No Russians this year

Well, I don't get to dance with the Russians this year.

I was called again to come to audition for a supernumerary role with the Mariinsky (Kirov) Ballet's Don Quixote production, so I dragged myself down to the Kennedy Center for the auditions tonight. You may recall that I've danced with them the past three years. But, not this year. They only cast eight men, all of them about 5'8" or 5'9" and with a similar build.

So much for all my practicing on my grands jetés and plies. LOL. Seriously, though, professional ballet is often cast based on who fits the existing costumes, not who is the best dancer, and it sounds to me like they've got eight costumes for eight average-sized guys. The production opens tomorrow night, so there wouldn't be time to build all new costumes for a bunch of different sized supers.

I'm not all that disappointed. Since I don't live in Foggy Bottom anymore, it's a major effort to commute all the way down to the Kennedy Center daily, and, on top of that, the television weathermen are predicting really cold temperatures ("fifteen year lows") the end of the week. So, I'll just stay home and keep warm.