It's made Maina available to us ? her staging of Giselle was absolutely wonderful, and we're really looking forward to having her back to restage it next year.

It doesn't matter where we are or what's easier or best for us. It doesn't matter where we play or who we play. Your job is your job. No one is going to feel sorry for you out there, so why feel sorry for yourself?

[But there are others uneasy about the encroachment of bare skin.] I think as a rule in classical ballet there is not a great call for nudity, ... Our aesthetic is one built around a clarity of line and form which is seen at its best when there is a uniform covering of the body.

[So we won't be seeing the Australian Ballet consider a naked Albrecht, a la Mats Ek, any time soon?] It would not be the sort of thing that we would seek out, ... I think if one relies on sensationalist nudity to make a ballet relevant to a contemporary audience then there obviously is some work needed on that ballet.

The proof is that we've continued to commission him and have a very good relationship with him.

We'll do this a lot more often. It takes both enforcement and education to sever the lines.