capybara

ENB has twittered that, in place of Daria Klimentova, Ksenia Ovsyanick will dance Medora with Vadim Muntagirov as Conrad on Saturday 19th October in Milton Keynes. This seems to imply, alas, that the injury Daria spoke about at the London Ballet Circle a fortnight ago is, indeed, keeping her off the stage at the moment. Ksenia will be lovely but here's wishing Daria a secure recovery.

Alina's 23 performances this season with Hamburg Ballet have been referred to on another thread. She is also dancing with ABT next summer: May 24th - La Bayadere; June 21st - Giselle; June 27th Swan Lake.

I am concerned both for Alina's well-being and for her expectant audiences here and abroad. She is cast for 8 Le Corsaires and 6 Nutcrackers for ENB up to the end of the Company's Christmas/New Year season at the Coli and she will surely be appearing in Le C in Manchester also, in the Lest We Forget quad bill in April, and in Coppelia in July. Moreover, she has already danced 2 R&Js in Tokyo and at a gala in Moscow, with another such gala to come. And that's not counting any assignments with ABT. I just hope that she remains healthy and free from injury. Regarding contractual arrangements - isn't it the norm for dancers taking time out from their home company to dance elsewhere to have their salaries deducted in proportion to the number of days they are away?

No, you're not, Aileen. Along with everyone who has posted here so far you are simply saying how Don Q was for you - and that is resulting in a very interesting thread with more longer 'reviews' than is often the case.

I think that the amazing technique of the numerous Russian ballerinas we have seen as the Queen of the Dryads has caused us to underestimate the many challenges this variation presents.

I'm an inveterate Don Q fan - Bolshoi, Mariinsky, Mikhailovsky and Baryshnikov's version for ABT (bring them on !) - and approached the new RB staging with keen anticipation. I wasn't mad on the 1993 attempt (design rather than dance issues) or the 2001 production after Nureyev, but this RB show was meant to be different. Carlos had, if I recall correctly, spoken of tightening the scenario, ironing out some of the mime and, above all, ensuring that the RB dancers "danced like they've never danced before". I didn't not enjoy last night's performance (McCrae/Salenko) but, Steven's stunning performance apart, felt that the production and it execution lacked the necessary vital spark - indeed, the curiously muted re-orchestration, the pastel palette used for so many of the 'village' costumes, the lighting (which in a very un-Spanish fashion left faces and buildings partially in shadow), the over-long prologue, and Kitri's tame side-front entrance seemed to have a life-draining effect on the proceedings. The story-line did have greater clarity in places but why, then, have those eye-catching urchins breaking into and through the narrative at key moments and why have two Dons on stage for the dream sequence when one would have sufficed? The moving or over-dominant scenery was an unwelcome distraction as well - giving the Act 1 stage a very cluttered feel and drawing attention away from the action in Act 2. I also found the new choreography for the corps somewhat repetitive with a lot of dancing round in circles. And, in my view, the shouting does not compensate for a lack of vibrancy or variety in the steps. Unlike some others here, I'm not sure that the usually fine Gary Avis and Tom Whitehead quite have the measure of their characters as yet. Yuhui Choe as the Queen of the Dryads, most unexpectedly, failed to shine through the technical demands of her variation. Valeri Hristov, Itziar Mendizabel, Kristen McNally and Bennet Gartside did not come across sufficiently strongly to me, partly because the choreography for them at times seemed to lack gusto. In contrast Anna Rose O'Sullivan made the most of Amour in what was surely her debut in a named role. Indeed she, Luca and Kenta as urchins (unfortunately not credited on the cast sheet), Dawid and Valentino in supporting roles, and Yasmine, Olivia, Beatriz, Romany and Mayara among others in the crowd noticeably displayed the kind of energy Carlos said he was seeking - and I craved for more of. There's no denying that Iana Salenko was well-matched with Steven and danced beautifully. But on this, her first outing as an RB guest, she lacked the essential warmth and joie de vivre of Kitri. Maybe she will feel more relaxed and 'in the role' on Tuesday. To end on a high note. A huge bravo and thank you to Steven whose excellent characterisation and superlative dancing as Basilio were a joy to behold. He not only sent me home smiling but, despite my reservations, left me looking forward to future performances with other casts.

And don't forget, everyone, that ENB's new Corsaire is on down the road in Milton Keynes the same week. Too much to fit in!

