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I really enjoyed Serenade last night - a very beautiful, evocative piece. Having seen a few Balanchine performances now, I've come to the opposite conclusion from previous commenters - I don't think I've seen any which haven't worked for me (ok - the Emeralds act of Jewels may not be his finest hour). Sweet Violets was rather a violent contrast, which I didn't feel worked very well as a programme arrangement, even with a long interval in between. As a first viewing I didn't enjoy it very much - I frankly didn't have the foggiest clue what was going on most of the time, and there wasn't actually a lot of dance to compensate for having a murky narrative. I spent the second interval on the ROH website on my phone to try and work out the plot! I think if you're going to create a piece which is almost entirely narrative with little choreography, you need to make sure your story can be clearly understood. That said, it did evoke the seedy Victoria atmosphere very well. DGV was another change of pace, but worked better. I liked both the choreography and the music, and it was superbly danced.

I found Sound Dance equally irritating - if I managed to switch my ears off for a few seconds the actual choreography was quite good, but the audio sensation overwhelmed everything else for me. I have tinnitus, which doesn't react well to that sort of noise, compounded by a tendency I've noticed before at Sadlers Wells to have the volume too loud for comfort. The first piece was good but maybe a bit bland - I wouldn't rush to see it again. I liked Dutiful Ducks quite a lot, and really enjoyed Rooster, the evening's crowd pleaser.

Having seen the Gartside/Nunez cast at last Saturday's matinee, plus the cinema broadcast, I generally found both casts delivered a great performance. I was hugely impressed with Bennet Gartside stepping into the lead role - I thought he did an an excellent job and his performance held its own with Watson's, which is a real compliment. i would agree with earlier comments regarding Muntagirov - for me his dramatic performance of the role slightly had the edge, although McCrae's dancing was superb. I think Muntagirov knows how to project a character to the amphitheatre through gesture and body language. I also really liked Beatrix Stix-Brunell in the Perdita role. I haven't seen much of her previously, and her performance had a very nice quality to it - a sort of soft feel.

I was surprised by that as well, as I wouldn't have said it was an obviously child-friendly production. In particular, the vividly acted scenes of passion among the statues which Leontes imagines are hardly suitable for the 7 - 8 year olds I saw in the amphi bar. Although I was very impressed by Nunez managing to act those scenes and do so much dancing with a baby bump attached!

New Bolshoi season has been posted: http://www.pathelive.com/fr/saisons/ballet-du-bolchoi-2014-2015 2014 DIM 26-oct LÉGENDE D'AMOUR (Direct) Melikov / Grigorovitch Nouvelle production DIM 23-nov LA FILLE DU PHARAON (Enregistré) - Pharoah's Daughter Pugni / Lacotte DIM 07-déc LA BAYADÈRE (Enregistré) Minkus / Grigorovitch DIM 21-déc CASSE-NOISETTE (Direct) - Nutcracker Tchaïkovski / Grigorovitch 2015 DIM 25-jan LE LAC DES CYGNES (Direct) - Swan Lake Tchaïkovski / Grigorovitch DIM 08-mar ROMÉO ET JULIETTE (Enregistré) Prokofiev / Grigorovitch DIM 19-avr IVAN LE TERRIBLE (Direct) Prokofiev / Grigorovitch

I really enjoyed it. The plot was clearly absolutely bonkers, even by ballet's fairly loose standards, but it was certainly a fantastic visual spectacle. The dancing was amazing, not to mention the costumes and the set. All 5 principals danced superbly. I thought David Hallberg came across with great charisma, and was a better actor compared to the other principals - in the scene at his house where the ladies are dancing, I found myself watching him just sitting in the chair, as he was reacting really convincingly. I could have probably done with a bit less act II - there seemed to be an absence of narrative, and a lot of what I would term "gala pieces". I found the continued mid-performance applause from the Russian audience during this section got a bit irritating; when you're sitting in a silent cinema and there are continued curtain calls mid-scene you start thinking get on with it! The narrative pace throughout was a bit strange, with the story shoved into about 5 minutes of mime, following 20 mins of pas de deuxs. The sudden appearance of a stage full of bandits in act III was also a bit peculiar - where did 20 lady bandits suddenly spring from? And why did his daughter go from being crushed by Dad turning out to be a villain and ruining her engagement at the end of act II, to being really happy to join in the bandit fun in act III? I feel a bit sorry for the dancer trying to make sense of that characterisation! But putting huge gaping plotholes aside, it was a really enjoyable performance. You have to be in awe of the sheer scale and ambition of it. I'm not surprised it hasn't yet been tried by other companies, it must cost an absolute fortune!

