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I could not have wished for a more interesting interviewee than Alexei Fadeyechev, the 39-year-old Artistic Director of the Bolshoi Ballet. The Bolshoi, undoubtedly Moscow's most illustrious cultural ambassador, gave three sold-out performances of "Don Quixote" at the Shatin Town Hall in Hong Kong from 25th to 27th November 1999.

At 7 p.m. on 23rd November, we met inside the Shatin Town Hall, Fadeyechev smiling and appearing totally unruffled despite a hectic schedule and being detained for an hour on two other interviews that had overrun. I suggested that perhaps he might like to see Hong Kong's famous night scene from Victoria Harbour, instead of facing me for another hour in a room to do the interview.

Fadeyechev gladly went along with my idea, and so we took a taxi to Causeway Bay and boarded a sightseeing boat. Fadeyechev also brought along several of his colleagues including Semen Kaufman, the deputy General and Artistic Director of Bolshoi Theatre; and Irina Kazarian, the Bolshoi's senior interpreter and tour manager. And my interview was conducted when Fadeyechev was admiring the colourful illuminations on the facades of the buildings on both sides of Victoria Harbour.

"What a beautiful view you have in the city. It is really something!" exclaimed Fadeyechev who also put me at ease by offering nothing but praise for the Chinese food that I ordered for dinner. "I am impressed by the 'One Country, Two Systems' concept", he also remarked about Hong Kong, displaying his knowledge of politics. However, he was less pleased with the strong air-conditioning that we seem to run here.

One of the finest "danseurs nobles" of his generation, Fadeychev's dancing was always dignified and graceful, which I was lucky to have experienced during the two Bolshoi seasons in London in the 1980s. I particularly remember his "Swan Lake" with Nina Ananiashvili on a Saturday matinee at the London Coliseum in the summer of 1989, as well as his "Ivan The Terrible" at Covent Garden during the Bolshoi's triumphant season in 1986.

Fadeyechev was born into a balletic family. His father Nikolai, now a Ballet Master and who was also in Hong Kong, was one of the Bolshoi's greatest dancers of his era in the 1950s and 1960s. His wife Tatiana is also a Bolshoi dancer. They do not yet have children.

What are his favourite roles as a dancer? "My favourites are still the princely roles. And I like Grigorovich's "Ivan The Terrible"."

In the early 1990s, Fadeyechev and Nina Ananiashvili guested with the Royal Ballet in "The Nutcracker" as well as Sir Kenneth MacMillan's "The Prince of the Pagodas". He enthused about the latter role. "This role was something new to me, as I had to dance a lizard as well as a prince!" And during the Bolshoi's season in London in July, Fadeyechev had a short reunion with the Royal Ballet's management when he saw Sir Anthony Dowell and Monica Mason at the Coliseum after a performance.

I am somewhat surprised by Fadeyechev's decision to retire from dancing last year at the peak of his dancing career before taking office as the artistic director. "Well, a good artistic director cannot also be a dancer who is constantly thinking of his own dancing career."

But does he not regret not dancing any more? "Not really. I can now eat without worrying about having to stay thin. And I can now live a normal life, without having to do class everyday."

As the artistic director, Fadeyechev expressed that he is always willing to listen to his dancers' individual problems. But with 210 dancers in the company, how does he find the time to maintain this 'open-door' policy? "I can find the right balance. But when I am busy with the paper work in my office, I will close my door of course!" he joked.

The Bolshoi's 210 dancers are often divided into two or three groups. That week, while one group was touring Hong Kong, another was still performing in Moscow in the bitter Russian winter, with temperatures at minus ten degrees Celsius. The Bolshoi will in fact celebrate its 225th anniversary in March 2001.

Fadeyechev praised his Bolshoi dancers. "My dancers all work very hard. However due to the large number of casts that we have in Moscow, they cannot always perform as often as they would have liked." He added, "I try to give my dancers flexibility so that they can spend brief periods guesting with Western companies."

I mentioned about the prominence the Kirov gave to its young stars in their early twenties such as Svetlana Zakharova, Diana Vishneva, and Andrian Fadeyev at its Met season in New York last summer, and wondered if Fadeyechev also pursues this policy. "We are unlike the Kirov in this respect. We have ballerinas from different generations. Nina Ananiashvili is our prima ballerina, and we also have Galina Stepanenko and Nadezhda Gracheva from younger generations."

Who does he see as the Bolshoi's current danseur noble? "Uvarov, maybe" was his answer.

Fadeyechev explained about his approach. "I try to make the Bolshoi a more humanistic institution. It is more important to be human. I respect those dancers who have given their whole lives to this theatre." He cited the example of Marina Semyonova, the 92-year-old former prima ballerina who is currently a treasured coach and teacher. "Young dancers need examples from older generations."

The Bolshoi's new stars include the 20-year-old Svetlana Lunkina who did Kitri for the third and final Hong Kong performance. Lunkina also dazzled the London public last summer. Another is Maria Alexandrova.

Fadeyechev however expressed difficulty in finding a talented ballet choreographer in Russia. Still the Bolshoi's current repertory is more diverse than ever in its history. The company recently triumphed in a triple-bill programme devoted to George Balanchine, the greatest choreographer of this century, consisting of "Agon", "Mozartiana", and "Symphony in C". One of Fadeyechev's plans for next year is to commission Pierre Lacotte to revive the Petipa ballet "Pharaoh's Daughter". But the Bolshoi's past era under Yuri Grigorovich is not forgotten. Grigorovich's ballets "are still performed often."

So, who are the choreographers whom Fadeyechev admires in particular? "I admire Jiri Kylian and John Neumeier." As for British choreographers, he named "MacMillan, Ashton, and also Matthew Bourne!"

By now we had reached Victoria Peak by car - fine views all around - but before parting I asked about the Bolshoi's touring. Aren't these tours just about commerical considerations and earning hard currency? "Not at all. I want these tours to show off our distinguished principals and talented soloists. It is also to enhance our international reputation." Fadeyechev has certainly achieved this objective with the London Coliseum season in July, and next year (2000) the tour to North America will hopefully be as successful.

And the great news is that the Bolshoi is to return to Britain in the summer of 2001 to perform in the newly reopened Royal Opera House. Naturally I am already planning a tour of the Millennium Dome for Fadeyechev and his dancers!