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Given Polunin's often-stated aversion to rehearsal, he can hardly be the ideal partner for anyone. It's OK to go on as a solo dancer and just wing it as the mood and adrenaline takes you, but dancing with others takes a lot of effort and work - not something this young man seems fond of. Alina has achieved her position, not just from natural talent, but from solid work. She deserves a partner who can match her in application, not just the flavour of the month.

There's a sign at the end of my street indicating No Through Road. Well it was, 15 years ago before all these new houses were built but I don't think any of the residents want it removed as we hope it may keep the traffic down!

And if you work on an IT helpdesk like I did you spend much of your time muttering RTFM under your breath!

I thought I should take a look at BBC TV's The White Queen and see if it is really is as daft as the critics claim** but only 5 minutes in and I was staggered to see RB's Gary Avis giving a remarkable performance as the grouchy Earl of Warwick. Well, of course, the estimable Mr Avis is delighting audiences in Tokyo at present but his doppelganger is aiive and well, for the time being at least (but should come to a cropper around episode 5 if my knowledge of history serves) Anyone else notice the resemblance? ** it is.

Exactly. If this is meant to be 'a celebration of UK Plc' then it should certainly include SOME UK born and trained dancers. As for '4th rate' - whatever can you mean? Are there no first rate British dancers in the ENB or BRB to name but two companies?

Alison, am I misreading this? I can't believe Darcey was ever in R&J with Kobborg?

Today's Independent has a possible explanation of their unexpected departure: http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/theatre-dance/news/ Not sure how to make this link work but if it's true then it's a great shame that a difference of opinion over an opera should cause the Royal Ballet to lose two great stars in this way. Edit: the link won't work so just paste the address into your browser, then scroll down to the third item 'Turmoil at the Royal Opera House as choreographer pulls out....'

Today, (Saturday 25th May) at 12.15, Radio 3 has a programme about Stravinsky's Rite of Spring which includes choreographers Akram Khan and Mark Morris, both devising new interpretations of the Rite. Also featured is Deborah Bull, who danced the role of the Chosen Maiden and Monica Mason, for whom the Royal Ballet's Kenneth MacMillan created his legendary solo choreography and Millicent Hodson and Kenneth Archer explain how they reconstructed Nijinsky's 1913 ballet. I think it's one of several programmes celebrating the centenary of the first performance and the BBC website has a recording from last week's concert by the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0195rlk. Edited for punctuation glitches.

Well, what exactly WAS he doing? I'm not being facetious but Mayerling contains quite a few scenes which a young 12 year-old could find puzzling. A child who watches soaps like Corrie or East Enders would probably see the wedding night scene as straightforward domestic violence, sadly far too frequently seen on TV. But the death and funeral of the young 'heroine' might well give a sensitive child nightmares.

MacMillan took liberties with the actual history anyway. Rudolf's grandmother appears in the ballet even though she was dead at the time, he loved his wife very much in the early years of their marriage (his loving letters to her still exist), taking morphine via injections was unknown (no needles) and much of Rudolf's dissipated livestyle is only documented in the scandal sheets of the time and unsupported by reliable contemporary sources. He was depressed though but probably because he was frustrated by his lack of political influence and his father's intransigent and oppressive regime. Still, that wouldn't make half such an interesting ballet, would it?

Thanks for a wonderful review Sim. Am now so pleased I went mad and bought an expensive ticket to see Ed & Mara on June 13th (which I think must be Mara's last performance with the company). I thought your comments on Larisch were most interesting - sometimes this role is a little underplayed as merely a jealous and discarded mistress trying to retain her hold over Rudolf. I think that she was in fact, his cousin, hence their closeness was not just sexual.

That's not at all what I imagined. I have only seen one pdd from this piece and it involved the protagonists rolling around in some rather dodgy-looking underwear. If sharp weapons are involved, I hope they get more protective clothing. Still, if fencing's involved then it's right up Graham's street. Looking forward to reading his review!

"Petite Mort features six male dancers, six female dancers and six foils" um, what are foils? Surely not fencing weapons?

And not just in the tabloids either, it seems. I used to think the Sunday Times was reliable but the article they published last week on Polunin seems to have been held over at the time it was written and only published now to cash in on the Midnight Express debacle. Pity, but I still think professional dancers should explain when they behave (apparently) unprofessionally. No one comes out of this smelling of roses.

