Kevin Ng

I don't think that the company is going to tour after the season at Kennedy Center. I heard that Chan-Hon Goh will dance with Peter Boal in "Raymonda Variations" and "Chaconne". The company has been rehearsing in New York for a week or two.

This year's Nijinsky Awards will be held in Monte Carlo from 10-14 December 2002. There are four categories - best male dancer, best female dancer, best emerging choreographer, and best production. The final list in each category, based on the nominations in May by the members of the jury from all over the world, are on the website of the Nijinsky Prix. Members of the public can vote as well. http://www.mddf.com/poll/polls/fr_FR/ Female Dancer - Diana Vishneva, Alina Cojocaru, Tamara Rojo, Nina Ananiashvili, Aurelie Dupont, and Lucia Lacarra. (Sylvie Guillem was the winner last time in 2000.) Male Dancer - Nicolas Le Riche, Carlos Acosta, Julio Bocca, Vladimir Malakhov, Dominique Mercy (Wuppertal Theater). Christopher Wheeldon is a nominee for the category of emerging choreographer.

I know that Clive Barnes has been a champion of NYCB since the 1950s when he was still a British critic. And he is as supportive of Peter Martins as Anna Kisselgoff. But I get the feeling (perhaps unjustified) that he hasn't been very enthusiastic about Balanchine's choreography in recent years.

I know that Clive Barnes has been a champion of NYCB since the 1950s when he was still a British critic. And he is as supportive of Peter Martins as Anna Kisselgoff. But I get the feeling (perhaps unjustified) that he hasn't been very enthusiastic about Balanchine's choreography in recent years.

I haven't read Clive Barnes' piece either, but I think that his comments are tactless. I don't really understand why he saw it fit to criticise the decision of the New York Times to print Miss Homans' piece. After all Barnes isn't on the staff of the New York Times, so the editors' decision there are none of his business. Also I see nothing wrong with a newspaper like the New York Times publishing pieces of different viewpoints. Miss Homans' piece isn't a review, so it's not really contradicting the opposite viewpoint expressed in Anna Kisselgoff's reviews of NYCB.

I haven't read Clive Barnes' piece either, but I think that his comments are tactless. I don't really understand why he saw it fit to criticise the decision of the New York Times to print Miss Homans' piece. After all Barnes isn't on the staff of the New York Times, so the editors' decision there are none of his business. Also I see nothing wrong with a newspaper like the New York Times publishing pieces of different viewpoints. Miss Homans' piece isn't a review, so it's not really contradicting the opposite viewpoint expressed in Anna Kisselgoff's reviews of NYCB.

"Beyond the Dance: a Ballerina's Life", Chan Hon Goh's autobiography, published by Tundra Books, has just come out. http://www.tundrabooks.com/catalog/...isbn=0887765963

"Beyond the Dance: a Ballerina's Life" by Chan Hon Goh, a star of the National Ballet of Canada, with Cary Fagan, has just been published by Tundra Books. http://www.tundrabooks.com/catalog/display...isbn=0887765963

The troupe touring America right now should be the entire company of the Shanghai Ballet and not a small pick-up group. I don't rule out however the possibility of several dancers staying at home due to injury or other commitments. I've only seen the company once, in Derek Deane's production of Swan Lake last year.

In today's St. Petersburg Times, there's a preview of the two ballets to be premiered this season in the Maryinsky Festival - Chemayakin's new production of "Princess Pirlipat" with choreography by Kirill Simonov, and Pierre Lacotte's "Undina". http://www.sptimes.ru/archive/times/809/fe...ures/a_7527.htm And Zhanna Ayupova has been awarded the title of Honoured Artist of Russia, according to the Kirov website. http://www.mariinsky.ru/en/news

Naoko, let's hope that Lopatkina will be able dance La Bayadere on the UK tour next year. Here is the provisional casting for The Nutcracker (choreography by Kiril Simonov) in Paris, thanks to Yapi on Ballet.co. 22 October: Diana Vishneva, Leonid Sarafanov 23 October: Natalia Sologub, Andrian Fadeyev 24 October: Irina Golub, Andrei Merkuriev 25 October: Natalya Sologub, Andrian Fadeyev 26 Oct.mat: Diana Vishneva, Leonid Sarafanov Leonid Sarfanov is a young dancer who is a new recruit from the Kiev Ballet. I've only seen the second cast myself at the Mariinsky Festival this year.

In Hong Kong, the South China Morning Post nowadays requires on-the-night reviews for the significant shows to be published the following day. I normally have to write a review of no more than 350 words and file it before midnight. Fortunately I live not far from the Hong Kong Cultural Centre where the major performances take place.

In Hong Kong, the South China Morning Post nowadays requires on-the-night reviews for the significant shows to be published the following day. I normally have to write a review of no more than 350 words and file it before midnight. Fortunately I live not far from the Hong Kong Cultural Centre where the major performances take place.

