Azulynn

No, Laura Hecquet was a Première Danseuse - she was promoted last November (effective January 1). The website may not have been updated since.

This program wasn't recorded/broadcast.

The premiere is tomorrow (the 21st), yesterday was the dress rehearsal.

The dates didn't shift - the series of performances starting on October 3 is in 2012, not 2011.

Interesting that some pedagogues blame the West when Western companies seem much less excessive overall these days than the Russian ones - Guillem started the trend, of course, but gymnastics have been incorporated into Russian training(s) to an extent unheard of elsewhere I think. It may have to do with perceptions of the "West" and Western audiences in Russia as well, of course... You're right, it's not necessarily the place for this discussion, but I'm glad you address the issue in your book - should be a fascinating read.

But Catherine - surely the Mariinsky itself is promoting this type of "distortion" with dancers like Somova and Skoryk, among others? I look forward to reading your book in any case, and I hope it sheds some light on the contradictions of the company.

Delphine Moussin has just (very quietly) retired, sadly. You'll definitely get to see Marie-Agnès Gillot in Orphée & Eurydice and Béjart's Boléro in 2012 though, and she is usually first-cast Myrtha in Giselle.

Diamonds has also been done in Paris by Marie-Agnès Gillot, Delphine Moussin, Emilie Cozette and Stéphanie Romberg. I don't think it's been as strongly cast as you'd hope, but Moussin was supposed to be excellent in it. The best I've seen by far was Laura Hecquet, a Sujet who danced the pd2 at a Young Dancers' Evening a few years back.

It is Amy. Usually performed either by Nicolas Le Riche or Marie-Agnès Gillot.

Kyeong, I suggest giving the POB box office a call to see if they have anything left for the dates you were thinking of - I would actually recommend doing this today as booking opens tomorrow morning at the physical box office in Paris (there are different quotas for every means of booking) and there will most likely be nothing left at the end of the day. Check the website regularly as well, as sometimes a few top-price tickets pop up for a particular performance closer to the run. It will be extremely difficult to get even returns on the day for Swan Lake, but since it's at the Opéra Bastille you can always go and queue for standing tickets (62 of them are sold an hour and a half before the performance).

It's called Il faut qu'une porte..., and it was created for Dupont & Legris at the Paris Opera Ballet in 2004. It was just a pas de deux inspired by Fragonard's Le Verrou and hasn't been performed since. The music is credited in the 2004 programme to Dirk Haubrich after Louis Couperin (Prélude en ré majeur 1650/1655).

She is not injured - she is pregnant and will therefore not be dancing again this season.

Olga Smirnova & Kristina Shapran still have a year of school to go if I understand correctly. Viktoria Brileva, Oksana Marchuk, Alisa Soboleva were in this year's graduating class and are among the candidates to join the company I think.

It is indeed the Grigorovitch Romeo & Juliet coming back, though I don't know if it is being re-worked for the occasion.

Unfortunately, Cindy Jourdain, who does look really stunning on the Mayerling DVD, left The Royal Ballet in January. No word on her future plans, but maybe someone here will know more.

It is really up to you, Chazell - both Alexandrova and Osipova were really quite stunning in the role when the reconstruction premiered last year. Lopatin may just be the better Franz, but I suggest you watch one or two clips of both ballerinas on YT and pick the one that appeals the most to you. I particularly enjoyed Alexandrova's musicality and humour in the ballet, not to mention her rock-solid, textbook classical technique (she may just be at her peak right now), but I don't think you can really go wrong here...

What I meant was that it's no longer listed here, while it definitely was recently: http://www.yagp.org/vladimir_vasiliev_site/index.html But that may just be a mistake.

Yevgenia Obraztsova is off the list on the YAPD's website, although she is still listed in the PDF program linked to underneath - she was supposed to dance a solo choreographed by Vasiliev and La Sylphide pdd with Emmanuel Thibault. Anyone knows more? Overall from the PDF it sounds like a very exciting program!

I can say at least that in the cast list for the RB's latest triple bill, Lauren Cuthbertson's withdrawal (known for a while) is indicated as due to "illness." It has been the case since the beginning of the season. Will stop there to stay within the board's policy!

I was at that Giselle in Rome (or more accurately at this cast's other performance), and Ashley Bouder, seen from the right angle, was in no way lumpish. I'm not sure comparing her to Somova makes any sense, especially in this role (from body type to training and tradition there's no comparison, and I found it hard to even compare Obraztsova and Bouder, both performing in the same production last week). On the other hand, Bouder was particularly extraordinary in the second act in Rome. The Youtube clips are very bad quality, but if someone has seen both Bouder and Somova in the same role live, let's hear it...

The 1st Shade (petite blonde) was Elizaveta Cheprasova! And I'm still mourning the absence of Lopatkina from this future DVD, I must say, no matter how improved Somova is...

If I may go back to the original topic of Promotions, Simone Messmer announced on Twitter today that she had been promoted to Soloist. See her Twitter feed here Congratulations to her, and maybe more coming?

Dansomanie, a reliable French website, has just announced that Ashley Bouder and Gonzalo Garcia of the New York City Ballet would guest with the Paris Opera Ballet in Jewels for a single performance of Rubies, on November 12. This is terrific news ! They should bring much energy to the company. (I hope this is not considered gossip - Dansomanie gives casting in advance for every POB program, usually slightly before the company's website and with greater accuracy.)

Yes, bingham, she is not considered Swan Lake material by Russian standards - you have to be tall to dance the role in Saint-Petersburg these days (cf Lopatkina, Kondaurova, Tereshkina, etc).

Natalia, I believe Osmolkina is actually injured - one Russian board reports that Irina Golub will be second-cast Siyumbike in her absence, but since the Mariinsky website now signals the first cast, the second will likely be up soon.