When I worked in the professional theatre many years ago all company members were on a basic salary PLUS a fee for each performance. The performance fee varied of course, according to status, with big names like Maggie Smith and Laurence Olivier getting what seemed liked a fortune to me at the time. I'd be very surprised if the current Equity contract for members of regular companies like the ENB and RB has changed that much and I do remember Darcey Bussell saying her basic salary as a professional was over £30K (that was in the late 80s). So it's probable that a top principal at the RB would earn around £100K. But, as Dave says, when you factor in the long training and the dedication required it's nowhere near enough!

I'm surprised that Polunin got involved with the Midnight Express project without knowing more about it. He's been in this country for quite a few years but even if he was too preoccupied with the Royal Ballet, his new boss, Zelensky, has been around international ballet long enough to know about Schaufuss' work. I would have expected him to steer his protege into work more helpful to his career and better suited to his extraordinary talent. And certainly, if it really is only a matter of 'creative differences' he should be doing some damage limitation now to protect Polunin's reputation. I must admit my first reaction to Polunin's abrupt departure from the RB last year was more to sympathise with those who had worked with him but from this article (IF it is accurate) he appears to be a very unhappy and confused young man who needs help to manage his life. A dancer's career is so short - it would be a tragic loss if he wastes these years.

I've only been lucky enough to go to a few and found the house pretty full above the dress circle level but mostly photographers in the stalls with a lot of empty seats behind them.

Lovely photos as usual Dave. Many thanks. I saw Ms Brunell last time she played Alice and I agree that she is perfect in the role.

Only 2 Ashton works (The Dream & Rhapsody) and 3 by MacMillan (R&J, Gloria and Rite) but so many new works? And that sad old warhorse Don Q? A Winter's Tale looks interesting but apart from that I am not thrilled with the choices on offer.

I can confirm that you can register with the FT free of charge and read the article mentioned. But Alison is right, it's not very good.

I'll have to check but I'm pretty certain that Zoe Anderson's book on the RB refers to an occasion when the Balanchine Trust was so serously bent out of shape at a change of casting for Apollo that they threatened to take away the company's licence to stage it. Reid Anderson may be fussy about casting but he isn't the only one. Ultimately I assume that Trustees for eminent choreographers feel it is their duty to fulfill the choreographer's wishes (but are they the only ones who know what they were?)

Alison, my local libraries (now called 'Idea Stores' yuck!) have everything online and even in the past you could never find the review sections of the broadsheets. It's cheaper to have an e-subscription for all editions, everyday, than buy the paper weekend papers so I'm actually reducing what I used to pay to the Murdoch empire. P.S. I don't mind if you use my first name - we've known each other long enough!

I've read the entire article (the subscription fee is remarkably low) and I have to say that Polunin does not emerge very creditably. He says he had too many principal roles at once and not enough time to make each one special (is that why he skipped rehearsals?) and was disappointed when he was made principal because he thought it would like being a top footballer i.e. lots of money and glory. He admits to performing while high on cocaine, going nightclubbing and 'trying to get away with things'. His real ambition is to be a multi-millionaire and he says he would quit dancing if he could make loads of money some other way. Someone should take him aside and quietly fill him in about real life.

What I found shocking was this comment reported in the Times: "Boris Akinov, a former artistic director of the Bolshoi, said ............ But we see hatred inside the theatre world. This situation is not only in Russian theatres. I’ve worked in many theatres around the world and it’s the same situation everywhere." I find this very hard to believe. What we read of conditions in Russia sometimes suggest that Moscow is run like Chicago during the time of Al Capone but I can't accept that in any other society, an artist like Filin could be attacked like this. I hope that the doctors will be able to heal his injuries and he can carry on his work, perhaps not at the Bolshoi, but in another company which will appreciate his talent and contribution to ballet.

Ian, Thanks very much for the information about the ownership of the Opera House. I assume though, that it is a listed building, presumably Grade 1 and considered to be of great national importance. In other words, the Trust has little chance of changing the structure to make it more energy-efficient and/or cheaper to run. Unless the Trust gets a grant towards the upkeep it means that the primary concern must be getting bums on seats and not solely artistic achievement. A very hard balancing act for the new Chief Exec. And I must agree with you re improved access - "Vomitories" indeed!