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The first number was the bedroom pdd from Manon, which, although I feel loses something for being taken out of context, seems to have established itself quite firmly in the gala and "bits" repertoires. It was well danced by Leanne Benjamin and Federico Bonelli. There then followed the Giselle Act II pdd, another item which I feel is a pity to take out of context. Roberta Marquez and Ivan Putrov were giving a good account of this and were nearing the end when disaster struck. Towards the end of his final solo Ivan slipped, fell awkwardly and stayed grounded clutching his knee in obvious pain. The orchestra continued playing and it seemed an age before the stage management got the curtain down. The audience responded with a sympathetic round of applause, but this mishap lowered the temperature of the occasion.

The next item did little to raise it, for me at any rate. We were treated to the pdd from Sheherezade by Ilze Liepa and Farukh Ruzimatov. This was danced against a washed-out back projection, vaguely resembling the Bakst decor for this ballet, to choreography which, I hope, Fokine would not have recognised, consisting as it did of classical steps interspersed with elements of what I can only describe as that sort of "Egyptian Dancing" once popular in the music halls in the days of Wilson, Keppel and Betty. If this is really what audiences of the last century considered an exhibition of unbridled sensuality then things have certainly moved on a bit. For me it was no more than a bit of high Russian camp. Ilze Liepa entered in a sequined cloak which she cast aside and indulged in a bit of "smouldering" before Ruzimatov entered. He still looks in very good physical shape although his jump is not quite what it was in his earlier days. I find, however, his dancing very mannered, and have never been able to warm to him even at the peak of his powers. The pdd seemed to go on forever, and since both dancers were wearing "harem pants" and she a sequined bra which was complemented by his sequined, I suppose you would call it, breastband, the whole affair had a slightly disturbing epicene quality. The audience loved it.
 

The next item, the Snow White pdd,danced by Tamara Rojo and Jose Martin was a real novelty. Both the composer and choreographer appear to be Spanish, but there was no information in the programme apart from their names and nothing about the ballet from which the pdd came. The opening adage was pretty conventional but things livened up with the two variations, and even more in the coda when Tamara performed a never ending series of single fouettes (I didn't count, but she must have excceded 32 by quite a margin). These were followed by some superfast chaines bringing the number to an exciting close and definitely raising the temperature.

Following this were two tried and tested pdd. First, the act II pdd from swan Lake danced by Darcey Bussell and Igor Zelensky. I think that Darcey is in top form these days as her recent performance in Ballet Imperial showed, and in this pdd she did not disappoint, giving a beautiful flow and smoothness of movement. Only at the end when she went slightly off centre in the final finger pirouette was there a moment of hesitation. There followed the pdd from Kenneth MacMillan's Concerto. Again, this is now established as a favourite number for gala and similar programmes and was well performed by Mara Galeazzi partnered by Gary Avis.

I had hoped we might be spared the Dying Swan, which in my opinion is a piece that should have died with the immortal Pavlova. But no: seeing that it was in Plistskaya's repertoire I suppose it had to make its appearance. Irma Nioradze bourreed on wearing a very large and floppy tutu that looked as if it had got the worst of a particularly violent pillow fight. Applause. She undulated her arms. More applause. She undulated again. Still more applause. By this time any magic the piece might have had, had for me completely evaporated and the dying swan was a dead duck. That this number can still be danced with some style and taste was later demonstrated by a small clip of Plisetskaya herself dancing it. But I fear that Nioradze's rendering, aided and abetted by the audience, was no more than a vulgar travesty.

To round off the first half of the programme, we should have had the Don Q pdd danced by Bolshoi dancers Stepanenko and Uvarov, but they had apparently cancelled, although no notice was given to this effect, and instead Balanchine's Tarantella was moved to this slot from the second half of the programme. It got a lively performance from Sarah Lamb and Viaceslav Samodurov, and although I would have liked a bit more bounce and sparkle from Samodurov he gave a creditable performance in this stamina-testing piece. Lamb, although not entirely convincing as a blonde Neapolitan, danced with great verve and impeccable technique and the couple managed to end this section of the programme on a high note.