I really enjoyed this. I thought it worked really well as a fun, colourful, easy-to-follow ballet. I can easily imagine it as one people could take their children to, e.g. at Christmas. The principals were extremely impressive (I hope that doesn't sound patronising, but I haven't seen this company before and I wasn't quite sure what to expect). I liked David Bintley's choreography - there were some good solos for the principals, and the corps-de-ballet pieces were equally strong and worked really well from the upper circle. The chorus certainly worked hard! I particularly liked the water scene, with the jellyfish(?) and sea-horses. The only minor niggle was I'm not sure the score entirely works throughout as a ballet score.

There were some good pieces at Men in Motion - I really liked some of the German performances in that production (can't remember the names, sorry!). Although I was only half-sold on the Proust. They could also of course go down the route of performing excerpts from full-length ballets, e.g. Act III Sleeping Beauty; Don Quixote. Polunin performs a fairly modern piece called "Le Bourgeois", which I quite like. I was thinking last night that they would have better material if they included pieces with a male focus, but which do include a female role, as they did with Jeune Homme. Kobborg's Les Lutins would be a good male show-off piece if they would allow a woman to be included in the production.

Thoughts on tonight's performance: I actually quite liked Vestris when Valentino Zucchetti performed it for Men in Motion, so I think the issue was with the performer. I don't think he quite had the character and comic acting ability to sell it - certainly it got a polite, rather than enthusiastic, reaction from the audience. Roberto Bolle was the other disappointment for me. I've never seen him perform before, and having seen him I'm struggling to see what the fuss is about. I think he may have shot himself in the foot with his choice of choreography. I liked the start of his piece, and was really interested to see how a video screen could be combined with dance, as I still think there's a lot of potential in this form. It went rapidly downhill! I detested the video footage of his torso in close-up ("the perfume ad", as I mentally termed it), and generally the piece had no coherency or emotion. At the other end of the scale, the stand out star of the evening was without doubt Vasiliev. He was absolutely outstanding - one of the most dazzling performances I've seen. Overall I think the evening was a mixed bag. I didn't really like the overall production - I'm no fan of short performances mixed with multiple long intervals. The first piece was fine, and skilfully danced (Gomes also gave a good performance throughout the evening), but I thought a bit weak to kick-off the show, especially when followed by a long break. The pieces didn't really gel for me, and I think the choice of so many pieces with complex sets requiring time to change over was not good in the context of the evening. More dance and less interval would have been good! The comments I heard around me at the end were extremely positive. I think people were blown away by the skill of the dancers - my feeling is Vasiliev really brought the level of the whole production up with his performance. I was left a little disappointed, considering the calibre of the dancers.

Last night was the first time I've seen Sleeping Beauty in full, although I've seen snippets before. I have to say I didn't actually go in with very high expectations, and I absolutely loved it. It was whimsical and magical, and probably one of my favourites out of the ballets I've seen. I felt the corps looked a little ragged in places, and I wasn't too sold on Laura McCulloch as lilac fairy. Steven McCrae was wonderful in the 3rd act solos - he managed to blend in (so to speak) throughout the rest of the ballet, so it was as if he'd suddenly unleashed his technique! I thought the fact he blended with the rest of the cast for most of the ballet was a good response to the criticism a few weeks ago that he stole the show with his powerful performance in the mixed bill (Ashton piece in the first section - I forget the name). I think this is the first time I've seen Sarah Lamb live. She struck me as very pretty and delicate on first appearance - in the pink tutu with the blond hair, very suitable for fairytale ballets. I felt her performance was ok, but didn't wow me. I was right up in the amphi, so may have missed any more subtle acting, which could possibly have sold me a bit more. I didn't get a sense of the stage presence and personality which really grab my attention with some principal dancers. Overall though, I really enjoyed the whole performance, which was very well received by the audience.

Alina and Johan probably get my vote for best performance of the night. It was also great to see the Daria and Vadim partnership, plus a rare chance to see Zelensky (not sure where he had got to come the final curtain call?). Kimin Kim was very striking in Diana & Acteon, and seemed to go down very well with the audience, especially considering he's not well known in London (as far as I'm aware). Marian Walter didn't seem to be on good form (I think I spotted a few wobbly landings), which is a shame as he's been brilliant when I've seen him before. Polunin was ok but not at his amazing best I don't think, which I put down to his dislike of galas and an inexperienced partner. Diamonds with Soares and Nunez was also a bit so-so. Overall quite a mix, as Balleteacher says.

I remember this being an issue last year - the promoters seem to put star names on the bill before final confirmation they're appearing has been received. It's really frustrating, and makes it difficult to tell who you will actually be seeing.

