Show must go on for Bolshoi Theatre

Despite being dogged by a series of controversies over the past year, dancers at the Bolshoi Theatre, have shown that as professionals, the show must go on. The Bolshoi troupe will arrive in London later this month for a three-week season of new ballet productions to mark the 50th anniversary of its first visit to the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden. The season opens with Swan Lake before moving on to La Bayadere; The Sleeping Beauty; Jewels: Emeralds, Rubies, Diamonds; and The Flames of Paris.

Last week, the Russian Ministry of Culture hired Vladimir Urin of the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Music Theatre to head the Bolshoi and help restore the prestigious institution’s reputation. The outgoing head, Anatoly Iksanov, will be leaving the Bolshoi under a dark cloud. Under Iksanov’s reign, artistic director Sergei Filin was severely injured and almost blinded in an acid attack allegedly ordered by dancer Pavel Dmitrichenko. Separately, Iksanov was accused of mismanaging funds following a lengthy renovation of the Bolshoi that cost roughly half a billion pounds. The three-week season opens on 19 July and ends on 17 August.