But more was to come. After Tarantella, all the dancers who had appeared in the first half lined up to take a curtain call. After a couple of calls the line parted and to wild applause the Great Lady herself appeared looking remarkably younger than her 80 years and wearing an incredible black dress with irridescent green and red convoluted panels.. She took a couple of calls with the other dancers and then to the strains of Ravel's Bolero paraded the stage waving her arms and garnering the applause. Russian dancers are adept at "milking" an audience for applause and she certainly has more experience than some, and clearly revels in it. I couldn't help thinking of the heroine of Rider Haggard's novel "She", bathing in the youth-giving flame as she basked in the audience's adulation. All this went on for some quite considerable time and I was wondering whether we were going to get the whole of Bolero, when the music ceased, the curtain came down and we were able to retreat to the bar to fortify ourselves fo the second half.

This began with the balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet danced by Miyako Yoshida and Edward Watson. The only bit of scenery on stage was an incredibly steep and narrow set of steps which Yoshida managed to negotiate without mishap. She, as usual danced without apparent effort and Watson danced and partnered more strongly than I have seen him do in the past. There then followed the pdd from Balanchine's Stars and Stripes danced by Alina Cojocaru with Steven McRae. For those who are unfamiliar with this number it can be summarised as "Perky Majorette meets Jaunty Cadet" with plenty of swagger, saluting and heel-clicking. It is also technically demanding. Both dancers sailed through the difficulties with great aplomb and good humour and I think that this number gained more cheers and applause than any other on the programme. Of course Alina is already an established star, and one would have expected a good performance from her, but Steven is only just over a year out of the RBS and showed remarkable assurance in his stage presence, partnering and solo work. I understand that both of them received some coaching from Johan Kobborg and that they will be performing this pdd again at a gala in Munich.

Next, a piece originally choreographed by Roland Petit for Plisetskaya to Mahler music and entitled Death of the Rose. This was danced by Ulyana Lopatkina in pink chiffon and a bare chested Ilya Kusnetzov. I was not particularly impressed by the choreography which invoved much drifting and swooning, but since this was done by Lopatkina with her beautiful line and exceptional quality of movement, all could be forgiven. In complete contrast this was followed by a Tango number to Piazzolla music in which Marianela Nunez and Thiago Soares displayed their impeccable Latin American credentials. He in striped trousers, white shirt and black waistcoat, she in little black dress slit up the side and black pointe shoes. the choreography was a mix of classical and tango steps, but the piece as a whole failed to make a lot of impact and,I thought, showed off Thiago better than Marianela.

Irma Nioradze and Igor Zelensky then danced the Corsaire pdd. The adage was competent without being particularly exciting, and again Zelensky's variation did not rise to any great heights. Of course these days this item has become quite familiar and has rather lost the exotic appeal it had when first introduced to the West. Nioradze's variation I found rather forced and charmless. In the coda Zelensky showed more of the form we have learned to expect from him, but Nioradze performed a series of very inelegant fouettes. She has a curious way of flexing the foot of her free leg when turning which looks inelegant and surely cannot be academically correct.

There followed another set of film clips of Plisteskaya dancing various items, including Dying Swan, which I mentioned earlier, and a "Grecian" one with elaborate hand movements in which, I take it, she was supposed to be playing knucklebones. And then, to end the gala we had a number choreographed by Maurice Bejart, performed by the Great Lady herself, and somewhat sacrilegiously titled Ave Maya. To the strains of Gounod's Ave Maria Plisetskaya appeared dressed in a loose black shirt, black trousers and silver high heeled shoes. Standing with her back to the audience she wielded a couple of fans, red one side and white the other. Other than a certain amount of play with the fans and turning round to walk downstage, there was not much else to this number which I personally found a bit embarassing and was reminded, as some others also were, of Martha Graham in her latter years. Nevertheless, it elicited huge applause and after a certain number of curtain calls recorded music from Carmen began, and she proceeded to walk through one of the numbers from this past success. I think that she would have liked to go on much longer, but the music ceased, the orchestra had already left and the curtain fell on a performance that was certainly memorable and in a strange fashion, entertaining.