Hi, dear Kevin, dear Stuart, nice to see you here.<BR>To Shazna,<BR>I don't think Viladimer Malakohv will dance in Japan this August and September.<BR>When he guests in Japan, he usually dances with Tokyo Ballet. He gave 19 performances of Sleeping Beauty with the company last November and December (It was a terrible production though). The company is now planning a new production of Don Quixote (by Vlamdimer Vasiliyev, wrong spelling?) for June/ July and has invited Silvie Guillem to guest with them in this Sep. and Oct.<BR>New National Theater Ballet is planning to give some performances of Romeo and Juliet in this September, and Cinderella this December (cast TBA). But I think the possibility of his guesting is very small,because the New National Ballet does not pay as much as the private comapnies pay. <BR>BTW, the Paris pair Agnes Letestu/ Jose Martinez will dance Swan Lake with Tokyo Ballet in this June. <BR>Also, Nicolas le Riche will bring his small group to Japan in late July and Nina Aniashvili will come to Japan again with her Bolshoi friends in September and October.<BR>FYI.<P><BR>[This message has been edited by Xinxin (edited April 04, 2001).]<p>[This message has been edited by Xinxin (edited April 04, 2001).]

Kevin<BR>I went to <A HREF="http://www.nbs.or.jp" TARGET=_blank>www.nbs.or.jp</A> <BR>But could not find the news about Malakhov and Julie Kent, there was only Silvie.<BR>I hope they will come, so that I will be able to see them again.<BR><p>[This message has been edited by Xinxin (edited April 04, 2001).]

Xinxin, thanks for your info. And welcome back to Beijing, after your long stay in Japan!

Oh, sorry, I forgot this.<BR>Yes, Malakhov and Julide Kent will give 2 special performances of Giselle on September 4 and 5.<BR>I had got the news before I left Tokyo, but forgot it at all, because it is not possible for me to go back to Tokyo by Sept. 7.<BR><p>[This message has been edited by Xinxin (edited April 05, 2001).]

Xinxin, many thanks for the information on Giselle, as well as the other performances. Also for providing the link to NBS, which I have been looking for since Kevin mentioned it.<P>The Japanese are so lucky, they are getting so many big stars in a year.

I looked in the English section of the website, but couldn't find any details of the Sylvie Guillem performances. Probably it's too early at this stage.<p>[This message has been edited by Kevin Ng (edited April 07, 2001).]

A friend showed me this fun Japanese website.<BR> <A HREF="http://village.infoweb.ne.jp/~usamaru/ballet/sozai/web_e.htm" TARGET=_blank>http://village.infoweb.ne.jp/~usamaru/ballet/sozai/web_e.htm</A> <P>

That is really a cute website, Kevin....some of the graphics are really adorable.

Reminds me of the first time I saw Swan Lake - Japanese anime! I don't really remember the cartoon anymore, except that the owl looked a bit silly, but that was the first time I heard the music and loved it.

Oh yes, and the <I>second</I> time I saw Swan Lake was actually Swine Lake - Nureyev's pas de deux with Miss Piggy. Some dance foundation, huh. It was hilarious, especially the ending when Miss Piggy did a big leap into the air and squashed Nureyev flat.

Yes, Shazna - I remember that episode ....<P>I actually have the tape of it. At one point there is a real female ballet dancer inside the Miss Piggy costume. I thought Nureyev showed a humorous side of his personality in that skit.