#vaganova ballet

[patricedumonde]

Somebody please let me know, is this the first time Irina Zhelonkina is handling a graduating class?

IG: igorkolb

[ballet-symphonie]

I’m confused about vaganova castings. Do teachers assign roles? Or do they hold auditions.

Can roles be given and taken away?There was a picture of Natasha furman rehearsing the bunny in fairy doll, but Yasmina Aziz danced it on stage, while Furman did something else.

So far there have been three different girls performing the Fairy doll. Do they alternate based on merit? Injury? Vibes?

I'm not sure about all the details of VBA castings, but for the younger students, they absolutely hold auditions, there's been lots of footage released from these in various documentaries. For the older students, I assume it is a mix of more informal auditions, (trying certain phrases and steps in classes) and teacher/administration discretion.

The remainder is a summary of casting processes from my own experiences as a professional:

Roles can absolutely be given and taken away. It's not uncommon for there to be 3-4 casts that end up on stage. During the rehearsal process, often 6 casts might rehearse and prepare the piece. Often, you'll know who the first and second casts are, sometimes they will be announced or sometimes you can just guess- often seasoned and favorite dancers, or someone who is just clearly the best in that role (or the admin's favorite). But, the rest of the people will be fighting to get a chance to perform on stage. It's very possible that you will be rehearsing something for months, and then never go on stage, an experience that is quite common and companies of all levels.

The girls will alternate based on the administration's discretion, a mix of merit and vibes. Typically, the opening night goes to the first cast, which is considered to be the best and strongest. It's popular in the industry to give matinee shows to younger, less experienced, or sometimes less prepared dancers rather than giving them chances in prime time evening slots. Of course, casting gets shuffled up very quickly when someone gets injured.

[souvlakic]

russian ballerina

[dozydawn]

“French ballet dancers Mathilde Froustey and Stephane Bullion rehearse in the classroom at Vaganova Ballet Academy in St. Petersburg, with a portrait of the greatest Russian ballet teacher Agrippina Vaganova in the background.”

Photographed by Denis Sinyakov.

13 November 2005.

[backscale-pivot-queen]

Maria Khoreva as Princess Aurora, Act 3, Act 2, Act 1

[balletomaneblog]

The Top Female Vaganova Graduates of the Past Ten Years: Then and Now (Part I)

2015 - Renata Shakirova (Mariinsky Principal)

This was actually a tough one since 2015 was such an amazing year for graduates, especially considering that both the ninth year and eighth years graduated together. But in the end, Shakirova just seemed to me the most professional and technically strong in 2015! A star then and now!

Role I'd love to see her début: The Sylph

Special Mentions: Anastasia Lukina, Nika Tsvikhtaria, Elena Solomyanko

2015 (Laurencia at Graduation):

2024 (Dulcinea Variation in Don Quixote) :

2016 - Alyona Kovalyova (Bolshoi Principal)

This one was a no-brainer. While Maria Ilyushkina is a rising star now, her technique and strength in her Vaganova days were still developing while Kovalyova was the clear featured star graduate. After being rejected from Mariinsky for being too tall, she was offered a contract with the Bolshoi and quickly rose through the ranks, including spending only one year in the corps de ballet!

Role I'd love to see her début: Anna Karenina

Special Mentions: Maria Ilyushkina, Laura Fernandez-Gromova

2016 (Raymonda in Grand Pas shortly after graduating):

2024 (Nikiya in La Bayadère):

2017 - Eleonora Sevenard (Bolshoi Principal):

Another obvious choice, Sevenard was the clear stand-out. She was accepted into both the Mariinsky and the Bolshoi, before choosing the Bolshoi! She spent two years in the corps but was given soloist and principal opportunities right off the bat, including debuting as Masha in the Nutcracker in her first season. She was promoted to principal in 2023!

Role I'd love to see her début: Aurora

Special Mentions: Vlada Borodulina

2017 (Fairy Doll during graduate year):

2024 (Kitri in Don Quixote):

2018 - Maria Khoreva (Mariinsky First Soloist)

2018 was another year like 2015 with tons of amazing graduates. However, the graduate who garnered the most attention before and after graduation and who finished at the top of the class is Maria Khoreva. At only eighteen her technique was shockingly close to flawless and only two months into her first season she was promoted to first soloist! Khoreva has not be dancing for most of the past two seasons due to injury, but she is finally returning to the Mariinsky stage at the start of this season!

Role I'd love to see her début: Parasha (Bronze Horseman)

Special mentions: Maria Bulanova, Anastasia Nuikina, Daria Ionova, Anastasia Petushkova, Biborka Lendvai, Anita Voroshilova

2018 (Paquita shortly after her graduation):

2023 (Odile in Swan Lake last year):

2019 - Alexandra Khiteyeva (Mariinsky First Soloist)

Alexandra Khiteyeva was by far the strongest graduate of 2019. She had been featured in Vaganova graduation performances since her sixth year. After joining the Mariinsky, her initial progress was slowed due to COVID, but after four years in the Corps she was promoted, first to Second Soloist and just recently to First Soloist!

Role I'd love to see her début: Juliet

Special mentions: Svetlana Savelieva, Yulia Spiridonova

2019 (Paquita at graduation):

2023 (Cristina in Paquita):

[vaganova-blog]

Maria Khoreva rehearsing Swan Lake 🦢

[anjelalala]

"When he shall die, take him and cut him out in little stars, and he will make the face of heaven so fine that all the world will be in love with night"

Fly High, My Prince........ 🕊

Rest in Peace, Vladimir Shklyarov

My favourite, you are a bright star above, dancing amongst angels. Im in absolute shock and despair. Talented, Charismatic, I have no words.

