The Bolshoi’s Nikolay Tsiskaridze on 9/11

Nikolay Tsiskaridze has zigzagged the world with the Bolshoi Theater and been a regular in the Big Apple. The dancer told RT he could not believe his eyes when he saw the city in ruins.

“I remember the day very well, because I actually came back from New York on the eve, on the 8th or 9th of September. To tell the truth, American security officers working in airports are always getting on my nerves. For some reason, they always see some kind of a threat in me, a person who they have to examine most thoroughly. So while I was queuing up to be screened, there was a bunch of people ahead of me. When I looked at them, I thought I'd definitely examine them if it was my job. I then thought, ‘Hey, why doesn't anybody check them?' It was clear to me that if somebody would smuggle anything on board, it was going to be them…

Two days later I had dinner at home, watching the TV after work. It was a live transmission, after the first plane had crashed and the other not yet. While watching this news report, I caught myself thinking, ‘Gosh, it looks awful. What a terribly silly Hollywood film they have made in America. When will they stop shooting New York going under water, burning or in ruin?' I thought. That's when I realized that it wasn't a show, but a reality,” the ballet star recalled.

via rt.com

Gramilano( Editor )

Graham Spicer is a writer, director and photographer in Milan, blogging (under the name ‘Gramilano') about dance, opera, music and photography for people “who are a bit like me and like some of the things I like”. He was a regular columnist for Opera Now magazine and wrote for the BBC until transferring to Italy.

His scribblings have appeared in various publications from Woman's Weekly to Gay Times, and he wrote the ‘Danza in Italia' column for Dancing Times magazine.