4 performances! I am in awe of your dedication

I'm so pleased I got tickets for this, this is an amazing cast list

Gloria was probably my favourite piece of the three tonight - I felt it was much the best choreography and worked best as an overall performance. Acosta gave a very strong performance. As others have mentioned, Steven McCrae was outstanding in Rhapsody. I do see what people mean about him stealing the show and overpowering the rest of the piece, but that's not a problem for me particularly as Rhapsody didn't wow me, apart from the male solos. I think if you take away a brilliant performance from the male lead, the remaining piece would be fairly insipid and un-noteworthy, in my opinion. As for Tetractys, with all due respect to the dancers, I thought it was absolutely dire. The costumes and set design appeared to date from the 80's, and the choreography was so dull and flat. As a piece, it evoked nothing for me. Normally in abstract pieces you can work out little stories happening and characters emerging, get a sense of emotion and atmosphere. With this, there was nothing, just half an hour of people making shapes with their bodies in a way which didn't connect with the audience or the other performers. Skill-level of the dancers aside, it was a standard of production which I would have just about accepted in a young choreographer, just starting out and learning their trade, in a small fringe theatre where I'd paid £5 for entry. As a piece presented at the Royal Opera House to represent the cream of British modern ballet, it was unforgiveable. I'm considering stopping attending these 3-in-1 programmes. The length of the intervals compared with length of performance is tiresome, and I'm not convinced they work as a format for the evening.

Interview in the Daily Mail: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/you/article-2551693/Ballets-new-boy-wonder.html It's a slightly odd interview - it comes across as the Daily Mail decided to send a teenage intern to interview him, rather than anyone who knows anything about dance. It's a bit...giggly.

I made it around 2hr 20 mins on the iPlayer version for War & Peace. Swan Lake section was a lot later on - just after the speeches, if I remember correctly.

I really enjoyed the performance tonight, I thought it was a terrific programme, with very few low-points. The audience comments I overheard were very positive too, so it seems to have gone down well generally. Highlights for me: 3 by D was probably the stand out piece overall. Great choreography, which told a story really well. Edward Watson seems so well suited to this kind of performance, he can put across both the dance and the drama perfectly. I also really liked Vadim's debut in Spectre de la Rose, and Marijn Rademaker's solo to a bluesy-type number. The glittery piece with the disco suit was great fun and went down really well with the audience, although would maybe be better if cut a little shorter. Low-point: I could quite happily go with never seeing Apres-Midi D'Un Faun again.

Jewels today was fabulous. One great advantage of the cinema screenings is how much closer it brings you to the stage (at least compared with my normal cheap seat I would definitely recommend the Bolshoi's performance of Emeralds over Royal Ballet's, which I found rather lacklustre just before Christmas. However, RB's Rubies was much better - the Bolshoi lacked the necessary pizazz to put across the personality and comedy. Steven McCrae delivered a great performance for RB in a very good role for him - the two Bolshoi principals were technically excellent, but I felt didn't have the drama or feel for the more American style of dance. Diamonds at the end was beautiful - perfectly executed by the principals and corps. Overall, I think I would give the Bolshoi performance the thumbs up ahead of RB, although both were very good (of course). This is possibly one ballet where it's worth splashing out for a better seat, as I found you can appreciate the quality of the dance much better closer up, and I think enjoyment of this ballet heavily rests on being able to appreciate the complexity and beauty of the pure dance.

I don't think I'll be returning to Coppelia in a hurry, unless the other versions have a lot more to offer. I found the group country dance scenes very tedious after a while - the choreography seemed very pedestrian and they didn't do anything to advance the story. A good performance by the Stanislavsky however, with strong performances from Polunin and (I think) Mikirticheva. It's a shame they weren't appearing in a better production - the Stanislavsky showed they could deliver strong dancing, sets and costumes, so lets hope they return next year with a more sophisticated ballet.

I'm really shocked, particularly at Alina's departure. It feels very sudden and abrupt, but I wish them both well for the future.

Polunin is supposed to be dancing the opening evening (11th) and the two weekend matinees (13th and 14th). The first two performances I believe with Kristina Shapran, and the final with Erika Mikirticheva.

Aileen - It's intended to be light and comic (in the Stanislavsky performances at least), although personally I find the Coppelius character quite tragic. It has a romantic storyline, but I wouldn't say it's sexual. It's brightly presented (e.g. pink and blue costumes) by the Stanislavsky and it has some big fun set-pieces, so I think would be quite enjoyable for children.

Photos from rehearsal posted by Andrej Uspenski: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.174438136053458.1073741830.110186705811935&type=1

Although I wasn't there (refunded my ticket), I believe the booing at ME was due to the quality of the production, rather than sensitivities about the material. I'm assuming the ovation on the first night was a tribute to the young dancer who took the lead on at short notice, and a recognition of the difficulties in the run-up to the show, which must have put a lot of pressure on the dancers. I don't think booing is ever appropriate (except for pantomime booing the baddie, as others have mentioned here). The problem is that even if you're disappointed with one or a handful of performers, because they're not putting effort in, are under-rehearsed or whatever, a theatrical production has hundreds of people working on it, both on- and off-stage. Those people might have done a fine job, and I hate to think how bad it would make them feel to hear something they've put so much work into get booed. Disappointment with a performance is better signalled by lacklustre applause, or in extremes leaving at the interval or immediately the curtain comes down.