Article at a glance:

Shall we dance?

After centuries of artistic excellence in a protected environment, Russia's Bolshoi Theater is struggling as the country's economy is transformed. The acclaimed ballet troupe, like its industrial counterparts, must find ways to compete for funding and talent during the transition to a market economy.

The take-away

Starting with a sharp look at fund-raising efforts and ticketing policies, a new management at the theater is meeting this challenge by taking steps that have included tapping the pricing expertise of the scalpers, or "pillar people," who congregate under the theater's neoclassical columns.