Mikhailovsky Theatre Ballet

St Petersburg's Mikhailovsky Ballet has gone through quite a transformation in the last couple of years. A new director for the theatre (businessman Vladimir Kekhman, bringing his big bucks with him), a new artistic director, the Spanish contemporary choreographer Nacho Duato, and a new star couple, dancers Ivan Vasiliev and Natalia Osipova, defected from the Bolshoi. This London season will be a chance to see what it all adds up to. There are five different productions, ranging from big classic ballets ('Giselle', 'Don Quixote') to the the most traditional of Soviet shows ('Laurencia') to contemporary works by Duato and a new full-length piece from him, 'Multiplicity', set to the music of Bach. The big-leaping Vasiliev and intense Osipova are well worth seeing, and there are also guest appearances by the gorgeous Berlin Staatsoper ballerina Polina Semionova. Whatever happens, it's bound to be interesting.