<B>Of arabesques and pirouettes</B><P>A rare treat of the highest artistic order _ two ballets to seriously impress in Bangkok's 3rd Festival of Music and Dance <P>BY JENNIFER PARKS in The Bangkok Post <P> <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>The art of ballet can trace its origins to the early 17th century, when dancers performed to entertain audiences between scenes of an opera. These short dances grew in popularity and importance until they became a form of theatre in their own right. <P>By the late 1600s, Paris was established as the centre of academic ballet. Italian dancers also developed their own styles but as the years passed, Russia became the international centre of ballet, combining the strength and passion of Italian style with the softness and fluidity of the French school. And it is one of Russia's foremost ballet theatres, the Moscow State Classical Ballet which is staging two ballet performances during Bangkok's 3rd International Festival of Dance and Music; Swan Lake and Creation of the World. Both productions are under the direction of Vladimir Vasilyov and Natalia Kasatkina, artistic director and ballet master respectively.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P><A HREF="http://globalarchive.ft.com/globalarchive/article.html?id=010906002209&query=ballet#docAnchor010906002209" TARGET=_blank><B>more....</B></A>

Meanwhile in Taiwan, the Belarus Ballet is touring this weekend with Swan Lake and Cinderella. I found a preview in yesterday's Taipei Times.<BR> <A HREF="http://www.taipeitimes.com/news/2001/09/07/story/0000102000" TARGET=_blank>http://www.taipeitimes.com/news/2001/09/07/story/0000102000</A>

<B>Let there be light</B> <P>A creation story takes the Thailand Cultural Centre by storm <P>BY ORMKWAN SANASEN in The Bangkok Post <P> <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>After the rather disappointing Swan Lake last Wednesday, one could not help but being rather sceptical about the next offering, The Creation Of The World. It is rare enough for Bangkok to host a full classical ballet production, never mind a modern one. Was it going to be a hit or a miss? How would the general Thai public react to this minimal world of stretch Lycra and monochrome spandex? <P>The Creation of the World is based on French caricaturist Jean Eiffel's Biblical satires on the book of Genesis, the story of the beginning of the world, the struggle between God and Devil over Man, the fight between good and evil where true love conquers all in the end.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> <P><A HREF="http://globalarchive.ft.com/globalarchive/article.html?id=010918001675&query=ballet" TARGET=_blank><B>more...</B></A><P><BR>Stuart adds: What a bold move by a touring Russian company. I hope we get the chance to see this production in the UK.

Actually the Moscow Classical Ballet did dance the Creation of the World in London in the early 1980s, at the Dominion Theatre. I missed it however, as I was still doing university outside London.