkman looks for Cinders. This affords a couple of dance scenes & solo opportunities for a Spanish Female Dancer (Sofia Gumerova, looking very sleek and sexy) and an Arabic Male Dancer (the normally-wonderful Islom Baimuratov, here ill-served by that horrendous outfit with the aqua jeans...accompanied by 8 corps men in the same outfit...laughter in the audience). I can't believe that I typed all of this. Time for a shot of vodka & a plunge in the banya. I rather be beaten by birch branches than endure this 'Cinderella' ever again. -Jeannie Szoradi St. Petersburg, Russia [ March 06, 2002, 12:22 PM: Message edited by: Jeannie ]

Hi, vrsfan - Thanks. Actually, we met...at the Vaganova Academy Museum when I working with Ms. Vivien on photographing some documents for my book. I'll explain privately. I keep a lot of this stuff to myself. I remember your Bayadere Shade fondly, by the way (if you are who I think you are). Sorry to be so cryptic. I'll e-mail you privately after I return to US (mid to late March??? I'm working in other parts of Russia until about March 20th). Blessings. - J. [ March 06, 2002, 11:16 AM: Message edited by: Jeannie ]

Thank you, Gallica, for the info on that particular dancer. - Jeannie St. Petersburg, Russia

Well, I'm eating my words now, as we have had a warming trend today & the sidewalks are quite slushy. However, it's still a good idea to pack for any eventuality, as today's slush freezes overnight. A FUN TIP - Whatever the festival visitors do, they MUST take time to visit an authentic Russian 'banya'! That's the wind-and-crazy Russian equivalent of a sauna, except that it's steam heat instead of dry heat (as in Scandinavia) AND -- the best part -- you get literally beaten up with birch branches by your friends as you lie down on a hot wooden table in the 'parelki' (steam room). Screaming is optional. After that, you run like hell out of the room & plunge into an ice-cold swimming pool (or roll in the snow...whichever is most readily available). Then everyone drinks team or kvas on the picnic table before repeating the entire process about 6 times. Totally relaxing - trust me!

vrsfanatic - Thank you for the insights on Ti-Eun & 'Kolya'! I just corrected a horrendous 'typo' re. Kolya - he is indeed VERY handsome. I meant to write 'not ONLY very handsome...etc.' He was still in school -- about age 15/16 when I met him with his mom & grandmom on a tram, of all places, & he was just the perfect gentleman & stood up to give his seat to my own mother, who was standing. Anyway, I remember how much he favored his grandmother in looks. Yes, I am walking carefully. Today it is the slush, due to a sudden thaw. The weather has been wacky. Doug - Thanks for your insights, too. The courtly dances at the start of Sergeyev's Act I/sc i, including the 'four friends' of Raymonda - Henriette, etc. - are found only in this version. Also, the Act I/sc iii 'Dream Scene' in this version is much more a-la Petipa, with both male & female corps dancers and an obvious hierarchy within the corps. Nureyev's POB version takes many elements from this version; makes sense, as this is the version that Nuruyev would have recalled from his Kirov days. Sorry but I find the Bolshoi Grigorovich version to be much more 'moderne' and stylized...lots of the 'fat' is eliminated...but it's the courtly 'fat' that makes for the fun in the K. Sergeyev version! The Kirov-Mariinsky was dancing the Grigorovich version during 1994/95 (when I lived in St Petes). Most locals are delighted that the Grigorovich is gone & Sergeyev is back. Believe it or not, most 'regulars' in the audience &are wishing that the K. Sergeyev version of 'Sleeping Beauty' would return permanently to the repertoire. They don't seem to care as much for the 1890 reconstruction as do we history-conscious westerners. Amazing but true! Now...as for 'Cinderella'/'Zolushka' which premiered tonight in the Ratmansky version...I saw parts of the dress rehearsal and, well, I bet that some folks will be praying yet again for the K. Sergeev version. I'll do a review after tonight's big premiere. Vishneva as Cinders, Mercuriev as the Prince and Yulia Makhalina as Stepmother. Should be interesting.... [ March 05, 2002, 08:45 AM: Message edited by: Jeannie ]

March 3, 2002 - Diaghilev Double Bill: 'Pavillon d'Armide' - Nikita Dolgushin's reconstruction of the Fokine ballet with Bakst designs (full costumes; a 'hint' of the sets...maybe someday the full set can be reconstructed????). Complete Scherepnin score, played by the WONDERFUL orchestra of the Rimsky-Korsakov Conservatoire. and 'Pulcinella' - new reconstruction by Konstantin Shuvaschev, with Picasso designs. Stravinsky score played in full, including vocal soloists. I'll add to this review later 'cause I'm a bit tired. Suffice to say that it was quite a treat to see these little-performed masterpieces of the Diaghilev Era. [Yes, technically, 'Pavillon' is pre-Diaghilev, premiering in St. Petes ca-1908, before the western tours.] This is a wonderful, chamber-sized ballet troupe. [Take note, Washington Ballet - no reason why, if the powers that be so choose, you cannot be dancing such important reconstructions! hint-hint...although I'm really happy with WB's most recent programs, so I won't digress any further...] Armide was danced by a classical sprite named Anna Fokina (any relation to THE Fokines?) & the Nijinsky role of the favorite slave was danced with brio & a VERY high jump by Kamil Nurligyanov. But I most admired, in this ballet, the restrained elegance & classical long physique of Sergei Golivin in the leading role of the Viscount. *HINT-THEORY - I think I know why this ballet 'Doesn't play in the USofA' - could it be that those little 'black sambos' holding the ostrich feathers or some of the other character dances hinting at 'exotic indigenous peoples' may not be PC enough for the west? If so then...OK, I'll bit my lip...but there are times when I feel nauseated by all of the PC-correctedness in the west. I hope that Russia never loses its innocent view of exotic peoples & locales, if presented lovingly, as it is in these ballets. [Alexandra - perhaps here is a topic for another forum if we dare? Have the arts in America become to 'PC-conscious'?] The 'Pulcinella' was a HUGE surprise for me. What a gorgeous, atypical Stravinsky score...very Italian-carnivalesque! [Didn't NYCB-Balanchine have a version of this ballet?] It is very comedia dell-arte &, right now, I'm fading fast so I'll only mention the gorgeous dancing of Natalia Bashkirtseva as the pretty heroine Pimpinella and a Baryshnikov look-alike (in face & body type), Dmitri Lisenko, in the jovial title role. This is one of several wonderful ballet troupes in this city that are hardly ever visited by foreign tourists, who usually go only to the Mariinsky or Maly. I hope to report on several other of these hidden treasures in future days/weeks. - Jeannie Szoradi St. Petersburg, Rossiya