at Ruth Seaton James Centre runs January 17 to 20 After Monday night's bravura performance from the stars of the legendary Bolshoi Ballet one can but wonder how it will be topped during 2000, and we're only three weeks into the year.

It is doubtful such an unforgettably brilliant performance could be surpassed.

The Bolshoi's four nights at the Ruth Seaton James Centre this week, dedicated to the late arts benefactor and long-time Bermuda resident Paul Lepercq, are sure to go down in the Island's history books.

A stunned audience was left with an overwhelming sense of the honour and privilege it was to be there. What better way could there be for the Bermuda Festival to celebrate its 25th anniversary? All ten of the company's dancers -- appearing in a mixed programme of the best-loved pas-de-deux and solos from the classical repertoire -- are without exception principals in their own right.

And any pair would typically take the leading roles in full-length ballets and enthral an audience in any of the world's greatest theatres. Yet, Bermuda was blessed with all ten dancing on the Ruth Seaton James stage at the same time.

Needless to say, each performer dwarfed her or his relatively tiny confines, coping admirably within its limits. Similarly, they gave our own ballet schools something to look up to and will serve as inspiration to budding Bermuda dancers for years to come.

A moved audience was on its feet en masse at the show's close and the tumultuous applause was ringing around the auditorium long after the curtain fell. Yet, unbelievably, there were empty seats in the house. This was an occasion when it should have been packed to the rafters.

The Bolshoi, one of Russia's and the world's leading ballet companies and set to celebrate its 225th anniversary next year, long had a reputation for majoring in masculine ballets which exploited the fabulous male dancer.

But in more recent years, under its current director Vladimir Vasiliev, himself a former principal dancer of world renown, the company has sought to return to a more feminine grace.

Vasiliev and ballet director Nikolai Fadeetchev have clearly found their sought after versatility if last night's performance is anything to go by.

However, there is still no mistaking that the Bolshoi male dancer is a force apart. All bestrode the stage with unimaginable power and it was this that inspired Mr. Lepercq, who dedicated so much of his time and energy to supporting dance.

This performace would likely not have been possible were it not for his involvement. Mr. Lepercq enjoyed a long and supportive relationship with the company and Mr. Vasiliev. He helped to establish, in the United States, The Bolshoi Ballet and Opera Foundation, and served as its chairman. It was also with his financial assistance that the company produced several ballets. And it is thanks to his personal interest and generosity that the Bolshoi is making this unprecedented visit, quite separate from any organised tour of the West.

From the moment the first dancer stepped onto her pointes, this beautifully costumed presentation proved a demonstration in steely technique clothed in effortless grace and lyrical beauty.

The mixed programme was expertly cast with dancers invited to exhibit individual skills they best excel at, some bringing the very essence and spirit of the whole ballet from which their excerpt was taken to bear on their performance.

The evening opened with Danish choreographer August Bournonville's Flower Festival in Genzanodanced by Anastasia Goryacheva and Gennady Yanin who gave a touching and charming account of the piece. The duo also delighted the house with Vasiliev's Classical Duetin Act 2.

This second work was particularly testing in that it demanded complete unison from the pair and here the symbiosis was palpable. Here was perfect partnering, executed with serene carriage.

A simple rond de jambe en l'air from Goryacheva took my breath away and Yanin's feet in battements were like butterflies.

Bolshoi protege, Svetlana Lunkina, and long-time favourite, Andrei Uvarov, proved an exciting pair in Petipa and Tchaikovsky's time-honoured pas-de-deux from The Sleeping Beauty.

Uvarov's majesty and charisma was as evident in his partnering as in his breathtaking grand jete. Like her compatriot Marianna Ryjkina, Lunkina has feet and legs to die for and dances with the flexibility and tensile strength of a violin string. Her bourree in Fokine's legendary "The Dying Swan'' melted like butter.

Galina Stepanenko, a poised and expressive dancer, proved herself the queen of the fouette on Monday night with enough of these mesmerising turns on pointe to whip up a meringue.

She was partnered in Petipa's "Le Corsaire'' by Yuri Klevtsov, a danceur very much in the Bolshoi's muscular mould. He brought a tactile majesty to his role and similarly with Ryjkina in the Vaganova version of the "Diana and Actaeon'' pas-de-deux from "Esmeralda''.

Both pieces in their combinations of leaps and turns as danced by these two couples spoke of limitless virtuosity.

Stepanenko joined Uvarov for Minkus's and Petipa's "Don Quixote'', a ballet which actually had its premiere in Moscow's Bolshoi Theatre in 1869. Both these seasoned dancers brought exemplary pride and gravitas to their roles.

Dancing with immeasurable elan, Uvarov's powerful and expansive jetes threatened to knock down the proscenium while his partner wowed her on-lookers with a superbly flirtatious passe combination.

Bringing their respective scenes to life were Inna Petrova and Sergei Filin who gave a playful account of Bournonville's version of "La Sylphidein'' Act 1. Petrova was every bit the shimmering, elusive skein, while Filin, a dancer with a heart-warming presence, dazzled his audience with innumerable entre-chats.

The two were paired again in Glazunov's "Raymonda'', opening the second half, which they executed with a haunting and languid ardour in its slower moments.

Then came some razor-sharp scissor-like leaps from Filin while Petrova span like a top.

Bolshoi makes history for Festival 2000 Sublime athleticism would best describe Ryjkina and Nikolai Tsiskaridze's performance in Gsovsky's "Grand Pas Classique''. Ryjkina seems to have been born with pointe shoes on her feet. She balanced, apparently unshakeable, in attitude or releve passe for what seemed like minutes. In pirouette combinations she whipped with the silken speed of a gyroscope.

Tsiscaridze, with his perfect physique, also gave us an unforgettable rendition of Goleizovsky's bewitching Narcissus. In both his appearances, his extension and ballon left one wondering whether he was truly earthbound.

In fact, the ballet company very nearly was, as flight delays, last-minute re-routing and foul weather threatened to prevent the Bolshoi from appearing at all. Due to arrive on Saturday they didn't touch down until Monday lunchtime with but an hour or so to warm up.

The technical support coped well with such short rehearsal time. One slight hiccup with the lighting, however, in Ryjkina's solo did little to rattle the dancer's steely nerve. It would take more than a 40-mile-an-hour wind to knock these performers off their pointes.

Completing the evening was Vasiliev's "Symphony No. 6'' with the entire cast.

This was a mind-blowing and fitting finish to a sumptuous evening of dance.

Surprisingly, the Bolshoi's four nights at the Ruth Seaton James Centre are not sold out. This may be because the company's reputation, in the US in particular, has been marred somewhat in recent years as touring groups associated with the theatre and much less prestigious than this one have sought to pull crowds using the Bolshoi name.

However, make no mistake, as dancing this week are the company's best. If ever there was a performance not to be missed in the history of the performing arts in Bermuda, this is it.

LOUISE FOISTER THEATRE THR REVIEW REV