Moscow State Academy of Choreography

The Moscow State Academy of Choreography (Russian: Московская государственная академия хореографии - abbreviated as МГАХ, formally known in Russian as Московское академическое хореографическое училище - abbreviated as МАХУ), commonly known as The Bolshoi Ballet Academy, is one of the oldest and most prestigious schools of ballet in the world,^[1][2] located in Moscow, Russia. It is the affiliate school of the Bolshoi Ballet.

The Bolshoi Ballet receives the majority of its dancers from the Academy, as does most other Moscow ballet companies. Numerous choreographers, instructors and graduates of the academy have become renowned in Russian ballet and internationally, including Maya Plisetskaya, one of only two ballerinas of the Soviet Union to be bestowed a "prima ballerina assoluta", the ultimate title for a ballet performer.

History

Bolshoi is the oldest theatrical school in Moscow, founded as an orphanage by order of Catherine II in 1763. It wasn't until 1773 that the first dance classes were taught at the home. Other names the school is known by are: The Bolshoi Academy, The Bolshoi Ballet School, The Moscow Choreographic Institute, The Moscow Ballet School, The Bolshoi Moscow Ballet School and The Bolshoi Theatre Ballet School.

Heads^[3]:

• 1773—1777 — Filippo Beccari
• 1778—1783 — Leopold Paradise
• 1783—1805 — Cosimo Morelli (choreographer)
• 1806—1808 — Jean Lamiral
• 1808—1811 — Dominique Lefèvre
• 1811—1839 — Adam Glushkovskiy
• 1839—1846 — Konstantin Bordanov (ru: Богданов, Константин Федорович)
• 1846—1850 — Feodor Manokhin (ru: Манохин, Фёдор Николаевич)
• 1851—1857 — ?
• 1858—1869 — Манохин, Фёдор Николаевич
• 1869—1872 — Pierre Frédéric Malavergne
• 1872—1874 — Gustave Legat
• 1874—1883 — Sergey Petrovich Sokolov (ru: Соколов, Сергей Петрович)
• 1883—1898 — Aleksey Bogdanov (ru: Богданов, Алексей Николаевич)
• 1898—1902 — Vasiliy Geltser (ru: Гельцер, Василий Федорович)
• 1902—1907 — Alexander Alexeyevich Gorsky
• 1907—1917 — Vasiliy Tikhomirov (ru: Тихомиров, Василий Дмитриевич)
• 1917—1924 — Alexander Alexeyevich Gorsky
• 1924 — 1931 — ?
• 1931—1936 — Viktor Aleksandrovich Semeonov (ru: Семёнов, Виктор Александрович)
• 1937—1941 — Pyotr Gusev
• 1942—1945 — Nikolay Ivanovich Tarasov (ru: Тарасов, Николай Иванович)
• 1945—1947 — Rostislav Zakharov
• 1948—1953 — Leonid Lavrovskiy
• 1953—1954 — Nikolay Ivanovich Tarasov
• 1954—1958 — Michail Gabovich (ru: Габович, Михаил Маркович)
• 1959—1964 — Yuriy Kondratov (ru: Кондратов, Юрий Григорьевич)
• 1960—2001 — Sofia Golovkina (ru: Головкина, Софья Николаевна)
• 1964—1967 — Leonid Lavrovskiy
• 1968—1972 — Aleksey Yermolayev
• 1973—1987 — Maksim Martirosian (ru: Мартиросян, Максим Саакович)
• 1988—1993 — Igor Uksusnikov (ru: Уксусников, Игорь Валентинович)
• 2001—2002 — Boris Akimov (ru: Акимов, Борис Борисович)
• 2002 — Marina Leonova (ru: Леонова, Марина Константиновна)
• Boris Akimov

Method and Education

The Bolshoi's method of teaching is founded on a thorough, comprehensive, classical training curriculum that is carefully coordinated to the students' ability. The curriculum includes Ballet Technique, Pointe Work, Centre Work, Repertoire, Pas de Deux, Jazz, Character Dance and Historical Dance. The Academy offers a professional teaching staff with international teaching and performing experience.All classes are carefully graded both for age and technical level and each student is given the individual attention so necessary for his or her progress. At the school, children from ages nine to eighteen attend academic classes in addition to their rigorous dance training, using the Vaganova method. Many of them live at the in-house school dormitories.

The Bolshoi Ballet Academy holds annual auditions for the students seeking acceptance into the full-time programs of traineeship and vocational training. The director of the academy is currently, Marina Leonova.

Facilities

The Bolshoi Ballet Academy offers one of the best dance training facilities in the world. Amenities including twenty large studios with a professional non-slip dance floor, changing rooms with showers and lockers, study area, and a physiotherapy room. High ceilings make it possible to offer Pas de Deux classes, and two levels of ballet barres are provided for young children and adults.

Alumni

The Bolshoi is the school from which the Bolshoi Ballet gets the majority of its dancers, as well as most other Moscow ballet companies. The Academy has graduated a long list of acclaimed ballerinas and danseurs, including, but not limited to:

Anastasia Nabokina Andris Liepa Asaf Messerer Boris Akimov Ekaterina Maximova Igor Moiseyev Irek Mukhamedov Maris Liepa Ilya Kuznetsov

Maya Plisetskaya Mikhail Lavrovsky Alexander Plisetski Mikhail Mordkin Natalia Bessmertnova Nikolai Tsiskaridze Nina Ananiashvili Olga Lepeshinskaya Polina Semionova

Sergei Filin Sofia Golovkina Vasily Tikhomirov Vladimir Malakhov Vladimir Vasiliev Vyacheslav Gordeyev Yekaterina Geltzer Yuri Vladimirov Natalia Osipova

New York Intensive

The Ballet Academy holds a summer intensive in New York City, USA, another city famous for its ballet and opera companies. It is held in facilities at the NYU Tisch School of the Arts. During the summer intensive, several students are chosen to participate in a Gala Performance at the actual Bolshoi Ballet Academy.

External links

Official website (Russian) The Moscow State Academy of Choreography page at UNESCO

Summer Intensive in New York City

References

1. ^ http://www.latimes.com/news/education/la-me-bolshoi5-2008oct05,0,792289.story?track=rss
2. ^ http://www.balletacademy.ru/eng/page-process_eng1.htm
3. ^ The Moscow State Academy of Choreography