Not that I have been particularly waiting to see Spartacus, but it's been a year since I've been at Töölö Bay.

So, at long last, a week ago I saw the new choreography of Spartacus by Lucas Jervies to Aram Khachaturian's music. It had been a long day at work away from home, and I barely had time to grab some food and change clothes before leaving for the ballet. On one hand I would have been happy to stay home and rest, but on the other I was eager to go after the long break.

At first it seemed rather silly, and I couldn't help seeking historical inaccuracies (such as, how could a slave girl be called Flavia, and why do the men wear trousers). But really, a 20th century ballet is not a documentary of republican Rome and with an effort I turned my impertinent nitpicking off, and was finally able to enjoy the interpretation, which was actually quite nice, even if not really inspiring. At the end there was wild applause and shouting; hard to fathom why. Was there a claque??

When leaving I heard a voice at the exit say behind my back: "Two decent pas de deux make up for a lot". And "even Khachaturian makes mistakes". It really summarised my feelings perfectly.