Dancefan

Great! Thank you for all the v helpful russian posting. As the opera house website reflect none of those changes....

Oh that's annoying, I'd got a standing on the weds and was exited to see obratszova And so it starts, I guess, the shuffling...

I want to know who your favourite is though! That sounds quite a preference...

I always go for the dancer, i think it's like drinking wine; if you want something really special, you don't just pick a region and buy. There are particular vintage years, villages etc and the more you know about them, the better you can choose. Two thoughts though. Firstly, I think 'the star' is an off putting word. It sounds like you're going because they're 'famous' which isn't necessarily the case. Also I think part of the problem is the 'first night' structure. Critics are pushed into reviewing the leading couple - of course you do hear about stand out new dancers and performances, but it takes more work than just reading printed reviews. So leading dancers can keep their position de facto

I don't know Xander parish at all - how recommended does programme 1 come by everybody?

Yes Laura Capelle did that big piece in praise of obaztsova but she's not getting quite as much pick up elsewhere... That's for the times tip

Taking a ballet-sceptic boyfriend so not sure it would make me popular! But going by myself to la bayadere if anyone's around then

Ok ok so I've narrowed it down I think to see Alexandrova in swan lake Zakharova in sleeping beauty Smirnova in la bayadere Does that sound good? Bayadere is supposed to be one of zakharova's best roles but smirnova just won the benois with it, Oh these decisions are so tricky!!

Is that what it was? I thought curio was wearing white lipstick. How funny

With thanks to this forum, I got the pass code for half price tickets in the third row. BOSTONTRAVELZOO in the promo box . Yu could see if that's still working

Ooh yes she was good. I sort of wished they'd swapped her and th blonde dancer round in the first part. Also lia cirio was great :http://www.bostonballet.org/Company_Dancers/Dancers/Lia_Cirio.html

Oh... Go and see boston ballet if you can at the coliseum. Just got back from their performance tonight and it was stunning. Absolute precision among the dancers, it really was a masterclass in how Balanchine should be done + dancing together as a company. Oddly the group sections were more beautiful than the solos or pas de deux, which is a rare feeling. The other thing that stuck me was the dancers' physiques: they were physically fit women, not sticks. Go and see.

Thank you!

On a related but separate note - can anyone recommend which of the two stuttgart ballet programmes to see at sadlers wells ? Modern collection or taming of the shrew?

Does anyone know who is dancing tomorrow for Boston ballet?

What's smirnova's best role supposed to be? Jewels?

I think part of the problem is that you can't find who's dancing... Have tried googling and the info isn't anywhere as far as I can tell.

Have discovered there's half price off all tickets using BOSTONTRAVELZOO

I know, but youtube just doesn't have the same magic of real performances.... Nunez in bayadere doesn't look that amazing on tape but it is on stage

Oh yes - I'm definitely going to see her (in sleeping beauty with hallberg and smirnova as lilac fairy). But I had an expensive ticket to her swan lake too and wanted thoughts about just how special that was... Her aurora is good too, right?

All so very helpful! Thank you everyone! As Zakharova in Swan Lake is now DEFINITELY out the window, can I ask whether you've seen Smirnova and Obratsova in action? I'm seeing them in jewels but it's whether to catch one of their nikita's as well. I know there's huge hype surrounding smirnova's diamonds but watching her la bayadere (admittedly her debut) it actually looked a bit hesitant. Saw Nunez doing it recently and she was stunning... But the Telegraph's dance critic said it was the most affecting portrayal he'd seen

That's really interesting - who would you recommend for a more sensitive reading of roles in the bolshoi? Certainly prefer that emotional engagement dancers like cojocaru bring

As a new user, it would be great to get people's thoughts on the best bolshoi to see. I have tickets for zakharova + hallberg in sleeping beauty / zakharova in jewels, Plus an eyewateringly expensive one for her in swan lake, which I should probably return... How unmissable is her swan lake? Will you get enough sense of why she's a prima ballerina from sleeping beauty or is odette / odile really her greatest part? ( saw lopatkina in swan lake and she was sensational)