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I attended both evenings of the Balanchne programme. Just some brief thoughts. I dare say that the Kirov's performances of those four Balanchine masterpieces can stand up pretty well in comparison to the none too impressive state at present of the New York City Ballet in their Balanchine repertory. The second evening was marginally more satisfying than the opening night.

I've not seen The Four Temperaments since the Kirov's premiere in April 2004; this ballet wasn't shown in London last summer. Anton Korsakov was as intense as the Melancholic soloist on both evenings. In the Sanguinic movement, Irina Golub on the second night, partnered by Mikhail Lobukhin, was wholly Balanchinean in her dancing and musicality. Golub sparkled in this movement, more than Ekaterina Osmolkina on the first night.

On both evenings Andrei Merkuriev danced beautifully as the Phlegmatic soloist, and Ekaterina Petina was sharp and incisive as the Choleric ballerina. On the whole, it was a vibrant performance by the whole company.

It was a pleasure to see again Andrei Merkuriev's superlative and intensely moving performance as The Prodigal Son in the second evening. Merkuriev is in my opinion the most interesting Kirov male dancer to watch at present with his diversified repertory. Why wasn't he cast in the first night by the way? Mikhail Lobukhin in the title role on the opening night was dull and bland in comparison. Ekaterina Kondaurova was good as the Siren on both evenings.

Uliana Lopatkaina was, as before, superb in La Valse, partnered by Vladimir Shishov. In the supporting roles, Evgenia Obraztsova and Vasily Scherbakov stood out in the second pas de deux.

Ballet Imperial was sumptuously danced. Diana Vishneva and Igor Zelensky gave a stellar performance on the opening night. But Viktoria Tereshkina and Igor Kolb were also impressive on the following night. Kolb danced with more expressiveness than in London, and Tereshina was meltingly lyrical in the adagio. As the second ballerina Ekaterina Osmolkina on the first night was better than Olesia Novikova on the following night. Evgenia Obraztsova and Yana Selina were superb as the two lead women in the corps in the adagio.

I look forward to seeing at least two casts of Chemiakin's Nutcracker this weekend.