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Two summer festivals in Dalmatia are offering two wonderful ballets this summer - at the exact same time. One of them is Swan Lake, without a doubt my favorite ballet, perforemd by the Imperial Russian Ballet, the other are a number of scenes from several famous ballets, performed by Kirov - including the Dying Swan by Ulyana Lopatkina. Among 16 dancers, Vishneva will also be performing.

I've been trying to decide for several weeks and didn't get far. I need help

Moderator's Note:
This query was moved to "Anything Goes" from "Discovering the Art". "Discovering" is more of an educational forum -- not related to such practical matters.

Do you rarely get a chance to see "Swan Lake" and need a fix?

Or do you want to see a sampler-type program and lots of different dancers from one of the world's great companies?

I'd make the choice that way. And please tell us what you choose AND most important, write about what you saw. That will help the next person choose!

(I was delighted to learn that Russia is an Empire again....)

Several months ago, when I found out about the Swan Lake performance, I tried to translate the name of the company to English and asked about it here, because I didn't know who they were. With Mr. Johnson's help I found out about the Imperial Ballet
I just checked the website and the English version says "Royal Russian Ballet". I am pretty much confused

I saw Swan Lake three times this season But seeing it performed by a different company is always interesting.
On the other hand, Kirov is... Kirov.

I saw a mixed program the Imperial Russian Ballet in Toronto a few years ago (if indeed, it was the same company- there are so many troupes with similar names: http://www.aha.ru/~vladmo/imperial.html). They had some very talented soloists, but it is still a relatively small company and Swan Lake requires a very solid group of dancers that performs the classics frequently... I think it's hard to go wrong with the Kirov, but then again, you could be pleasantly surprised by the smaller company!
I don't think Toronto balletgoers have ever been faced with such a decision! So consider yourself lucky:)