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When I read Joan's posting I was about to bemoan the fact that I don't subscribe to Sky. Having read the rest of the thread now I don't mind!! After finding such a treasure trove, and going to all the trouble of remastering it, you'd think they could at least co-ordinate the music with the movement....a pretty important thing in ballet

Smirnova and Chudin aren't a bum deal by any means

May I just echo John's thanks above.....the forum wouldn't be what it is without our posters, and Doing Dance is the busiest place of all! It is all of you who make this forum what it is; when Bruce shut down ballet.co.uk so many people said how bereft they were going to be without a forum in which to talk to each other, share news, share opinions, write reviews, etc. that he decided something must be done....so this forum was born! We didn't know what would happen with it, but we are all delighted with how many people have signed up, and how active so many of you are. We recently passed the 55,000 postings mark, not bad after 19 months of existence! So....a big thank you from the moderators to all of you out there...and keep those posts coming!

Thank you Buddy....a beautiful portrait of a beautiful ballerina!

Last night's SB was my first sight of the Bolshoi this visit, and just as I was heaving a sigh of relief that they have finally ditched those awful, noisy, clonky pointe shoes they used to use....the squeaking started, which was very distracting at first! I then managed to banish it to my subconscious so it just became white noise. Will try and post more thoughts later, but I would agree with the 3-star ranking given the production by some of the critics. Despite the opulence of the set and the costumes, I was distinctly underwhelmed by the dancing, the choreography and the interpretation of the music. I found this especially so in the Bluebird pdd; for me, this should be played at a snappy speed as that's what birds do: they fly, they twitch, they twitter, they beat their wings; these movements are usually snappy and quick. The pdd was played so slowly last night that I was expecting those birds to just slowly roll off their branch and onto the ground below without even noticing! I couldn't help comparing this Bluebird with past performances by Steven McRae....and Steven won out each time.

Good, I'm also seeing her Aurora on Wdnesday!

MAB, it is so interesting to read such differing perceptions of the same dancer! Both Ismene Brown and Sarah Crompton think that Smirnova is wonderful and is going to be a world star very soon....see Today's Links.

Welcome to the Forum, Sylph! Many thanks for posting, and please do keep 'em coming.

No happy ending in this version? That's an improvement, then.

Ditto again....am skipping their SL this time around! I also hate the happy ending.

Well well well.....very interesting news. I bet that will set the cat amongst the pigeons at the Company, but great that we can still see her dance regularly here in England.

Many congratulations to Brian and Hayley, who announced their engagement yesterday. Here's wishing them the best of health and loads of happiness.

Mind you, we got the full frontal in Sweet Violets, didn't we??!! At least it was while the dancers were prone, and didn't get up and jiggle about!

Alison, I must be very lucky then because I've sat all over the House, with binoculars, and have never caught sight of anything untoward!!

I agree it's totally unnecessary to have dancers cavorting around topless (or bottomless, in the case of the men). At least in Mayerling she stays still, and furthermore we don't see anything except a bare back, just for a few seconds. As a critic once said, "the main problem with people dancing naked is that when the music stops, certain bits of their bodies don't...." Keep your clothes on ladies and gentlemen, you do just fine that way.

Interesting that there's only one man promoted this year. Many congrats to Tristan and all the others who have moved up.

I have briefly unlocked this post to emphasise that we do have a procedure (not invoked since this forum began) wherein moderators can have approval of a member's postings under certain circumstances as deemed appropriate by the committee. As we have never invoked it, it is not usual at all that we do this....but this is not a usual issue.

A good friend of mine who is an HR manager advised me the other day....'if you want a promotion or more money, you're going to have to move company, that's the only way to get anything decent if there is no room above you, or no money to give you the decent increase you deserve. A change is the best way to get ahead.' I think that advice can apply to any job, whether it's in the arts, finance, etc. Also, in the dance world, when careers are so short, a change can give you a fresh outlook, new lease of creative life and upwards movement. Perhaps, in these cases, that's all there is to it.

MAB, I have never doubted his talents as a dancer. I have seen him dance a few times and really enjoyed his performances. I know that all kinds of politics go on in ballet companies just like in other companies, but I think that with a case like this, it would have been more prudent for him to say nothing if he didn't want to come out in support of the AD. Whether he (and others) liked it or not, the fact of the matter was that Filin was at the helm of the Bolshoi, and to come out and say the things he did was, at best, unwise. Silence would have been the best option here I think. I never doubted that the prognosis for Sergei was not good, and although physical appearances might have looked like he had a chemical peel, how many photos showed his eyes? We only had the doctors' statements to go on, and these have said over and over again that saving Filin's sight would be very difficult. Tragically, it seems that they were right. I have seen a couple of people die from cancer; even though they looked ok from the outside, inside they were being eaten up. So to make statements saying that Filin looked ok when it was the eyes that were affected seems churlish to me.....if you aren't a medical person, you shouldn't say such things until you know all the facts and can actually have looked into those dead eyes. I would still like to hope for a miracle, but it doesn't look like one will happen.

I wonder how Tsiskaridze feels now, having accused him of exaggerating what happened to him? I'm afraid his behaviour throughout this tragic episode has put me off him even more than his previous arrogance did.

Yes....it is her very personal gift to him.

David was a mentor and close friend of Daria Klimentova's these past 20 years. She is of course devastated at this news, and has asked me to tell you all that her performance in Swan Lake tomorrow night will be dedicated to him. It will no doubt be a very emotional performance.

The first time I ever went to see the Royal Ballet, back in 1978 as a poor university student and recently arrived from NYC, David Wall happened to be dancing, I think with Lesley Collier. I fell in love with him that night and after that whenever I could afford to go to the ballet I always made sure it was when he was dancing. It was thanks to him that my love affair with the Royal Ballet started, an affair that continues to this day. He had it all, and on top of that was a lovely man. On that night in 1978 I never would have dreamed that 27 years later I would be sitting with him in a very small room doing an extensive interview with him. He was so interesting, and so warm. My daughter, who was 14 at the time, was with me and thought he was wonderful. I met him a few times after that over the years, and he was always so sweet. So, in tribute to this great artist, here is a link to the interview. He had some very interesting things to say about creating Rudolf and Lescaut. I hope you enjoy it, and I'd like to say here thanks for all the performances, David, and for all the knowledge, support and experience you gave to subsequent generations. Rest in peace. xx http://www.ballet.co.uk/magazines/yr_05/jun05/interview_wall.htm

He is often at the ballet, Penelope. He is obviously a big fan, and I think he might have something to do with it behind the scenes.

You wonder why people like that bother coming along, especially sitting in the Stalls. He was probably dragged there by his wife/girlfriend. However, if that were the case, I'd have been furious if he behaved like that! I agree with you Penelope, Emma Maguire is definitely my favourite Stephanie, although young Frankie Hayward has made a very promising first two performances.