Mashinka

Out of interest, is it common for theatres to be named after donors in the US? In the UK if theatres are named after someone it's usually theatrical luminaries, Ashcroft, Gielgud. Olivier etc. With arts funding drying up and organizations trawling around for sponsors that may change though.

I rather liked the sweet little goat in the Kirov's Awakening of Flora, a perfectly behaved creature. Back in the 1960's the Royal Opera had a catastrophe when the camels engaged as extras in Moses und Aaron went through the stage. I've seen the Mikhailovsky Spartacus on tour but they didn't bring their tiger. Personally I have mixed feelings about the use of animals on stage, but have enjoyed the acrobatics performed by dolphins and seals at various aqua parks; perhaps they think they are onto a cushy number as by performing a few tricks they get all the fish they want for little effort.

You have a point about the seasonality of the work, yes it has that Christmas tree, but Giselle is also specific to one season of the year so why isn't Giselle just danced in the autumn?

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the untimely death of Jimi Hendrix who used to live at 23 Brook Street, the house where the great baroque composer George Frideric Handel also lived. As a great lover of Handel's music who wasn't averse to listening to Hendrix way back then, I've visited the Brook Street Handel Museum and there were always exhibits commemorating Hendrix's tenure too, so the article is a bit misleading in that respect. http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/gallery/2010/aug/24/jimi-hendrix-in-britain-exhibition-handel-house-museum#/?picture=366059514&index=0 For those unfamiliar with Hendrix this article tells you most of what you need to know about his career. Listen to Purple Haze and you'll understand what the fuss is about. http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2010/aug/08/jimi-hendrix-40th-anniversary-death

He certainly raised the company profile and gave them international status, but they were already pretty damn good before he took them on.

In the UK and throughout Europe the arts are supported by government as it is generally thought that the arts both educate and civilize and therefore enrich the lives of the general public. I suppose relying on wealthy donors comes at a very high moral price as almost all wealth is created by means most would consider reprehensible. I would say whether one attends these events or not is up to individual conscience.

Hilarion is definitely a stalker but I don't think Albrecht is as I tend to see him as similar to Mr Marlow in Goldsmith's play She Stoops to Conquer: at ease only with lower class women. As aristocrats in the past were raised entirely by servants, often meeting with their parents only for very short periods each day it wouldn't be that much of a surprise to see Albrecht attracted to the kind of girl he is most familiar with. Getting too friendly with a servant at home might cause a bit of a scandal resulting in the girl being sent away, but a pretty face in a village some way from the castle (better still, his fiancees castle) would satisfy his inclinations perfectly. At one time Hilarions always looked a bit rough or even significantly older than Giselle but that isn't so often the case now. As a rule of thumb Albrecht should always be better looking and possess a gentler manner than Hilarion otherwise you can spend the entire ballet puzzling over Giselle's choice. Anyone that ever saw Gediminas Taranda's Hilarion will know exactly what I mean.

I don't buy Ivan Vasiliev being 5'10". When I saw him in Le Corsaire it bothered me that he was the shortest pirate on stage and frankly I found the scene where he fights off the other pirates faintly absurd. Comparing him with the other dancers on stage I would guess he is around 5'6" or 5'7" (about the same as Baryshnikov) and Osipova about 5'3".

I've heard that the Kirov will in fact return to London next summer, I'm not exactly counting the days.

Last year I was very disappointed by the Kirov season and wondered if the almost indifferent applause at their performances meant that London was falling out of love with Russian ballet or whether like me the audience still remembered keenly the glories of the past. This year the Bolshoi earned a very different response with clamorous applause at the dozen or so performances I attended, even those without the big star names. Having a glamour couple like Osipova and Ivan Vasiliev meant they get the kind of publicity the Kirov can only dream of, but the company wasn't riding on the back of their fame as there was just as much enthusiasm for the other dancers. Personally I think there is a great deal wrong at the Kirov, perhaps illustrated by the fact that Kirov 'defectors' Loboukin and Mercuriev so obviously thrive at the Bolshoi after being underused in St Petersburg. Bear in mind that Alina Somova opened and closed last year's Kirov season and Ivan Vasiliev opened and closed the Bolshoi's this year and you start to understand the inevitability of the Bolshoi speeding ahead in the ballet-goers’ affections. I've always loved both companies for their different qualities and it saddens me that the Kirov is now in some sort of decline. Perhaps it is time to find a new director: FAST!

I love all of Byron and read Le Corsair to get some background to the ballet some years ago. By pure coincidence the Bolshoi has just finished a series of Corsaires in London and although the story line doesn't match what Byron wrote, I always feel the Bolshoi version has a more Byronic feel than other productions I've seen.

