Russian ballet in Canada

The Russians are coming, the Russians are coming. And the National Ballet of Canada is not pleased.
Call it a "faux pas de deux," or "clash of the dance titans."
It's what happens when two pieces of good news add up to bad news for somebody, informs thestar.com.
First news bulletin: The Sony Centre for the Performing Arts, which will reopen in October after a renovation currently underway, has scored a coup by securing the first Toronto appearance in more than two decades of the full Kirov Ballet (known as the Mariinsky Ballet at home in St. Petersburg.)
Second news bulletin: A mixed program showcasing up-to-date Russian choreography is an innovative highlight of the National Ballet's 2010/2011 season, to be unveiled Monday by artistic director Karen Kain.
Now here's the whoops! factor: the Kirov is scheduled to dazzle Toronto audiences at the Sony Centre the same week in early March 2011 that the National Ballet plans to salute the marvels of Russian dance a few blocks away at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts.
The result: an unseemly behind-the-scenes squabble over the past couple of weeks between the ballet company and its former landlord and partner the Sony Centre, with city hall caught in the middle.

11.02.10