Bolshoi soloist Pavel Dmitrichenko is believed not only to have ordered the attack on artistic director Sergei Filin but to have organised it, Moscow police spokesman Maxim Kolosvetov said.

Dmitrichenko and his two co-defendants appeared today in a Moscow court.

A judge decided they should remain in custody pending trial.

Dmitrichenko was shown in video provided by police confessing to masterminding the attack.

State television has suggested that he was motivated by Mr Filin's refusal to cast his girlfriend, also a Bolshoi dancer, in a starring role.

Mr Filin suffered severe burns to his eyes and face on January 17 when a masked attacker threw a jar of sulphuric acid in his face as he returned home late at night. The 42-year-old former dancer is still undergoing treatment in Germany.

Dmitrichenko, who joined the Bolshoi in 2002, has danced several major parts in recent years, including Ivan the Terrible in the ballet of the same name and the villain in Swan Lake.

The Bolshoi Theatre is one of Russia's premier cultural institutions, best known for Swan Lake and other grand classical ballets that grace its stage. But backstage, the ballet company has been troubled by intrigue and in-fighting which have led to the departure of several artistic directors over the past few years.

Mr Filin's colleagues have said the attack could be in retaliation for his selection of certain dancers over others for prized roles.