Sorry Catherine, but I just have to ask: Is Andrei Ermakov in any way related to Angela Ermakova?

This is Cygne! (I used to be 'Cyngenoir' ). I'm a huge Pavlenko fan. I'm very tempted to book a Paris
trip to see her in the Forsythe and Balanchine programs, but it
doesn't look too healthy over there right now. I hope the unrest gets under control for their tour in a few weeks. I agree with you Fedora and Catherine. The late Anton Dolin said this about another great ballerina Yvette Chauvire: " . . . her great quality as a ballerina was HONESTY: Everything you saw her do onstage was real. There was no camouflage and there were no tricks." That statement applies to Daria Pavlenko.

Since we're on the subject of familiar surnames, can Catherine or anyone else confirm the following:

Daria Budarina (daughter of ex-star Vadim Budarin?)

Eduard Gusev....related to THE Petr Gusev? Wouldn't be a son unless Petr remarried really, really late in his life.

We already know that Ivan Sitnikov is the son of ex-soloist/ Vaganova Academy teacher Irina Sitnikova.

Keeping it All in the Family. Good genes.

No, Pykhachev was Birbanto on September 28, and by the time of the last Corsaire the company was back in St. P. I would imagine that, as did Osipenko when she was put in the act 1 corps of Giselle for Kolpakova's London opening in 1970, he tried to disguse himself.

Yes, while we are on the subject, what do you, guys, think about Dimitry Semionov, brother to the prima ballerina of StaatsOper ballet in Berlin, Polina Semionova?

Hi Cygne and I agree that caution is always a good thing. But from the reports I have seen, the very serious disturbances are in the poorest suberbs where tourists and the Caucasian French rarely go.....perhap that is part of the problem.

We will all make our own decisions, but, speaking for myself, I would not be deterred from going to central Paris at the moment on grounds of safety.

If I have got ths wrong, I hope our Paris-based readers will correct me.

Q: Is Yulia Bolshakova related to Natalya Bolshakova? She was
a very good soloist in the 70s - 80s.

...

Ripowam, sorry but Islom Baimuradov danced Birbanto on Oct 28. Follow link to photo of him taking his bows:

http://photofile.ru/album.php?id=1043242

This is the same photoalbum to which fedora/octavia provided links, last week.

...

It's a wonderful album, fedora. Please let me know how I can contribute to the cause (ha-ha). We really must keep this wonderful photographer 'in business' for as long as possible! Perhaps he or she will attend Maya Dumchenko's 'Sleeping Beauty' on Wednesday?

The photos are a great compliment to Catherine's reports, of course. The reports come first.

...

It's objective & not subjective, fedora. The photos document who danced & how they looked at the end of the performance. That helps people familiarize themselves with the dancers. On the next U.S. or U.K. tour, folks will know who REALLY danced what. It exposes the utter falacy of most printed programmes, on Kirov tours.

I was joking about asking your friend to document Dumchenko's Beauty! Of course, there is no need to embarrass her. We're grateful for whichever performance pics can be shared. How lovely that today's technology allows this to happen.

Cygne, I've just got back from Paris and can confirm that the central area is as normal except for more police on patrol. I'm sure you will be perfectly safe there.

However it's unwise to travel to see the Kirov in the hope of seeing one particular dancer as in my experience their advance casting generally turns out to be a work of fiction.

Not just the advanced casting, Cassandra! Even that which is written in the programme...or the errata sheet in the programme...or even changes announced over the loudspeaker one minute prior to curtain...can be wrong. ugh.