I saw him dance Kurbsky in Paris in 1991 with Alexander Vetrov (a hugely under-rated dancer IMHO) as Ivan and Maria Bylova as Anastasia. It was a matinee performance on a bitterly cold day with the audience as miserable as the weather but at the end I witnessed one of the most astounding ovations I've ever seen at the ballet with the audience almost going berserk applauding what they had seen. Taranda's dancing was a revelation but it wasn't just his technical ability, in the scene where Ivan chooses Kurbsky's beloved Anastasia as his bride I remember his whole body seeming to collapse inside and he slowly left the stage a totally broken man. Taranda didn't just dance his roles, he lived them. I too have all his videos and made great efforts to see him dance all over Europe, he is a larger than life character offstage too and I've always kept in touch with him. He still makes the odd appearance with his own company and is an inspiring coach. It would be impossible for me to contemplate a top ten that didn’t have the name of Gediminas Taranda on it.

The inclusion of Michael Clark is very odd, a good dancer and interesting choreographer to be sure, but I suspect only Jennings would put him on a best list. Amazed also at the inclusion of Nadezhda Pavlova, she invented the hyper-extension and would therefore only get on my list of ten worst.

Clearly Ashton couldn't disassociate Cinderella from the traditional pantomimes of his day and his love of pantomime dames is evident in La Fille Mal Gardee too. Whether his Cinderella will survive in its present form I don't know; elsewhere on the internet I've read some very hostile comments about the Ashton version though I have to admit that the present production is badly designed and a number of production details are getting lost along with the Ashton style of dancing. Add to that poor casting choices and you realise how badly the Ashton heritage is faring. Elsewhere I have a great fondness for Vladimir Vasiliev's Cinderella that I saw danced by the Kremlin Ballet in Paris with Vasiliev himself in drag as the step-mother wearing an outrageous mini skirt. Nureyev's version also features the step-mother played by a man: perhaps men are more suited to these grotesque roles.

One of the Mikhailovsky dancers told me they found the choreography of Slava Samodurov difficult, how they will cope with a modern dance festival I hate to think.

If it is true then that is a remarkably fast turnover of AD's as Ruzimatov was only there for a couple of seasons and it looks as if Mikhail Messerer won't be there for much longer. I question the wisdom of this though as the Mikhailovsky Ballet has little experience of modern work and a lot of contemporary dance doesn't appeal to Russian audiences. By the way does Duarto speak Russian? He'll find it an uphill task if he doesn't.

Having now seen Stashkevich in Coppelia I am happy to report some improvement since I saw her in Nottingham, most importantly she has shed the excess weight she had then. She was quite adequate as Swanilda but not the most musical of dancers, much better than I remembered though.

A Somova Mark II ? Suddenly I don't feel well

This will be Nikulina's first leading role in London, so she is an unknown quantity. Kaptsova is a lovely dancer, I'm sure she will be very good as Giselle. Unfortunately the cast changes mean I now get to see Nikulina unless I can get another ticket somehow. Returns are usually available on the day, though you may have to queue, but I think there should be a good chance of something turning up as most people booked their tickets months ago.

Roman Polanski will not now be extradited to the US proving yet again that the rich and famous are above the law. I made my feelings about this case very clear on another thread when he was first placed under house arrest, so instead of commenting myself I include this link from the excellent journalist Johann Hari whom I hadn't before now realized is actually Swiss himself. Please read it and ponder how little the concept of justice means in certain quarters. http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/johann-hari/johann-hari-so-thats-ok-then-its-fine-to-abuse-young-girls-as-long-as-youre-a-great-film-director-2025067.html

For all Osipova's jaw-dropping abilities, it's Alexandrova who is the real deal and I don't see that her being dropped without an explanation is good news at all.

The claque in Moscow is vile, taking backhanders and blackmailing dancers to pay up or risk disruption of their performances. I've seen them in action and they are scum.

I saw her dance in a gala in Nottingham a while back and wasn't alone in thinking her a weak link in an otherwise impressive line up. Why this dancer's career is flourishing is a mystery to me as I see no talent there at all. This is unusual at the Bolshoi as they have exceptional female dancers at all levels and recently I can't think of anyone else being prominently cast that wasn't up to scratch. Nevertheless I have a ticket to see her as she dances with Slava Lopatin, an outstanding classicist well worth watching in his own right. I'm completely gutted that Alexandrova has been dropped from this. As she is still dancing other roles and we can therefore assume she isn't injured, I think a management explanation is in order.

Yes I certainly do remember her as Fanny; I also remember an adorable little boy called Tobias with the same surname who was marvellous in the Kenneth Greve version of Nutcracker: is he her brother?

The Times has been suggesting that the occasion of his 70th birthday, might be a cue for giving him a knighthood. I don't see why not as all kinds of honours are scattered around like confetti of late. I once saw Ringo in the crush bar at Covent Garden back in the 80's, I thought 'that's Ringo Starr!' and did a sort of double take just as he looked up - our eyes met and he gave me a big smile, not something I'll forget in a hurry. The rise to fame of the Beatles was incredibly rapid and my big regret is that I never saw them live, though I did see most of the other big name groups at the time such as the Stones and Beach Boys. Quite recently I realized that I still remember most of the lyrics from most of the songs when I found myself singing Back in the USSR, to a group of Russian dancers in the middle of the night on the terrace of a hotel in Spain. Rather surreal looking back, but the dancers seemed to genuinely enjoy it.