Dear Isa and Ileana,<P>I would like to know what French critics wrote about Tsiskaridze in "La Bayadere" in Paris. I understand that some critics write only about opening nights, therefore, I saw only two reviews so far: in "Le Figaro" and "Financial Times".<BR>Will you be kind enough to let me know if you saw any reviews about Nikolai in French publications?<BR>Thanking you in advance.

Potrovski, I was delighted to find beautiful pictures of Nikolaï in the site you have mentioned !<BR>There are not many French critics at the moment (seems like if classical ballet sounds a little bit old fashioned in France, and most critics write about modern dance !).<BR>I didn't read nothing else about Nikolaï than in Figaro and Financial time.<BR>If I see anything else in the next danse reviews, I'll let you know.<BR>

Dear Isa,<BR>There is a set of 40 beautiful photographs showing Galina Ulanova at a rehearsal of the "Narcissus" with Nikolai Tsiskaridze. He was her last pupil and she died on the day when he danced the "Narcissus" for the first time. On some of the photographs you can also see Vladimir Vasilyev for whom Goleizovsky choreographed this piece and who eventually allowed Nikolai to dance it and helped him at rehearsals.<BR>You will find these photos on <A HREF="http://www.bolshoi.net/stars/ciscaridze/photo.htm" TARGET=_blank>http://www.bolshoi.net/stars/ciscaridze/photo.htm</A> <BR>Nikolai's surname has been misspelt on that site. <BR>Don't worry that this site is in Russian. When you open the page, find the little green arrow in the bottom right corner of the frame. When you touch this arrow, it will become red. Click it and you will see the first photo. Continue clicking until you see all 40 photos. You will enjoy them. Some of them are a piece of art. And 87-year-old Ulanova is so slender and willowy, the word 'old' would never enter your mind.

Addition to the previous posting:<BR>Some photos at the beginning of that set are not of the 'Narcissus' but of some pas-de-deux.

Wow - Pokrovsky - what a treat to see these pictures!! Ulanova was as beautiful as ever. I love that picture of her stretching out her calves at the piano. She's so elegant.<P>Vasilyev looks wonderful too. You can see the passion for dance that is still there for both of them. Ulanova did quite a bit of coaching. I have pictures of her coaching Ekaterina Maximova for her first Giselle. They are wonderful pictures too.<P>Thanks Pokrovsky.

Dear Pokrovsky,<P>Like Ileana said , there aren't much reviews about classical ballet in France these days.I haven't seen any other reviews other than Le Figaro and Financial Times about Nikolai Tsiskaridze's performance in La Bayadere.I'll let you know if I find any.<BR>If you are interested in the Figaro's critic (Rene Sirvin) reviews , you can find them on this website: <A HREF="http://www.imagidanse.com" TARGET=_blank>http://www.imagidanse.com</A> <P>Thank you for the photos , I'm going to look at them NOW!

Wonderful pictures ! Thank you !

Those lucky people who attend the Mariinsky Festival this month will see among the Kirov's own and French dancers just one dancer from the Bolshoi - Nikolai Tsiskaridze who will dance the Golden Slave in "Shaherezade" on the 10th of March. After his performance on the last day of the Kirov tour in London in July last year, the London Courier newspaper wrote: "Those who saw Nikolai Tsiskaridze in the role of Golden Slave will remember these performances for a long time. One felt as if his remarkably supple, 'melodious' body was born to re-enact the Eastern fantasy which Mikhail Fokine had created for Vaclav Nijinsky. From his first dramatic leap onto stage he captured the essence of this tale from "1001 Nights", dancing a bewitching and dangerous game with a temptress Zobeida. He ignited a myriad of emotions: expectation, apprehension, rapture, determination, despair, ecstasy, all finding form in his astonishing litheness, his splendid leaps, his swift pirouettes and his personal magnetism. His whole being burned with the joy of dance."

