annr asked: 'Will they really stay with Mikhailovsky ?'

Apparently, they are staying there because they are cast for their London tour. See my post in the Mikhailovsky page.

yes the rumour is they are going back home to Bolshoi

Olga Smirnova

I've often felt that ballet and 'lyrically beautiful dance' resemble waves in the ocean or currents of air. This is an ideal. Something that I've felt more recently is the human factor. When human warmth and beauty become a part of this idealized motion and grace then a much greater sensation, a living, loving dimension, adds immeasurably to the overall wonder.

As I view her on internet video, no one at the moment, illustrates this more beautifully than Olga Smirnova. The fact that she is only 20 years (?) old just adds yet another element -- extreme admiration.

Olga Smirnova

A few more thoughts.

Catherine posted at the Mariinsky forum…."So, Diana Vishneva noted one of the performances of Olga Smirnova from the Bolshoi Theatre. According to the prima's words, the young ballerina managed to reconcile the eternal debate between the Moscow and Vaganova schools, taking the best from them both."

viewtopic.php?f=31&t=36125&start=15


There is an expansiveness to Olga Smirnova's motion and shaping, that you might call Moscow or Bolshoi, but there is also an 'ethereal' poetry to it, that you might call Vaganova or Mariinsky.

I like to compare her with the Mariinsky's young Oxana Skorik. Oxana Skorik, to me, seems slightly more refined or restrained in her essence, but not necessarily any more dreamlike. More Mariinsky, perhaps. Even her remarkable flexibility and powerful expression respect and highlight, rather than overwhelm, this refinement.

Both these outstanding young artists are immensely beautiful.

My observations are perhaps just a moment in time. Since they are both young and developing so rapidly, what is here today may possibly be different (and probably more beautiful) tomorrow.

Smirnova is similar to Skorik? Ye Gods! that's one I'll be avoiding when they come to London then.

Dear Cassandra, please don't avoid Olga Smirnova's performances.
Although, in my opinion, she is being promoted TOO fast for as a young dancer at the Bolshoi (many roles, interviews, TV shows), but she is worth of being watched. I have seen her in solos, like Zul'ma, and in a leading role, like Aspiccia, and can assure you that she is a talented ballerina of unique personality. And this distincts her from the other dancer whom she was compared to in an earlier post.

Ismene Brown previews the Bolshoi's July 29 through August 17, 2013 London season for the Arts Desk.

Arts Desk

Bolshoi principal dancer Svetlana Lunkina, currently on leave, is setting up residence in the Toronto area. Jill Mahoney reports for the Globe and Mail.

Globe and Mail

In the New York Times, Ellen Barry reports on how the Bolshoi is faring in the aftermath of the attack on Sergei Filin.

NY Times

More about this awful story concerning Lunkina from the BBC.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-21259905

What a cesspit the Russian arts world is!

For info, the full complement of the Bolshoi’s Principal Dancers due in London this summer is:

Maria Alexandrova, Maria Allash, Nina Kaptsova, Svetlana Lunkina, Anna Nikulina, Evgenia Obraztsova, Natalia Osipova, Ekaterina Shipulina, Anastasia Stashkevich, Olga Smirnova and Svetlana Zakharova.

Semyon Chudin, David Hallberg, Mikhail Lobukhin, Vyacheslav Lopatin, Artem Ovcharenko, Ruslan Skvortsov, Nikolai Tsiskaridze, Ivan Vasiliev and Alexander Volchkov.

And for completeness, the performance dates are:
Swan Lake: 29, 30, 31 July and 1, 10, 14, 15 August at 7.30pm; 10 August 2pm
La Bayadère: 2, 3, August at 7.30pm; 3 August at 2pm
The Sleeping Beauty: 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 August at 7.30pm
Triple Bill (Classical Symphony, The Rite of Spring, Diamonds): 12, 13 August at 7.30pm
The Flames of Paris: 16, 17 August at 7.30pm; 17 August at 2pm

Mark Monahan interviews Bolshoi general director Anatoly Iksanov for the Telegraph.

Telegraph

In the New York Times, Roslyn Sulcas reports that the premiere of Wayne McGregor's "Rite of Spring" scheduled for late March 2013 is being postponed.

NY Times

McGregor's Rite of Spring postponed

As reported elsewhere, following the recent acid attack on Sergei Filin, The Bolshoi Ballet has postponed productioon of Wayne McGregor’s new production of "The Rite of Spring". Instead, the company will dance a new version by Tatiana Baganova, director of the Provincial Dances Theatre in Yekaterinberg. This will be the first time she has worked with the Bolshoi. Although not confirmed, it is likely Baganova's production will also replace the McGregor in London.

McGregor's new production was to have been screened live in cinemas worldwide on March 31. In the UK, this will be replaced by a recording of the Bolshoi in Esmeralda.

The Bolshoi’s festival celebrating The Rite of Spring, including performances of the Pina Bausch and Maurice Béjart productions by Tanztheater Wuppertaal and Ballet Bejart Lausanne, is still expected to go ahead

The Bolshoi will dance Ratmansky's Lost Illusions at the Paris Opera in January 1914. Details here:

http://www.operadeparis.fr/saison_2013_ ... oi/detail/