A Jewish couple who are soloists with the Kirov Ballet in Leningrad, have been expelled from the troupe after applying for exit visas to go to Israel. Jewish sources in the Soviet Union reported today. The sources said the dancers whose professional names are Valery Anov and Galina Lagadina, were denounced by their fellow performers when they applied to the Kirov collective for the character references required to obtain exit visas.
They appeared before the collective March 30. When they arrived at the theater for rehearsals April 1 they were not allowed in, the sources said. They were called ungrateful and treacherous characters. The director of the troupe, surnamed Galinski, advised Lagadina to leave her husband and remain with the ballet company. Another dancer, surnamed Kurdapkina, refused to perform with Anov. One of the producers, surnamed Kaplan, said he would have nothing more to do with the couple. According to the sources they have had no reply so far to their visa applications.
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