I just had a look at ENB's website and found the info that Kristin Long is to appear twice<BR>during their Royal Albert Hall season in June when they are going to perform Swan Lake.<BR>Could anyone who has seen her in that role offer advise please? Should I run and buy another ticket?

Though I am pretty familiar with her dancing I haven't seen her in this role. She tends to be a clear technician but not without grace and artistry. She's little, too. Anyone else from San Francisco?

I've seen Kristin Long quite a bit, but never in "Swan Lake." She is technically very strong, and has a lively, enjoyable stage presence. Her jumping is very strong, but also nice and light. The one fault I find with her is that her arms are too tense for my taste. I saw her last night as Giselle, and while I generally enjoyed her performance, I think she needs to soften her port de bras to achieve the romantic look. For that reason, I'm very curious to see what she could do as Odette. I think by body type and technique, she's more of an Odile. I'm also curious to see how she'd play that part, because I've only seen her in parts that don't require acting or are sympathetic characters. And onstage, she always seems like such a genuinely nice person.<P>I think she shines in ballets that require lots of energy, jumping and especially fast movement, although she can certainly sustain movements admirably. It's just her arms that get in the way of my unreservedly enjoying her performances.<p>[This message has been edited by djb (edited May 10, 2002).]

I haven't seen her in Swan Lake, but if I were in England, I'd run to buy a ticket. Long is a dancer who always surprises me with her performances. She isn't "my type" (I tend to like long, willowy dancers, and she's smaller, with spitfire technique). However, I've had a couple of experiences now where she's been cast in something (often classical works like Bluebird pas de deux, or La Bayadere). I start out thinking, "hmmmm, I wish so-and-so were dancing..." But then, when Long appears, she completely wins me over with her personality and her wonderful musicality.

Yes, I forgot about musicality. And I too tend to be won over by her personality.

Musicality, personality, beauty, strength, and reliability in the last couple seasons. Not the most subtle dancer though.<p>[This message has been edited by Azlan (edited May 11, 2002).]

This won't give you much of an idea of Kristin Long's dancing, but in my search for reviews of her, I came across this article from 2001 in the online journal <I>Archipelago</I>. There's a series of candid shots of KL.<P><A HREF="http://www.archipelago.org/vol5-3/gray.htm" TARGET=_blank><B>Balancing Act: On Prima Ballerinas Who Are Mothers</B></A><P>I think the author misused the term "prima ballerina"; "ballerina" or "principal dancer" would have been accurate.<P>[This article has probably shown up on CD before, but it seemed appropriate to bring it up at this time.]

What a terrific series of photos! Thanks so much for the link!

Thanks so much everybody for all this info.<BR>The article including is simply terrific so special thanks for the link. I guess it is time to part with some more money in order not to miss her.

I just had the opportunity to look at the photos. I thought that was a really good anthropological look at a dancer's life and wanted to know more about the husband and how the family works and lives around the theatre. I remember seeing one of the Dutch National Ballet dancers - I think it was Nathalie Caris- in the restaurant near Sadler's Wells Theatre after the opening night of their week in London last year, with her child in a push chair. It was fascinating to see this tiny child well-behaved and very awake at such an hour in an adult's environment where all the attention was not on him, except that the dancer had switched into mother mode and while everyone was unwinding, she was feeding the little boy.