I'm sorry, Tony - not as far as I'm concerned. One day, I know, she will be simply sublime as Giselle.

Sooooo delighted that Yuhui is cast as Aurora at last.

Yes - it looks like Fernanda. There is a lovely photo of a handsome, bearded Vadim and Daria on Vadim's twitter account.

This interesting and informative ENB event included inputs from: Anna-Marie Holmes who is staging Le Corsaire and who, many years ago, purchased redundant sets and costumes from the Bolshoi in order to stage the ballet for her then company (Boston Ballet) Gavin Sutherland, Music Director, who has edited the music for ENB's production Jose Martin, Principal Repetiteur Al Richards, Technical Director and Jane Pritchard, ENB archivist who set the scene and interviewed the panel. It is difficult to encapsulate here everything that was said but I think that we can expect an exciting ballet with a scenario still including the shipwreck but in a somewhat different order to that used by the Mariinsky During the second part of the evening, Laurretta Summerscales (Gulnare) and Junor Souza (Lankendem) were coached in their first act pas de deux by Anna-Marie Holmes and Jose Martin. The audience were left keenly anticipating the opening in Milton Keynes on 17th October.

I know that this is going off topic but I absolutely agree about Elena - as do a number of posters on this site. She does have a number of Nutcacker shows, though - and fingers crossed that she will be cast for Juliet at the RAH in June. However, I am sorry to learn that you will longer support ENB, QueenBee. The dancers need (and so much deserve) our continued interest.

The news about Caroline Thompson is much to be welcomed, not least because her continuing in the position she has occupied on an interim basis avoids the risk of more turbulence within ENB. Having read both the job description online and the press release above, I remain somewhat unclear as to what the role of Producer actually entails and what it is intended that his outputs and impact will be. It will be interesting to see what transpires.

According to an e-mail from Sadlers Wells this film, starring Cindy Jourdain (ex ENB and RB) and Arionel Vargas (ENB), will have its premiere at SW on 5th November and will be in cinemas from 8th November. Good news!

It was so good that the theatre was full to support this worthy cause. Agree about Steven's tap dancing - fabulous - and Jim Carter (Carson from Downton) put in a sterling performance as the auctioneer. Interestingly, all the major UK ballet/dance companies were represented on stage, most of them by YBSS alumni. And, yes, Sergei did dance (Solor's variation from La Bayadere).

A reminder that Matthew is guesting as Tamara's partner in ENB's Le Corsaire as follows: Southampton: 23rd and 26th October Oxford: 30th October Bristol: 29th November London Coli: 11th, 16th and 18th January

Without wishing to take sides here, this feels like an impossible situation for all parties. Mr Urin, who seems (as is pointed out) to be adopting a Gergiev style of Directorship, will surely need to deploy quite extraordinary diplomatic skills if Sergei and Nikolai are to be enabled to coexist in a manner which is good for the Company.

I saw Xander dancing at the Mariinsky earlier this year and, as others will no doubt testify on the basis of his appearances in London recently, he has come on by leaps and bounds. And he is reputedly debuting as Siegfried this coming year. But, if I were in Kevin's shoes, I would be keeping a close watch with a view to his coming in as a First Soloist initially.

Does anyone have any information about ENB School graduates?

Vadim Muntagirov has. Leonid Sarafanov has. The question is whether Kevin shopped widely and assiduously enough

As Pas de Quatre says, it is really a PR article - quote: "In a new Don Quixote, Marianela Nunez will show why she's queen at Covent Garden". However, and although we probably know most of it, the author does a really good job in reinforcing the dance and personal qualities we love in Marianela. And it is nice for her that she is being given the prominence she has long deserved and someone is calling her "the company's most accomplished star".

As we are unable to access material in The TImes/Sunday Times on here, I thought that I would mention the existence of this article [edit: about Marianela Nunez] while there was time to catch the hard copy today.

Interesting to see the spacious, modern studio in the context of BRB's claim to need new ones and to have the oldest studios among the country's leading ballet companies. Clearly noone from that company has seen the difficult and cramped conditions in which ENB rehearses.

Tamara and Carlos are cast for ENB's Derek Deane R&J at the RAH on the 11th, 13th, 15th and 17th June 2014. No news on other casting yet.

Re post #10 - hasn't enough been said already under other threads about Ivan Vasiliev guesting with the Royal Ballet? I have to say that I do not want him to.