Mashinka

Stepanova's lack of musicality would definitely disqualify her.

Interesting that some recommend outstanding productions and others outstanding casts. Sadly I know the two don't always coincide. There is an even earlier La Sylphide with Lucette Aldous, Flemming Flindt and Ballet Rambert. Personally I find it lovely but some might baulk at black and white. For a great performance catch the Bolshoi Raymonda with Gediminas Taranda's mesmerizing villain.

ROH has published a list of new promotions: http://www.roh.org.uk/news/the-royal-ballet-announces-promotions-for-2018-19-season?utm_source=social&utm_medium=twitter Matthew Ball's promotion can hardly be a surprise with his schedule of principal roles, at the other end of the scale I was pleased to see young Joseph Sissons move up a notch, he's a beautiful classicist, capable of dancing roles across the board. Congratulations to all.

The situation in London is much the same, possibly worse, ENB doesn't pay high salaries.

Definitely Cuni and Glurjidze too. The sticking point is musicality. My vote goes to Osmolkina.

My favourite Don Q. is the one with Tatiana Terekhova and Farouk Ruzimatov, it even has Asylmuratova as the street dancer. Agree 100% about the Australian Coppelia, a real must-have. Recommending a Nutcracker isn't so easy with such a range of productions, but the Kirov version with Lezhina is worth getting.

The BBC is sitting on a goldmine of ballet performances, the usual excuse for not releasing this material is the cost of royalties and copyright. On the other hand ROH is releasing DVD's left, right and centre, with three Giselles and two Swan lakes within less than ten years. I have a feeling Checkmate was recorded earlier with either Monica Mason or Maina Gielgud, either preferable to Yanovsky. The BBC produces wonderful box sets of past drama productions but nothing I know of featuring ballet or opera. Could the musicians union be the cause of the problem?

Thanks for the confirmation.

Tsvirko does have his fans though and one London fan I know was planning a trip to see him with the Bolshoi in Milan this autumn. I looked at Tsvirko's Facebook page and there was no announcement that he was leaving the Bolshoi, nor mention that he was joining the Hungarians which seems odd. If anyone has further news I'd like to hear it.

I'm a big fan of Alia Tanykpaeva, one of the company's leading dancers who bears some resemblance to her compatriot Asylmuratova. I saw her dance Kitri some years ago, but although I have a DVD of her in the role dancing with Taranda's company I can't find any clips of her in Don Q. on line. In fact I like her so much I might even consider going to see her if she should be dancing with Tsvirko. Maina Gielgud coaches this company, so expect the very highest of standards in anything she has had a hand in.

Am I right in thinking that Fonteyn's farewell performance was recorded in full? That included Symphonic Variations and I think the cast was Sibley/Dowell/Penney/Coleman/Porter/Eagling. Is that what you're alluding to? I remember thinking they did her proud that night. As the RB have no plans to celebrate Fonteyn's centenary next year, perhaps issuing that final performance on DVD would go some way to show she isn't entirely forgotten.

The La Scala Sleeping Beauty contains a lot of oddities and the extra choreography for the prince upsets the balance for me as the emphasis is to some extent taken away from Aurora. Giselle would be my preference though personally I'm not a Zakharova fan. As we're talking Giselle, this recently turned up on my Facebook page, now I expect everyone here has already seen it but I hadn't. So beautiful the rest of the world melted away as I watched it.

Neither of those. Osipova, Corrales & Nunez on the 5th should set the stage alight.

Believe me, those two are every bit as good as they are cracked up to be.

Why? And how do you know this? Is it in the public domain?

A pianist associated with a conductor, what's odd about that. I take it we are discussing Denis the pianist and not an oligarch with the same name.

Try the earlier RB version recorded with Makarova and Dowell in the leading roles. There is also an even earlier Act II only with Fonteyn and Somes available, but it gives a better idea of how that act should be danced rather than Markarova's excruciating slowness.

Back to the RB SL, I was made aware yesterday that although the punters seem to love it, those in the business most certainly do not. Interesting......

I don't think Laurent has anything to substantiate, Ilya Kuznetsov does run ballets schools and it is in the public domain that he aspired to the job Tsiskaridze now has.

That is a subjective view, Akram Khan throughout his career as a dancer, in both the contemporary and classical Indian style, was for me the finest British dancer in any genre. His choreography is superb and he has served ENB extremely well, first with 'Dust', then with Giselle, which is almost universally admired. ENB's Lest we Forget programme of which Dust was a part was very relevant as it was premiered in 2014 to mark the centenary of World War 1, many older people in Britain had fathers that fought in that war and they don't forget. All three ballets were beautiful and moving. I've found some film of Dust which is diminished here by the venue. The actual dancing starts around 3.44.

So do I.

Surely Bournonville technique, like any other, can be taught? The question is whether the teaching of this style is allowed priority. There was once an 'English' style at the RB and it was, in my opinion, vey beautiful. It is now all but lost due to emphasis on modern works and MacMillan rep at the expense of Ashton and the classics. I think there are a number of Danes capable of restoring Bournonville but it looks as if they won't get a chance.

An RT documentary of last year seemed to show her position as number two.

Holten's tenure at the Royal Opera in London was controversial because of the unpopular, inappropriate productions he commissioned, paradoxically his own productions (my favourite was King Roger) were nowhere near as bad. I personally feel there is far too much MacMillan in London, his 'overwrought' melodramas become tedious and we are force fed them at the expense of Ashton's inventive classicism.

Quite possibly, but of late I've not seen the dull parade of sullen stick insects the Vaganova used to produce pre-Tsiskaridze