Greatest character dancers in the ballet

[djb]

I also would put Radunsky, Yagudin and Taranda on the list. Another great Bolshoi character dancer of yore was Natalia Kasatkina. She can be seen as the gypsy woman in the excerpt from "The Stone Flower," shown in the movie "Bolshoi Ballet" (aka "Bolshoi '67"). I saw her live at the San Francisco Opera house in the '60s, and her solos would get as much applause and cheering as those of the principals. And then there was Vladimir Vasiliev, first in the film of "The Little Humpbacked Horse" and much later in "Anyuta."

As for the Royal Ballet, there are too many to list. Back in the '60s, when I saw a lot of Royal Ballet performances, I thought that every single dancer in the crowd scenes in "Romeo and Juliet" was a wonderful character dancer. But I loved Leslie Edwards and Desmond Doyle.

I saw an excellent classical dancer do my favorite Carabosse -- Parrish Maynard, formerly of the San Francisco Ballet.

[sorry -- at first I said Kasatkina was in "The Little Humpbacked Horse," but I corrected it.]

[Effy]

There can only be one answer The late great Henning Kronstam. he could do anything or anybody. His acting gift also was used for his long career as a classical dancer.

[Mme. Hermine]

I like Elena Sherstneva of the Kirov as well.

[JaneD]

Another ex-RB, but not as famous. Simon Horrill - simple-minded beggar in Manon who stroked the velvet cloaks as he put his thumb in his mouth, getting extremely sticky finishing off the cake crumbs in A Wedding Bouquet (almost upstaging Jenny Penney in her drunken solo) and - as seen on the Nutracker video - the only messenger who actually took the trouble to redden his nose and cheeks before delivering the abgel from Drosselmeyer's workshop.

Jane