The long-anticipated premiere of Sergei Vikharev's reconstruction of Fokine's "Carnaval" finally has an official premiere date, as part of a triple bill that also contains last year's Flora's Awakening and a novelty titled For Four. What is that, I wonder -- could it be Dolin's all-male pas de quatre "Variations for Four"?

Link to Mariinsky web, including casting list:

http://www.mariinsky.ru/en/afisha/20080322-1-1900

Most of this year's Mariinsky Festival will be devoted to multiple performances of the K.Sergeyev Swan Lake, with int'l guest artists in the title roles. The festival will open with two showings of a new full-evening ballet by Kiril Simonov, Glass Heart. It all closes, as usual, with a Gala that, I bet, will include a second showing of Carnaval and possibly highlights of Swan Lake!?

Natalia, For Four is a piece Wheeldon originally choreographed for Kings of Dance, if I remember well, and it seems to be entering the Mariinsky repertoire (perhaps re-tailored for 4 Russian dancers).

Ah, now I remember this from the City Center Kings run. Thanks, Azulyn!

Am I the only one who thinks that a Festival consisting of multiple showings of the same production of Swan Lake is downright boring? Here you have one of the last great theaters that has a repertory system -- rarely is the same ballet performed twice in a month, hardly ever on two consecutive nights -- 'going Western' for the Festival, the way that the rest of us do it all over the world (block programming)???

I bet that the Kirov corps dancers are hating it -- doing what they have to do on tour...same thing night after night....but now having to do it at home!?

Sounds as if programmers at the K-M Theater are going a bit lazy, IMO.