annamicro

Do you mean that she is dancing them in Hamburg next season? I know that for the moment she is dancing again just Liliom. (and of course she is dancing the Lady of Camellias in June and A Midsummer Night's Dream during the Australian tour). I hope in many other Hamburg shows and roles for Alina

maybe he is looking for new male top dancers... they need them

When, few months ago, I asked here "who could dance Basil in the Royal Ballet at a principal level?" I already know about that, now the answer to the question is becoming urgent. The situation among women seems much less desperate, despite Tamara departure... she was such a top list name :-(

wasn't that done for Alice?....

La Scala dances Ballet Imperial with "Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 2" costumes. It seems weird to change the name of the ballet if dancers are wearing a tutu or not, it could be confusing. Which other companies are calling it "Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 2"?

Finally Mariinsky press office amended the press release: Swan Lake is with Alina Somova. A truly embarrassing Freudian slip...

...and I suspect that she, and also another experienced colleague, played a role in Sergei "reconcilation" with Royal Ballet...and the roles that Sergei is taking this year and the next seem to confirm my idea. I'm really happy to now that Tamara has an eye on Sergei and that he likes to dance with her, that makes me much more confident in Sergei's future as a dancer. They can be a great partnership, as they demontrated in Marguerite and Armand, and they need each other. I'm really looking forward Sergei's James: it could be something to remember. And if it was Kobborg to take him back for it, thanks to Johan!

I don't think Royal Ballet is so "wealthy" of talent to close the door for a dancer as Polunin is. I'm not indulgent: I think he did some things in a very unpleasant way and also said a good number of silly ones. But he is young and seems also often ill advised by interested people. I think a second chance is mandatory and I hope that he and the company will find a better way to work together. No excuses for Sergei's mistake, but also for Royal Ballet management ones: let's close that page and open a new one. Good luck!

At the moment, nothing of dramatically new and shocking :-) : after his fireworks in Raymonda pdd last Sunday, he is just rehearsing a new solo choreographed by Valentino Zucchetti for the shows planned next week... http://balletnews.co.uk/sergei-polunin-takes-on-james-dean/

Alina Cojocaru in La Sylphide with Johan Kobborg AND Swan Lake with Matthew Golding? wow! I'm becoming very envious of the friends going to St Petersburg!

Isn't the James Dean solo actually choreographed by Valentino Zucchetti, on Sergei request? This is not the only strange and unexpected thing, the two interviews make many thoughts popping out....

I agree, sucha loss, even though I loved Gomes, a great artist, and I hope he will dance again with Cojocaru in a narrative ballet. But as for Sergei's debut, I would give the fist position to La Sylphide: Polunin is exactly the man and the dancer I'd love to see dancing James.

Cojocaru has never danced with Gomes and (for the moment) is not dancing with him in the coming ABT NY season. As far as I know, the dancer understudying Oberon after Sergei departure was Alexander Campbell: a quite odd physical match with Cojocaru, IMO. Gomes is a great artist and is known as great partner and I'm really looking forward his performance with Cojocaru and Zucchetti. From bad things sometimes come good ones: I'm sorry for Polunin defection, but I'm really happy to have the opportunity to see live for the first time one of my favorite ballet dancer.

McRea could maybe do the tricks but you know that his dancing far too feminine for my taste and I think also for a role as Basil. I hope Bonelli will be back soon at his usual standards. As for Kobborg, Ponce de León was searching for the Fountain of Youth in Florida: Johan has just spent a few weeks in Sarasota, maybe he found it! I hope so, because Cojocaru desperately needs a partner and the Company needs a great dancer. If the curse mentioned in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides is true, I have a long list of poeple to propose as "volunteer" for aging in his place.

Anna agrees with Anna. I hope Akane Takada will be promoted "at least" first soloist at the end of this season and that she will be given as soon as possible roles to prove and allow her to grow as an actress. As a dancers, IMO, she is already with the very few top ballerinas of the company. I agree also about Valentino, the point is that another year should be an year of dancing and not of waiting as this year has been so far, except for Puck (that he danced just because of several injuries). He spent the whole run of Sleeping Beauty acting as a rat and offering drinks and Nutcracker was not really better: I'm really annoyed by people who try to push friends, often uncritically, so I'm not happy to be the one saying this, but I think that a few people agree that, after the good past season, he could have been used a little more. And starting from Valentino, a consideration: having remained with the much smaller Norvegian Ballet, he would have danced Nureyev's Don Quixote as Basil. If Royal Ballet would be back to DQ, who could REALLY dance it? Considering both the technical needs and the character to portray, looking at principal and first soloist list, I don't see anybody except maybe Kobborg and Bonelli (Acosta contract has not been renewed). The various fan clubs can add other names, but they are not in my serious list of candidates. And I think that this is just an example the dramatic situation of the Royal Ballet.

I'd love to suggest Valentino Zucchetti as Mercutio, Gurn (he danced it in Zurich) and Colas, but since he is a friend I don't say anything. I really like James Hay, at the moment I don't have a precise role to propose, but I'd love to see more of him. She is already a principal, but I'd really really love to see Alina Cojocaru in Les Sylphides.

Akane Takada as the Sylph.

http://www.bolshoi.ru/en/persons/ballet/ Evgenia Obraztsova is now listed among Bolshoi principals. Good for her, good for them. It didn't take too much time to fill very brilliantly the void left by Osipova.

What did Putrov when the Royal Ballet let him go? Being co-owner of the tattoo shop, Polunin has a job and incomes, or not?

It would be really interesting to know who are the well informed "others". As far as I know there was great surprise among the poeple usually around Sergei. I think that too many are talking too much to the press, and some not in a clever way, IMO. Isn't better to wait and listen what Sergei has to say? I don't expect anything from Mason, even if there would be a lot to ask her about many many interesting topics.

"I think the decision was maybe mishandled" and not just a decision!!! It's incredible how they were ready to get rid off of a 21 boy, who seems the only future star of the company. Maybe Sergei decision is irrevocable, I hope not of course, but it seems that everything has been rushed too much by people who should be wiser and more mature than him.... unfortunately another probe (if needed) that something is really wrong inside there.

If somebody want to see Acosta, there is plenty of tickets for the 5th of March. the only of Carlos' performances paired with The Dream second cast. For sure the "insignificant" presence of Alina Cojocaru has not had any effect on the sales of the first cast with her and Polunin, but in any case The Dream seems to have played a great role at box office.

http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/2/1ddc2522-4744-11e1-b646-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1kVgBoxrS Clement Crisp enjoyed Valentino piece too (and also Thomas Whitehead one)

another article http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/theatre/dance/9038573/Sergei-Polunin-the-ballet-cheek-of-it.html I'm really annoyed by the way journalists are reporting short message from twitter and making conclusions... And I'm surprised to find people here and there already happily thinking to replace a roaring Ferrari with honest and competent Toyotas. :-)

This is Freudian. Of course JohnM is right.