Worth flying to Paris to see
And yes, that is exactly what I did. With the sole exception of Yevgeny Neff (or more aptly, Notgoodeneff), this is a joy from start to finish. Farouk and Altynai were deservedly the toast of Paris. Much hogwash has been written and broadcast (during ABT's far inferior version) of how confusing the plot is. How confusing is boy gets girl, boy loses girl, and gets her back again twice? Give me a break! The trio des Odalisques is some of the best classical choreography I have ever seen. (For some reason, Irina Chistyakova who dances the third Odalisque sees her credit go to Margarita Kullik.) By now most of us will have seen Le Corsaire pas de deux staged by Rudolf, in its original pas de trois form, it makes far more sense. This is a must-have for every dedicated balletomane.