[ilvcilla]

it's been a few weeks since I started ballet, best choice ever made.

[miss-mollys-ballet-blog]

Olesya Novikova in her 7th year Vaganova exam.

[ballet-symphonie]

In defence of tsiskaridze… he came to the school in 2015, which means he’s been rector for the whole time Koshkarova, Valiullina, Kuprina, Karamysheva, Gritsina, Barinova, Zakota, Solomina, Kishnova, Efimova and others were in the first grade. And they are beautiful dancers, like I think we are overestimating the changes happening. In addition to this, the class that Tsiskaridze took over was a “weak class” (I swear these are his own words from an video with Ilya), and they look good in the exam, even though it’s not pure vaganova. However we don’t know they’re day to day classes. We don’t know if during class they do plain vaganova pure exercises, and then tried something new and a bit bonkers just for the exam. I wouldn’t be surprised, and it would explain why the exam isn’t super clean, maybe they don’t do these crazy exercises every day, just they put on a show for their exam, which is objectively more fun to watch, and maybe it’s more fun for them to execute, like the little variation breaks? Bonkers, but fun! We can’t forget how passionate the Russians are about the art of ballet, they are so passionate and they are risk takers!

I'm not inclined to give Tsiskaridze undeserved credit. Of the four you named who are now relevant rising soloists, they all graduated under the guidance of Ludmila Kovaleva, the same woman who is responsible for Olga Smirnova, Kristina Shapran, Diana Vishneva, Maria Khoreva and Ekaterina Borchenko among other prominent dancers. Kovaleva has been producing world-class ballerinas for over 40 years, her teaching prowess and clear ability to transform students into ballerinas was well-known before Tsiskaridze ever stepped into his role at VBA.

I think Tsiskaridze's main abilities lie in coaching and administration. The way he developed Angelina Vorotsova as well as Denis Rodkin is proof of this. Furthermore, the way he's been able to raise the production quality of the VBA performances in terms of the staging, costuming and venue is remarkable, I'm not sure where he suddenly found the funds but he made it happen. In my opinion, based on the quality of his students, I don't think he's nearly as good a teacher- many great dancers aren't.

As someone who graduated from a prominent ballet academy and is now working professionally in a major theater, I can tell you that they absolutely spend significant amounts of their time in class practicing what they did during the exam. You can't suddenly do a full ballet class nonstop if it hasn't been practiced and rehearsed extensively. If they just suddenly decided to do a whole class of crazy combination sporadically or just for the exam, it would be a complete mess.

Furthermore, exams are not for fun, their purpose is not to entertain an audience. If you want to be entertained, go buy a ticket for a performance. The purpose of exams is to demonstrate the student's progress and assess their mastery of technique. It’s about highlighting consistent and structured training that builds discipline, strength, precision, and artistry over time. If the whole class is dancing better in 'normal classes' than in an exam, what does that say about their preparation for high-pressure moments when working for a ballet company. It suggests their foundation might not be as solid as it should be.

Especially in Russia, passing the state exam determines your grades, your diploma, and your ability to work in a state theater. I personally think it's harder to accurately assess the skill of each individual dancer when the exams are overly choreographed with complex formations that showcase some students and hide others. When exams are so critical to a dancer's future cannot simply be viewed as a showcase for "fun" or "flashiness"—they are fundamentally about the demonstration of technical mastery and readiness to join the professional world.

[souvlakic]

my ballet studio 7-05-24

[tikitania]

Another one goes to the Bolshoi….Elisabetta Nalin, the Italian will be a Moscow ballerina. She was the one who stood out to most to me in this year’s Vaganova grads.

IG: @elisabetta_nalin

[koshkaa]

[mariaspir]

How do you feel about Master Ballet Academy blasting their students on social media? Personally I think it’s a terrible thing, I feel like studying and improving is such a tender and delicate thing, almost private. If I were a student there I wouldn’t be able to stand it.

Oof. I agree. They just want to sell an image, and their audience has come to believe that turns and tricks are all a dancer needs to be "amazing". Therefore they must be the best school in the world, since all their students turn so well, right?

I don't like that, I don't like their nutcracker (Arabian choreography is just somebody's fetish, enough with the turns in Waltz of the Flowers), I don't like how the headmaster's grown sons are partnering young girls in intimate duets (Giselle, Bayadere), I don't like their total disregard of music over doing tricks, I don't like how they alter repertoire choreography, I don't like how they claim to teach Vaganova when neither Slawomir or Irena seem to have some sort of education on the Vaganova method (Slawomir's CV says he has a Ballet Pedagogy diploma from the Chopin Music Academy, but I looked them up and couldn't find such a program or who teaches it, feel free to correct me if you have any links).

Generally be wary of "teachers" with nothing but dancing training and experience. The one good thing Ballet Conrad has ever said is "just because you know how to speak English doesn't mean you know how to teach someone to speak it correctly", and it's absolutely true. The Vaganova methodology is not just the positions of the arms and names of the steps, it's the whole logic behind each movement, the path from learning one movement to the other, the progression things are taught in, and so much more. It's not just giving combinations.

[emotionalshawtysinthisbitch]

i miss ballet💔