Who's dancing which performance?

[Treefrog]

How can one find out who will be dancing (okay, who is scheduled to dance) on a particular night? I know I have seen people discussing which night to get tickets for, based on who is dancing.

My question is a general one, but I am especially interested in the Bolshoi's run in Chicago (La Bayadere on Thursday evening, Nov. 14 and Swan Lake on Saturday evening, Nov. 16).

Thanks!

[Drew]

Sometimes newspaper ads include casting -- always check those first. Otherwise, the box office may have the information. In those cases, you can find it posted at the theater, and you can also try calling the theater and ask for it. (For a tour, like that of the Bolshoi, you are likelier to get information closer to the date of the performance.)

In my experience, the people who answer the phone when I call theaters asking for loads of casting information sometimes get a little frustrated -- they want me to ask about just one date or just one dancer -- but I suspect that's as much because they are embarassed at reading a bunch of names they don't know how to pronounce as anything else, and if you are patient and nice about it, they will be too.

It's good to keep in mind, though, that casting, even in the best of circumstances is never certain. With the Bolshoi and Kirov on tour over the years, I have seen many casting changes made at the last minute...

[Alexandra]

For what it's worth, on the Bolshoi's most recent visit here, they were 100% reliable on casting. (I agree with Drew that casting is often unpredictable, and there are no guarantees, but there were no surprises.)