Agrippina Vaganova

Agrippina Vaganova

Agrippina Yakovlevna Vaganova ( _ru. Агриппина Яковлевна Ваганова) (July 6 1879 - November 5 1951) was an outstanding Russian ballet teacher who developed the Vaganova method - the technique which derived from the teaching methods of the old "Imperial Ballet School" (today the "Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet") under the "Premier Maître de Ballet" Marius Petipa throughout the mid to late 19th century, though mostly throughout the 1880s and 1890s. It was Vaganova who perfected and cultivated this form of teaching the art of classical ballet into a workable syllabus. Her "Fundamentals of the Classical Dance" (1934) remains a standard textbook for the instruction of ballet technique.

Vaganova's whole life was connected with the Imperial Ballet (later the Kirov Ballet) of the Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg. She was accepted into the Imperial Ballet School in 1888, the great institution of classical dance founded by Anna of Russia and funded by the Tsars. She graduated from the "Classe de Perfection" of the former "Prima Ballerina" Eugeniia Sokolova (she was also trained by Ekaterina Vazem, Enrico Cecchetti, Christian Johansson, and Pavel Gerdt).

Ballet did not come easily to Vaganova in her first years as a student, but slowly, through the efforts of her own will power, she was able to join the illustrious Imperial Ballet upon her graduation. By the time she attained the rank of soloist, Saint Petersburg balletomanes dubbed her "queen of variations", for her unlimited virtuosity and level of technique.

The old Maestro Petipa cared little for Vaganova as a dancer — any mention of her performances in his diaries were usually followed by such comments as "awful" or "dreadful". But Petipa was notorious for offhand remarks about the greatest dancers of his time, including the prima ballerina assuluta, Mathilde Kschessinska, who he thought "rotten", "spiteful", and a "nasty swine". [http://books.google.com/books?id=7gIDy6ait3IC&pg=PA22&dq=vaganova+petipa+dreadful&as_brr=0&sig=ACfU3U0Am4uGVzSvMGk3vdmom7QF1lsHpQ] In 1915 the Ballet Master Nikolai Legat cast Vaganova as the Goddess Niriti in his revival of Petipa's 1889 grand ballet "The Talisman". Vaganova's portrayal was a great success, and won her promotion to the rank of "Prima". Nevertheless, she chose to retire one year later to concentrate on teaching.

In 1916 Vaganova began teaching at the "khortekhnikum", as the Imperial Ballet School was by then known. Though she did have a respectable career as a dancer, her leadership in teaching classical dance was what gave her one of the most respected places in the history of ballet. Her own early struggle with deciphering ballet technique had taught her much. She taught students who would go on to become legends of the dance.

After the Revolution of 1917 the future of ballet in Russia looked grim because of its tradition as court entertainment. Vaganova "fought tooth and nail", as she put it, for the preservation of the legacy of Marius Petipa and the Imperial Ballet. In 1934 she was appointed director of the "khortekhnikum", the school which now bears her name: The Vaganova Ballet Academy. This is the school that prepares dancers to perform with the Kirov Ballet.

Among Vaganova's pupils were the distinguished Soviet ballerinas Natalia Dudinskaya, Marina Semenova, Galina Ulanova, Olga Lepeshinskaya, and Maya Plisetskaya. Her teaching combined the elegant, refined style of the Imperial Ballet which Vaganova had been taught by Enrico Cecchetti with more vigorous dancing developed in the Soviet Union. In 1933, she staged and choreographed the celebrated version of "Swan Lake" with Ulanova as Odette-Odile.

Famous graduates of the Vaganova Ballet Academy include many who achieved international recognition: Ninel Kurgapkina, Rudolf Nureyev, Irina Kolpakova, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Natalia Makarova, Yuri Soloviev, Galina Mezentseva, Altynai Asylmuratova, Ulyana Lopatkina, Diana Vishneva, and Svetlana Zakharova, among many others.

External links

* [http://www.vaganova.ru/eng.html Official site of the Vaganova Ballet Academy]
* [http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=8233165 Agrippina Vaganova's biographic sketch] at Find A Grave
* [http://www.ballerinagallery.com/vaganova.htm The Ballerina Gallery - Agrippina Vaganova]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Agrippina Vagánova — Tumba de Agrippina Vagánova. Agrippina Yákovlevna Vagánova (en ruso Агриппина Яковлевна Ваганова; 6 de julio de 1879–5 de noviembre de 1951) fue una maestra de ballet rusa que desarrolló el método Vagánova, técnica derivada de los métodos de… …   Wikipedia Español

  • Agrippina Vaganova — Agrippina Jakowlewna Waganowa, um 1910 Agrippina Jakowlewna Waganowa (russisch Агриппина Яковлевна Ваганова, wiss. Transliteration Agrippina Jakovlevna Vaganova; * 24. Junijul./ 6. Juli 1879greg …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Agrippina Vaganova — Agrippina Iakovlevna Vaganova (en russe : Агриппина Яковлевна Ваганова) est une danseuse russe née à Saint Pétersbourg le 24 juin 1879 et décédée dans cette même ville le 5 novembre 1951. Formée à l École théâtrale de Saint Pétersbourg, elle …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Agrippina — may refer to: In people: Vipsania Agrippina (36 BC–20), daughter of Caecilia Attica and first wife of the Emperor Tiberius Vipsania Marcella Agrippina (born 27 BC), daughter of Claudia Marcella Major and first wife of general Publius Quinctilius… …   Wikipedia

  • Vaganova Ballet Academy — The Vaganova Ballet Academy is probably the most famous and influential classical ballet school in the world. It has also been known as the Imperial Ballet School and the Leningrad State Choreographic Institute. There are other variations of the… …   Wikipedia

  • Vaganova method — The Vaganova method is a method of teaching classical ballet that was founded by Agrippina Vaganova. Vaganova was a student at the Imperial Ballet School in St Petersburg, graduating in 1897 to dance professionally with the schools parent company …   Wikipedia

  • Agrippina Waganowa — Agrippina Jakowlewna Waganowa, um 1910 Agrippina Jakowlewna Waganowa (russisch Агриппина Яковлевна Ваганова, wiss. Transliteration Agrippina Jakovlevna Vaganova; * 24. Junijul./ 6. Juli 1879greg …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Agrippina Jakowlewna Waganowa — Agrippina Jakowlewna Waganowa, um 1910 Agrippina Jakowlewna Waganowa (russisch Агриппина Яковлевна Ваганова, wiss. Transliteration Agrippina Jakovlevna Vaganova; * 24. Junijul./ 6. Juli  …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Vaganova, Agrippina — ▪ Russian ballerina in full  Agrippina Yakovlevna Vaganova  born June 14 [June 26, New Style], 1879, St. Petersburg, Russia died November 5, 1951, Leningrad [now St. Petersburg]       Russian ballerina and teacher who developed a technique and… …   Universalium

  • Méthode Vaganova — La méthode Vaganova est une méthode d enseignement du ballet classique mise au point par Agrippina Vaganova. Vaganova était une élève de l École Impériale du ballet de Saint Pétersbourg actuellement Académie de ballet Vaganova. Elle entre dans le …   Wikipédia en Français

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”