MAB

I'm afraid all promising young male dancers are said to be the latest Nureyev. Pre Nureyev they were compared with Nijinsky. Only when Polunin dances M&A and the applause lasts from 20 to 40 minutes will I consider he might be worthy of the Nureyev mantle.

My memories of this ballet go back to the original cast and I've seen at least five companies dance it but I've never heard anything other than minor differences of tempi, nothing to make me note a major change. I've noticed a couple of minor differences of approaching certain roles though.

And yet nowhere near as dysfunctional as the Kirov, but so far they have kept their scandals under wraps, though that may change soon.

That is beyond disgusting. After Filin publicly stated that Tsiskaridze wasn't responsible and that he knows who his attacker is, Ikasanov accuses Tsiskaridze of wrecking the career of Gennady Yanin, one of his closest friends. Ikasanov has tried to get rid of Tsiskaridze ever since he had the temerity to question the high cost and shoddy workmanship of the Bolshoi Theatre restoration. He wasn't the only one to raise those questions, but he was the one critic with a very high public profile who attracted the most media interest in what was undoubtedly a major scandal. This settling of scores in the public arena is astonishing; could anyone imagine a general administrator of ROH behaving in this fashion? Of course not, there is something very wrong here.

I'm getting really upset with the allegations against Tsiskaridze with the press acting as judge, jury and executioner, this German article is even worse than the rubbish I've read in the British press. Someone is really punishing him for being outspoken in the past. The idea of Nikolai Tsiskaridze stalking Filin with a jar of acid is as bizarre as picturing Bambi toting an AK-47.

What about non-Londoners? One of my friends comes down to performances from Nottingham and almost needs running shoes to get back to the station on time. Perhaps if the stalls circle bar was re-opened people wouldn't have to queue so long for a drink and there used to me more loos dotted around the building at one time too. Frankly I'm not a fan of the changes made to the front of house. The changes needed were backstage and surely with the new arrangements set changes are simplicity itself as each is simply wheeled over from the side of the stage. Unless something goes wrong, they don't need 30 minutes to stike a set.

Was that the best picture they could find of Tsiskaridze?

I've a feeling that won't prove a popular choice with the Parisians.

Congratulations to her. A wonderful dancer though we rarely had the opportunity to appreciate her talent in London, perhaps the company should consider providing her with a bodyguard though.

No Krysanova or Antonicheva and no Gudanov either.

You're quite right, but it was at the instigation of Sol Hurok, the American impressario. It was a long time before the concept of marketing classical performers caught on here.

Actually the concept of 'marketing' performers was unknown in Fonteyn's day - she made it on her own merits.

Boycott the company?!!! On second thoughts, please do as it will leave more tickets available for us Bolshoi fans.

Don't like the speculation in that article. The disgusting business that prevented poor Gennady Yanin from becoming director was not down to what is described by Mackrell as the 'conservative wing'.

It's happened to me twice, once when the dancer I'd planned to see in Paris was seriously injured and I went because the ballet he was appearing in was an major work I'd never seen before. In general I'm more interested in ballets than dancers, but that particular dancer was a friend. The second time was when the Kirov cancelled a series of performances in Switzerland, but as it was over Easter when I would have gone away anyway, I used my air ticket to take a short break in Alsace. I'm not so well heeled that I could afford an expensive trip if things had fallen through and would definitely attempt to cut my losses and try to secure refunds where possible. btw, the flurry of returned tickets that show up here after major cast changes suggest a lot of people do the same even when air and hotel expenses aren't involved

The guy in question was a fan of Kondaurova's and backed out of an expensive trip because she was a no-show. If I had planned a round trip of over 500 miles to see someone special and I subsequently heard they would not appear I would have done the same thing, and I travel around the UK and Europe to watch ballet a LOT.

Actually a friend who saw that performance was telling me about it yesterday in terms of what I would call rather outright languge: he didn't mince his words.

I really hope this turns out all right for you, I can imagine the turmoil you must be feeling. best wishes Mary B.

Thanks so much for posting that link, I really enjoyed reading what he had to say and I think he covers everything regarding an artist's response to critics. I've always liked Peter Donohoe's playing and never realised he was equally engaging in print!

Not altogether true, when Ballet.co sent me an email for their fundraising drive I was happy to contribute because I enjoy reading the the news and comments that the site provides.

That's a good point, there is no one writing today that comes anywhere near to writers such as Percival, Buckle, or Coton.

Are you writing here out of vanity? Most that write for nothing do so to share their enthusiasm for an art form they love, personally I don't see how vanity comes into that.

I'm still mulling over that 500 Swan Lakes comment. Do people actually count them?

Some of the casting looks a bit strange to me. Very sad to see Thibault not cast as Basilio, he is very good in the role.

As O & V left the Bolshoi acrimoniously, I think the chance of their returning as guests are just about zero. They will almost certainly dance with the Mikhailovsky earlier in the year though.