Mashinka

I'm trying to see a bright side of this, like Somova leaving post haste for Moscow and not appearing with the Kirov in London this summer. Seriously though, would the Moscow audience stand for that? They are a vociferous bunch and I know of principal dancers having brooms thrown at them on stage or having someone let off an alarm clock during a solo. If they do that to their own, what could Somova expect?

OMG !!! This is astonishing; there must be turmoil in the company at this. My great fear is that he will fill the company with Somovas. I can substantiate this, a friend was sent a website via a Russian dancer last week filled with pornographic images, of course they may be photo-shopped but it seems some one was the victim of a hate campaign. Leaves a bad taste doesn't it? As for Nikolai Tsiskaridze it's true there were personality clashes with Ratmansky, but from a talk I attended that Ratmansky gave in London a couple of years ago, their differences of opinion didn't affect their professional dealings. Also it is worth remembering that Tsiskaridze was a very regular guest at the Kirov during Vaziev's tenure and I believe they got on well so there is no reason at this point to think there will be problems between them. Surprised that Yan Godovsky is the new deputy director as he is relatively young. He is a first class dancer and a very talented teacher (I've seen him teach) but perhaps too nice for such a tough job: I wish him good luck as he'll need all the luck he can get.

On Friday I got to see Alagna as Radames for myself when he appeared in the role at Covent Garden and it is difficult to understand why he was received so harshly in Milan if his singing was on a par with what I heard. The role’s big challenge is having to go straight on stage and sing Celeste Aida absolutely cold, so if nerves creep in a tenor could be off to a very poor start. Alagna sang it okay, but I wouldn’t call it a distinguished rendition, from then on though he just got better and better, even though there are punters that still claim his voice isn’t right for the Verdi roles. Alagna is popular in London and was extremely well received at the end, he looked happy at the curtain calls, perhaps relieved, as a friend put it, that no one booed him. It was quite a night with Borodina as Amneris and a newcomer Ludmila Monastyrska from Kiev as Aida, watch her name she’s going to be big. The downside is the production which is just horrible with a set piece of men being disembowelled by half naked women. It has ugly sets too with not the slightest hint that the location is Egypt; the producer David McVicar has an uneven track record but in the past I’ve tended to admire his ideas but he’s made this particular opera almost unwatchable.

Actually Yuri and Alexander Vetrov were not brothers, but I think they were related, maybe cousins though in Russia I believe it is common to refer to a cousin as a brother. Alexander has two half brothers currently dancing in the Bolshoi, Yegor and Roman Simachev. It is quite a dancing family as Alexander's father, Nikolai Simachev, had two brothers that also danced Alexander and Anatoly (the latter I remember as Espada back in the '70's). Presumably Alexander Vetrov took his mother's surname to avoid confusion. Unfortunately Vetrov was not on the UK tours, though I seem to remember Yuri Vasyuchenko and Maria Bylova. Anyway, regardless of personnel they were a terrific troupe and I saw them several times in London and even followed the tour to places like Canterbury and Oxford. From your description of the evening you are due a refund - go for it!

Hmm...here in the UK we have something called the Trades Description Act and disgruntled punters (such as yourself) could complain that 'Bolshoi principal' is a false trade description and therefore you could expect to be reimbursed for having laid out good money because you had been misled by the phoney advertising. The 'Stars of the Bolshoi' group that toured Britain in the 1990's was actually led by Natalia Bessmertnova, her sister Tatiana and brother in law Mikhail Gabovich. The rest of the dancers were much younger and went on to do great things, off the top of my head and without referring to old programmes I clearly remember Inna Petrova and Elena Adrienko, so the standard was pretty high and with Bessmertnova leading the company no one could quibble over the term 'Stars'.

Actually this particular ballet is some sort of co-production with the Canadian Ballet, but I don't know the details of how that is likely to work. Presumably Canadians are guaranteed seeing it in the near future.

Roland Petit's Clavigo: they kiss, fall to the floor, roll and then regain their feet with their lips locked together throughout. The audience loves it and nothing else in ballet can compare (French of course).

Scherbakov's treatment is heart breaking, one of the finest male dancers the company has produced in the past couple of decades and almost totally ignored. I was under the impression that Zubkovsky no longer dances (can anyone confirm that?) but there is always confusion on the Kirov web site as to just who is and who isn't a company member, I was confused as to the status of Ayupova for some time before the confirmation that she had left. I would like to point out that both Osmolkina and Obrastzova are not officially principals even though they have both danced leading roles for some years, when you consider that both are longer serving company members than Somova her early promotion becomes completely inexplicable. Osmolkina and Obrastzova are in demand as guests around the world whereas apart from former Eastern Block countries and her former mentor’s new fiefdom in Milan, Somova is not. So what’s going on here?

Is this a first? http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/8337522/Man-shot-dead-for-eating-popcorn-too-loudly-during-Black-Swan.html

Since the question is asked of me, I will answer it. I do not boycott Somova's performances as she frequently dances in mixed programmes and is occasionallly partnered by both Igor Kolb or Denis Matvienko, two dancers I greatly admire, however I would avoid her whenever possible. I last saw her dance about eighteen months ago, the last time she danced in London, when I watched the final act of Sleeping Beauty from the wings (close enough for you?)at Covent Garden. It was the closing performance of their season, a season she had opened to disastrous reviews and it was the only season I can recall when the now traditional ROH last night flower throw did not take place simply because no one chose to support it. I have actually watched this dancer from the beginning of her career and have been dismayed by her meteoric ascent within the Kirov ranks on the basis of so little talent, that she is hard working I will not deny as I have seen her dedication in class, but sadly hard work alone can't produce a great dancer. This sounds to me like the language of the playground: Natalia is not my 'friend' simply because she has similar views to me. Indeed I do not know the lady, not even her surname, nor have I ever met her or corresponded with her, Natalia's opinions are her own just as mine are mine and I form my own opinions based on what I see. That so many ballet goers have formed an aversion to Alina Somova has nothing to do with me and everything to do with the 'product' on offer.

