Anna Tsygankova

Anna Tsygankova danced Cinderella on the last night of the Dutch National Ballet's season at the Coliseum and her performance was a triumph. It was the first time that I had seen her but I will make sure that it is not the last. I hope that the next occasion that I see her will be at the opening gala of the Amsterdam ballet season on the 8 Sept 2015.

Tsygankova talks about her role in Cinderella in the above video that the company has released recently on YouTube.  In it she describes her collaboration  with Christopher Wheeldon which was clearly a remarkable experience. She states how it helped her develop as a dancer.  The video also shows glimpses of her in Don Quixote, Giselle, Romeo and Juliet, Swan Lake and other ballets.

The final shots show her at the piano in a building with magnificent views of Amsterdam. She explains how she was brought up in a musical family where her parents practised every single day. From the little I heard she is an accomplished pianist in her own right,

The Dutch National Ballet is one of the world's great ballet companies and it is on our doorstep. Amsterdam is easier to reach than London for many of us in the UK and a good deal less expensive once you get there. There will be quite a contingent from this country at the opening gala. Kenneth Leadbeater has proposed a British chapter of the Friends of the Dutch National Ballet along the lines of the American Friends of Covent Garden and the London Ballet Circle has promoted that idea in its latest newsletter. The Junior Company has enjoyed two successful seasons at The Linbury and I hope we will bring them back to the UK (perhaps to Leeds) notwithstanding the closure of the Linbury.  Tsygankova will be assured of an appreciative audience whenever she steps onto one of our stages.