Tag: 04.22.01

This week the Kirov Ballet is performing in London, but it will cost you as much as £170 for a seat. Only a few steps away, though, the “stars” of the Bolshoi are performing for about half the ticket price. But you might get what you pay for… Sunday Times

“The Bolshoi or the Kirov? The old Soviet juggernaut or the jewel in the Tsarist crown? Who will be the eventual victor? It’s a fight they both want to win, for whoever does take home the title takes home more than critical acclaim and public affection. They also take home our much-needed pounds. Life is tough in Russia these days, even for much-loved cultural institutions, and both the Kirov and the Bolshoi depend on foreign trips to keep them going.” The Times (UK)

“Dazzling eyes, delicate bones and finer poise than the silver lady on a Rolls-Royce: I met Dame Margot Fonteyn on the eve of her death at the age of 71 and was blown away by her fragile grace. Nobody since has matched it – until Friday, when I met the 19-year-old dancer who has just been made prima ballerina of the Royal Ballet and who is already spoken of as the new Fonteyn.” The Sunday Times of London

Ballet Chicago is, to put it bluntly, little more than an afterthought in the Chicago dance scene these days. The company, founded as Chicago City Ballet in 1974, has always relied on a classic, Balanchine-esque style of performance in an industry that is constantly reinventing itself. But years of mismanagement and organizational chaos left the troupe in shambles, and in danger of vanishing completely. Now, backed by its successful training academy for young dancers, Ballet Chicago hopes to rise from the ashes of its past failures. Chicago Tribune