Not so much ill-will as truthfulness, but else where on the web it has been a different story as for years there has been a concerted effort by trolls to flood the internet with lavish praise and phoney reviews, the latter quickly removed on the more responsible sites when their provenance became apparent.

Are you seriously saying that a dancer considered by audiences and her peers as a bad joke is the world's best? I have also seen classes by the Bolshoi (and Kirov) and watched both companies over a period of 37 years and in that time I have never seen in either company a principal dancer so lacking in line, musicality, technique, acting ability and artistic taste. The only ability she has over others is the ability to display her crotch at every opportunity no matter how inappropriate choreographically. She has become a byword for low standards and tasteless presentation and in her last London performances was greeted with a scarcity of applause that marked a nadir in the long-standing appreciation of Russian dancing in that city.

A couple of things regarding the last post, Le Parc by Prelocaj is a work of genius, though I'll admit it may well be beyond the abilities of the Kirov. Going to Milan? it won't be simple, a friend went to see Sylvie Guillem there last week and told me the tickets cost a fortune and when he booked he was expected to give his passport number as security. To me that is outrageous, what right has a *!*!ing theatre got to ask for someone's passport number just to book a ticket? I was seriously thinking of going to see this, but after being told about La Scala's methods I've changed my mind.

Critics are a different species from audiences as a whole, and I'm sure that the ABT dancers went home happy in the knowledge that if some of the critics were less than generous, those of us that paid for their seats were very enthusiastic indeed. On the first night of the second programme in particular the applause was exceptionally appreciative and in the Tchaikovsky pas de deux Herman Cornejo had the audience going wild. Some criticism was justified as I felt the first programme wasn't well balanced and I had issues with the standard of the instrumentalists, but there was a lot to admire.

Generally speaking they were a bit harsh on Programme 1 but a little kinder to Programme 2. I saw both and pretty much enjoyed what I saw, but those critics that found fault with the instrumental playing on the first night have a valid point.

The responses here are remarkably similar to those of the Guardian readers: rather divided. Thanks for mentioning Orlando Bloom though, an actor so one dimensional that I had very successfully managed to block him from my memory. Compared with Bloom, Reeves is a master of the thespian art!

Leaving out Handel bothers me most, though I'm not sure if he enjoys the same degree of popularity in the US as in Europe where he is a staple of both the opera house and concert hall. Looking at the names included on the list I wondered if they were chosen because of their influence on the music of their day. Wagner was hugely influential where other composers were concerned and Debussy and Stravinsky both signalled changes in attitudes to music, but if that was the case where are the likes of Monteverdi, Josquin des Prez or even Hildegard of Bingham? I'm sure that a personal top ten would be a different set of names to ten most important and few would omit Tchaikovsky, but is one's taste in music led by intellect or emotion? And by the way, Vivaldi should have made that list too.

I'm intrigued to learn this ballet has now undergone revisions. I saw Caligula in Paris shortly after the premiere a few years ago and in that form it certainly was not worth travelling 40+ miles to see. It was indeed and that one passage rescued the ballet from being a turkey as far as I'm concerned.

In the UK there is a perception that Keanu Reeves is a really bad actor, something that I personally find hard to understand, after all if someone has starred in films as diverse and popular as Bill & Ted etc. and The Matrix they can’t really be that bad. The Guardian interviews Reeves and readers add their thoughts afterwards, mixed views but overwhelmingly positive. It is an informative interview and I had no idea about the level of tragedy in his personal life. http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2011/jan/13/keanu-reeves-henrys-crime In the added comments at the end there are some suggestions as to who really is the worst film star around, all American, but surely the accolade must go to Britain for producing the most execrable “star” out there as there is no one as awful and totally useless as Keira Knightly, who is to acting what Alina Somova is to dancing. Perhaps we could have a poll on who is the worst actor/actress or would that be considered bad taste?

And Ricky Gervais was his usual naughty self.......... http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2011/jan/17/ricky-gervais-golden-globes-host

The Guardian always has good tributes to popular film stars. Here is their obituary. http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2010/nov/29/leslie-nielsen-obituary His career in photos: http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/gallery/2010/nov/29/leslie-nielsen-career-pictures-photographs?intcmp=239 Random quotes generator (keep clicking as some get repeated) http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/interactive/2010/nov/29/leslie-nielsen-random-quote-generator?intcmp=239

I plan on seeing the new Nutcracker production by Wayne Eagling for English National Ballet that replaces a version that was pretty much detested by all. The cast I will aim for is the one headed by Elena Glurjidze, a true ballerina of astonishing gifts and a Kirov trained dancer that never got to dance with the Kirov, which goes to show just how ropey the selection process in St Petersburg has become.

That's an impressive pet!!!

I pre-ordered this from Amazon and expected it to be delivered this week, yesterday I received a message from amazon saying: "We regret to inform you that the following items have been delayed as we are still awaiting stock from our suppliers...." The new delivery date is 17th December.

I also saw Caroline Cavallo in La Sylphide, but at the Bournonville Festival in 2005. She was a revelation to me, exactly as I imagined the role ought to be danced and I was moved to tears for the first time at this ballet when her Sylph died. As in other roles I've found her grasp of the Bournonville style remarkable for a non Dane.