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In my opinion it is outstanding for a number of reasons. First of all he is a strong partner and really allows Borchenko to shine and shine she does! Secondly, he is a brilliant actor portraying the troubled Prince Seigfried in 3 dimensions. Lastly, his technique is SUPERB. Those clean fifths he lands in from the double tours enl'air in his variation are so clean.

Recently I have discovered that amazingness that is David Zaleyev, Second Soloist at Mariinsky. Last weekend I saw him in the pas de trois in Emeralds and he was one of the best male dancers on stage that entire evening. Here he is with Renata Shakirova in a 2017 performance of The Nutcracker. It makes me wonder why he isn't a first soloist yet. In my opinion he is quite a versatile dancer. He can do roles such as Mercutio, The Jester in Legend of Love, Broze Idol, The Hooligan and then be a princely cavalier in the Nutcracker and Sleeping Beauty. Mariinsky has a wealth of male (and female) talent in the soloist ranks.

WOW! Lebedev's variation in this is fantastic! His technique is so clean and he has such a lovely facility. Soboleva is quite lovely as well.

What a lovely dancer to discuss! It looks as though he is on the shorter side and perhaps he thought he would be limited at the Mariinsky. Isn't Sarafanov married to Olesya Novikova? Is that a common thing to be married and be in separate companies? Check out this charming performance https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-khwp2WPi_I

That is disappointing to here that the Bolshoi's contribution is staged. This is the first year Shipulina was not seen taking class and I always loved watching her.

Thank you for the review! I did not realize Simone Messmer had left the company. Do you know why or where she went?

First of all, thank you for the review of the cast you saw. It sounds like it was fantastic. In terms of the chomping that would have gotten me upset as well. You're not crazy. I did not know that food was allowed in the theatre and would have thought that that was against the policy. I'm sorry that you had that experience.

It was a magical evening last night at the Music Center watching Mariinsky perform Jewels. Here is a summary of the beauty that I witnessed: The curtain opened on Emeralds to a beautiful dreamy scene of soft shimmering green hues, the lovely corps, and the first couple Daria Ionova and Maxim Zyuzin. Maxim was a stable and handsome partner for Daria who was magnificent. She used her port de bras so beautifully. In fact at the intermission my husband, who is no ballet expert at all, mentioned that the Mariinsky dancers use their arms/hands/wrists differently than the American dancers we see. I was impressed by his observations as the Russians tend to start the movements from their thoracic spinal areas and it truly is beautiful. It may not be pure Balanchine but it was lovely to see. Maria Iliushkina and Roman Belyakov were the second couple. There is another thread just about Maria and her bright future and from this performance, I agree. First of all she has a beautiful face - almost doll like. She was almost floating during her walking pas de deux and was so expressive in her variation. She melted into to some of those poses so beautifully. The pas de trois was excellent with 3 fantastic dancers. Mai Nagahisa (who always catches the eye of myself and my husband), Laura Fernandez, and David Zaleyev. They were a spirited and light trio full of energy and perfect technique. The corps and all of the dancers seemed very well rehearsed. Maria seemed to be the crowd favorite of this one. it was a great start to the evening! Rubies was my favorite. Nadezhda Batoeva and Philipp Stepin blew me away! They showed nuances that I had never noticed before in this ballet. They were having a great time, the tricky partnering looked like a walk in the park, and they sparkled! Hopefully they both will be promoted to principal during their careers as they are deserving. Maria Bulanova as the Tall Girl was sensual and powerful. She seemed relaxed during the penchee section as she exits the stage. This ballet was the highlight of the evening for me as it was fun, surprising, and risky. There was only one mistake in the whole evening and it was during the section with the man and the 4 corps men as they sautee quickly. One corps man didn't get to the sautee fast enough but it was hardly noticeable. Ah - the splendor that is Ekaterina Kondaurova! She did not disappoint at all. She was regal, elegant, haughty, and gorgeous. Andrei Yermakov was her partner. He was great in his solo sections with his menage of jumps and turns in second. The corps de ballet was radiant. A magical evening indeed!!!

A couple of years ago I saw Mariinsky performa La Bayadere at the Kennedy Center. it warms my heart that Ivanova stood out for you as she did the same for me. My husband, who knows very little about ballet, said she was one of his favorite dancers on stage. She was a shade and in the pas de quatre in the Act II Grand pas. She truly does shine. Not only is she radiant to look at but she is a beautiful dancer with lovely feet and legs.

Apologies as I am coming rather late to this discussion. I happen to love that Marianela Nunez was mentioned. Also Obratsova and Krysanova. I would like to add Tereshinka to the list as well. It is a difficult thing to choose just one current female "Ruler of ballet". There are so many aspects that go into it that everyone has mentioned. For me personally I think Tereshinka is quite versatile. Perhaps the romantic style may not be her strong suit though. Thank you as this is a most interesting discussion!

Thank you for the update! Glad to hear that she's not injured. Congrats to her and her husband!

This may be a bit off topic but does anyone know why Anastasia Stashkevich hasn't done any performances for a while. She is not scheduled too either. Perhaps she is pregnant? Hope she's not injured. I like her.

Thank you so much for sharing this! Big congrats to Kristina on her promotion! Very well deserved. Her leg and feet...divine!

Thank you for the info about Anna. After you mentioned the recent debuts in smaller roles I had to check it out. I imagine you are are indeed correct that she has gone as far as she will go. I have always enjoyed watching her in featured roles and variations and I guess that is what I will continue to enjoy her in.

Congratulations to all of those who have been promoted! That is too bad about Volchkov. I see he has some performances coming up so hopefully he will still continue to dance often. Hopefully Anna Tikhomirova and Ksenia Zhiganshina will be promoted soon.

@ksk04YAY! Thank you for sharing that the casting is up. Already got tickets for Sat evening and I am thrilled with the casting. I had seen Kondaurova and Baoteva in La Bayadère in Dc and they were amazing.

Welcome @JanLevNYC!!

@Kathleen O'ConnellThank you for sharing this exciting news! I love the San Fransisco Ballet podcasts so hopefully this will be equally as interesting.

Thank you @nanushka for the clarification. For a minute I thought maybe he was either injured or performing elsewhere for the fall season. On a different note, I wish they'd bring back Rodeo. I love that ballet.

Speaking of Hammoudi, I do not see him cast in any of the fall ballets.

@variated I have not seen enough of Akane Takada but I imagine that she is a beautiful dancer indeed! Oh I didn't even think of her and I must agree that she is indeed a great classicist! Great choice!

@sandik I have not seen her live either. Just many beautiful cinema appearances and Youtube videos.

I am coming to this conversation quite late but I'd like to throw a nomination out for Marianela Nunez.

Thank you @PeggyTulle for posting such a great interview. It is honest indeed and I love it. The more we can talk about our demons, the more we can help to silence them. She seems to be a strong minded dancer!

Hello @Batsuchan Yes indeed! I just saw the Royal Ballet and we were in Orchestra seats H41 and H40 and they were fantastic. I imagine that any seat closer toward the center in the orchestra are great. I probably would aim for rows C-L or so. However my seats were off to the left quite a bit and I still had amazing visibility.