Rosa

There are two versions of Peter Wright's production---one with Cojocaru and the other with Yoshida---are both productions the same? If not, which production is the Royal Ballet currently dancing?

There is also Peter Wright's second Nutcracker production created in 1990 for the Birmingham Royal Ballet. It was televised with (again!) Yoshia and Irek Mukhamedov. There are a few differences from the Royal Ballet version -- the nutcracker prince partners the Sugar Plum Fairy, the ending is more traditional. There are a few clips on youtube.

I was just going through the casting for the upcoming month at the Bolshoi, when I came by Evgenia Obraztsova's name as dancing Kitri on the 16th of October opposite Vladislav Lantratov.

She is also listed on the 'Guest Stars' page (in fact, she's the only one listed there)

In the same performance, Olga Smirnova will debut in the second grand pas variation (and her first performance with the Bolshoi will be a few days earlier in the Swan Lake pas de trois)

So apparently Evgenia is getting some more (deserved!) stage time, thank you Mr. Filin!

Some clips from Evgenia's guest appearance with the Bolshoi last month.

Act 1 Scene 1

Act 1 Scene 2

Act 2

Fledermaus1990

Simply lovely.

There are some Russian TV news segments on Hallberg joining the Bolshoi:

Thanks for the heads up, Natalia! I was hoping it would be released on this side of the pond.

A new article on Stiefel and the Royal New Zealand Ballet -- http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/arts/wellington-meets-a-dean-of-dance/story-e6frg8n6-1226159550383.

O/O is short for Odette/Odile.

I thought the "32 Fouettes" program with Samantha Bond, Deborah Bull and Derek Jacobi during the interval of the Swan Lake Prom performance very interesting.

*Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott

*Pearl in the Sand by Tessa Afshar

*Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

*A Chance to Die: the Life and Legacy of Amy Carmichael by Elisabeth Elliot

*The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

*The Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning

*Keep a Quiet Heart by Elisabeth Elliot

*Snow Angel by Jamie Carie

*The Two Princesses of Bamarre by Gail Carson Levine

*Miss Marple: the Complete Short Stories by Agatha Christie

*The Private World of Georgette Heyer by Jane Aiken Hodge.

Here is a nice segment on the premiere.

*Climbing the Stairs by Padma Venkatraman

*Rawhide Down: The Near Assassination of Ronald Reagan by Del Quentin Wilber

*We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed with Our Families: Stories from Rwanda by Philip Gourevitch

*Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay

*The Heroine's Bookshelf: Life Lessons, from Jane Austen to Laura Ingalls Wilder by Erin Blakemore

*One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia

*Bellfield Hall by Anna Dean

*The Robber Bridegroom by Eudora Welty

How lovely Obraztsova looks in those photos. Thank you, Marc!

She will make her debut as Juliet on May 21st -- http://www.mariinsky.ru/en/playbill/playbill/2011/5/21/1_1900/.

Most of the casting for the festival is now up at the Mariinsky site: http://www.mariinsky.ru/en/playbill/festivale/fest_2010_2011/ballet_fest_228.

Shklyarov has been promoted to principal.

It is well deserved. Many congratulations, Mr. Shklyarov!

On the Mariinsky website is a nice interview with Veronika.

http://www.mariinsky.ru/en/news1/interview/interview_part/

*Ever by Gail Carson Levine

*Number the Stars by Lois Lowry

I am currently reading The Enchanted Screen: The Unknown History of Fairy-Tale Films by Jack Zipes. So far it is proving to be a very fascinating read.

Congratulations to Natalia and Veronika!

*Lady Susan by Phyllis Ann Karr

*The Kingdom on the Waves by M. T. Anderson

*Farewell to Manzanar by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston

*Errol & Olivia: Ego & Obsession in Golden Era Hollywood by Robert Matzen

*Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

*Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale

*Sad Cypress by Agatha Christie

*From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E. L. Konigsburg

*Briar Rose by Jane Yolen

*The Door in the Hedge by Robin McKinley

*Castle in the Air by Diana Wynne Jones

*Why Shoot a Butler? by Georgette Heyer

*They Found Him Dead by Georgette Heyer

Thanks, coppelia. For the moment there is a video of Somova and Sarafanov in the latter half of Black Swan at La Scala. (When did the company start performing Nureyev's version?)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UklbC5tTbjA

Some casting changes: Kajiya replaces Seo, dancing with Hammoudi. And Riccetto is paired with Simkin.

*sigh* Simply gorgeous.

Mr. Hallberg is turning into ABT's international star it appears. According to his twitter, he was in Italy earlier this month performing at the Balletto dell'Opera di Roma in Sylvia with Polina Semionova. At the moment there are some nice clips on youtube of their performances.

*The Great Wide Sea by M.H. Herlong

*As Easy as Falling Off the Face of the Earth by Lynne Rae Perkins

*And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

*Deculturalization and the Struggle for Equality: A Brief History of the Education of Dominated Cultures in the United States by Joel Spring

*Green Dolphin Street by Elizabeth Goudge

*The Unnameables by Ellen Booraem

*The Giver by Lois Lowry

*Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi

*Elizabeth Gaskell and the English Provincial Novel by W. A. Craik

*The Bronte Novels by W. A. Craik

*Who Am I Without Him?: A Short Story Collection about Girls and Boys in Their Lives by Sharon G. Flake

From the Mikhailovsky website: http://www.mikhailovsky.ru/en/events/leonid-sarafanov-is-coming-to-the-mikhailovsky-ballet/