MOSCOW, April 11 - RAPSI. The Tverskoy District Court of Moscow granted in part a claim filed against the world-famous Bolshoi theater by its principal dancer Nikolai Tsiskaridze challenging disciplinary measures taken against him over his public criticism of the theater.

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Late last January, Tsiskaridze told RIA Novosti that he had been regularly harassed by Bolshoi Theater management. The dispute between management and the dancer escalated after an assault on Sergei Filin, the artistic director of the ballet company. Tsiskaridze was rumored to have been involved in the incident. Tsiskaridze's attorney asserted during the hearing that the theater had done more damage to her client by asserting his involvement than the dancer did to the Bolshoi through the interviews he provided.

Tsiskaridze filed a lawsuit against the Bolshoi demanding revocation of the two disciplinary actions imposed on him in February. It was announced soon afterwards that the issue could be settled out of court as an amicable agreement. But the Bolshoi Theatre spokesperson Alina Kudryavtseva finally turned down the option by saying that the dancer knowingly proposed unacceptable terms for an amicable agreement.

This isn’t the Bolshoi’s first trip to court at the hands of an angry dancer. Anastasia Volochkova made dominated global headlines in 2003 when she was fired from the Bolshoi for her weight. In September 2003, Volochkova was officially fired on the grounds that she failed to meet physical fitness requirements and an inability of the theater to select a suitable partner for her. The court upheld Volochkova's lawsuit against the theater and she resumed her work there. She soon left the theater, although technically she remains its prima ballerina.