This is the latest review by Clement Crisp of Tsiskaridze's performance at the Mariinsky Festival:<P>FINANCIAL TIMES, 13 March 2002<P>"... Then Scheherazade, or a madcap simulacrum thereof. The Bakst set looks reasonable and glows with macaw colours. The Kirov's artists know exactly how to make sense of the hot-house emotions of the harem - Vladimir Ponomarov's every gesture as the Sultan has silent-cinema power - and Nikolai Tsiskaridze (a guest from the Bolshoi) joined Irma Nioradze in the most extravagantly erotic piece of scenery-chewing any devotee of camp could desire. <BR>Nioradze is a very intelligent actress - we believe in this Zobeide from the very first as spoiled, petulant, commanding. Tsiskaridze, released from the slave's quarters, bursts upon us (and Zobeide) in a sub-Bakstian fantasy of gold and black, sequins, jewels, pearl shoulder-straps and a torrent of dancing. <BR>Heaven, and the ghost of Mikhail Fokine, knows what all this has to so with the original Scheherazade, but these artists blazed with lust, and generated enough passion to show that though this mad old ballet is a turnip ghost in other hands, when danced with such imaginative bravura, such sexual allure, it goes beyond hilarious kitsch to become theatrical art of the most intoxicating kind.<BR>Nioradze makes every pose a declaration of sexual allure. Tsiskaridze, as much in love with his audience as with Zobeide, produced marvels of pantherine leaps and crouching consumed-by-desire falls, and tore the place apart. It may not be Fokine, but who cares?.." <BR>

Thanks for the review , coda.I'm not surprised at all about the impact Nikolai Tsiskaridze had in this role , and the way he impressed the Mariinsky public.I know he has the tremendous sensuality required for this role.I hope he will be invited to dance with the Kirov in Paris in october!And if somebody has any information about his dates in Paris , please could you tell us?

Welcome to the board, Coda - and thanks for the review.

Since quite a few people are definitely watching Nikolai Tsiskaridze's career and were interested to read Clement Crisp's review of Nikolai's Golden Slave, here is an extract from the Crisp's earlier review of Nikolai's Hermann in "The Queen of Spades":<P>FINANCIAL TIMES, 30 October 2001<P>… And, as the motor for the staging, Nikolai Tsiskaridze. We have seen this artist as a powerful dancer and - when occasion presents itself - a powerful actor. As Hermann, Petit has shaped, controlled - and heightened - his qualities. It is a portrait stunningly well done by choreographer and dancer. Tsiskaridze tears triumphantly into every demanding step that Petit sets him, but never allows the demonic, doomed Hermann to escape into virtuosity. The emotional bravura of his playing, a mixture of arrogance, charm, despair, sexual gloss and - above all else - obsessive force, is very fine indeed. In battle with the Countess and in the final agonising downfall, Tsiskaridze shows us the heart and soul of the character…<BR>Clement Crisp<BR>

Three excellent photographs of Tsiskaridze as Golden Slave with Irma Nioradze as Zobeide, taken on the 10th of March, can be found on Mariinsky website, which has English version. <A HREF="http://www.mariinsky.ru/en" TARGET=_blank>www.mariinsky.ru/en</A> <BR>Find NEWS on the right and click >>>.<BR>Then click "An Evening of FOKINE Ballets" and find "Shaherezade" photos in the forth line.

There are 4 excellent photographs of Nikolai Tsiskaridze in 'La spectre de la rose': <A HREF="http://www.bolshoi.net/stars/ciscaridze/photo-rose.htm" TARGET=_blank>www.bolshoi.net/stars/ciscaridze/photo-rose.htm</A> <BR>Click the picture with 'la rose' and keep clicking the arrow to see all four.<BR>There are also 18 photographs of him in 'La Bayadere" in Opera de Paris: <A HREF="http://www.bolshoi.net/stars/ciscaridze/photo-pari.htm" TARGET=_blank>www.bolshoi.net/stars/ciscaridze/photo-pari.htm</A> <BR>Click the picture with 'la bayadere' and keep clicking the arrow.<BR>In "Ballet2000", No.62, page 35, Alfio Agostini reviews the Bolshoi's recent performances in Turin:<BR>"So the real star of the occasion, in expectations and in fact, was the already famous Nikolai Tsiskaridze, as singular a dancer as you could find; with his extreme lines, his very soft cambre, the legs and feet of a ballerina, springy, sharp jumps, fluid turns, he shows off his masculine virtuosc technique and his effiminate dynamic with a proud satisfaction that approached affectation and eccentricity. However, what is unusual gives pleasure, in ballet too, and the irresistible bravura of the young Russian satisfies the justified longing in the spectator to find on the stage at least one object of special admiration."

The Bolshoi is renewing the Grigorovich's famous ballet "The Legend of Love". The opening night will be on the 24th of April<BR>and Nikolai Tsiskaridze will appear in the role of Ferhad. There are 5 excellent photographs of him in this role on the site: <A HREF="http://www.bolshoi.net/stars/ciscaridze/photo-leggenda.htm" TARGET=_blank>http://www.bolshoi.net/stars/ciscaridze/photo-leggenda.htm</A> Click the arrow on the right and see all five photographs.<P>