How interesting to read your review of the Kremlin Ballet, NO7. I've actually seen this Moscow company once in the early 1990s when they performed at the Palais des Congres in Paris with some guest stars, and I saw the Bolshoi star Maximova who probably retired from dancing not long after that Paris season. I think it might have been this particular production of Cinderella which you mentioned, but I'll try to find that old souvenir programme. The other ballet "Napoleon" sounds interesting too. I am very interested to see other Russian companies besides the Kirov and the Bolshoi. Last season I was happy to see in London the St. Petersburg Ballet Theatre and also the Stanislavsky Ballet from Moscow.

I would still write in my review what I honestly think. After all, there is normally a preview of that ballet event written by a different arts correspondent the weekend before, so even a bad review shouldn't affect ticket sales that much at this later stage. What it may affect is funding to the local ballet company in the following season, as the funding bodies do keep a record of the newspaper reviews.

Naoko, this is the provisonal casting for La Bayadere in Paris. I'll try to find out the casting for the other two ballets. 28 October: Zakharova/Kolb/Tarasova 29 October: Vishneva/Fadeyev/Golub 30 October: Pavlenko/to be announced /Tarasova 31 October: Gumerova/Korsuntsev/Golub.

The Kirov Ballet's new 2002/3 season at the Mariinsky Theatre will commence on 10 Oct. with Swan Lake led by Svetlana Zakharova and Igor Kolb. The casting for October is now on the Kirov/Mariinsky's website. http://www.mariinsky.ru/en/playbill?pbmy=2002 I would be very interested in particular to see the Kirov in "La Sylphide", which they seldom dance on overseas tours. The two performances in October will be led by Irina Zhelonkina and Elena Sheshina, both to be partnered by Anton Korsakov, who made his debut as James last season. There is also a single performance of K. Sergeyev's Soviet production of Sleeping Beauty, which is still in the repertory and hasn't been replaced by Vikarev's reconstructed production.

Viviane, in reality an architect these days needs to please the clients and fulfil their requirements set, and has no scope to 'educate' them. I know because I have some friends and relatives who are architects. I think that Mr. Gergiev is trying to create a major new landmark in the historic city of St. Petersburg to attract attention from arts lovers all over the world. But I too have my doubts if this is really what the Kirov Ballet needs, besides better and more spacious studios and dressing rooms.

N07, how right you are. Surely there must be some eminent Russian architects in St. Petersburg, more in tune with the spirit of the city than foreign architects, who are capable of designing the second stage of the Mariinsky Theatre. Viviane, I doubt very much if the execution of the plan will start next year, as 2003 will be the 300th anniversary of the city, and I think that the Mariinsky Theatre will be busy enough already with the festivities.

I am not an expert on contemporary architecture, but the design does look like a bubble wrap to me. Still the important point is that the existing stage will not be touched, and hopefully the building of a second stage will give more flexibility to both the Kirov Ballet and Opera. The Kirov dancers could certainly do with several newer and better-equipped studios, and larger dressing rooms. Another beautiful theatre in St. Petersburg is the newly restored Comedy Theatre off Nevsky Prospekt, which I visited earlier this year. It is now a second home of St. Petersburg Ballet Theatre of Konstantin Tatchkine. One of the public rooms is as grand as the interior of the Hermitage Museum.

I've travelled to St. Petersburg several times in the past year, and am most impressed by the diversity of the ballet scene there. Besides the Kirov performing in their beautiful Mariinsky Theatre, there are normally 2 or 3 other ballet companies performing every week. I haven't found time this year to see the Moussorgsky Ballet (Maly Ballet) which I did see a decade ago, or the Eifman Ballet. But I did see Konstantin Tatchkine's St. Petersburg Ballet Theatre performing in both their home theatre on Liteiny Prospekt as well as in the newly restored Comedy Theatre off the Nevsky Prospect. There is a golden room in the Comedy Theatre which is very palatial. And I've seen two mixed galas at the Rimsky-Korsakov Conservatory, opposite the Mariinsky Theatre, featuring dancers from various St. Petersburg companies.

I haven't heard of any plans by the Kirov to tour Canada in the next 12 months. Maybe you can try to catch them next year when they tour Washington DC and some West Coast cities in America.

I've just received my copy of the Sept. issue of the UK magazine "Dance Expression", which is a special issue devoted to the Varna IBC. There is a long report on the Varna competion by Jean Rush with many lovely photos by Ken Rush. Jean Rush was a member of the international press jury for this 20th anniversary competition.

The Kirov Ballet will tour China, for the second time, in early October. They will dance "Swan Lake" in both Beijing and Shanghai. More significantly, they will give a single performance of "Jewels" in Beijing, which will be the first time that this Balanchine masterpiece is danced in Asia. The Kirov is also due to tour Hong Kong this winter.

John-Michael, have the advertisements listed any of the dancers in this touring group? There are of course many good dancers in these three Moscow companies, but it's not possible to comment without looking at the list of the dancers on this particular tour.